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Following a well-received animation programming block at The Shot List, the film-makers provided insight into the development of their projects through a panel moderated by animator and director Kevin Jackson.
Kymani Gayle, the film-maker behind the 27-second short Yaad, said the project took four weeks, but would have taken even longer if he had to “start from scratch”.
“I’ve been developing the style that’s in Yaad for years, so I went straight to production,” Gayle said.
For others on the panel, the process was less swift. “It definitely wasn’t three or four weeks,” said Chloe Campbell, who showcased her film I Am Bot, a recipient of the 2024 Tertiary and Vocational Institutions Animation award for Best Story, Best Animation, and People’s Choice award.
“I would say roughly in the span of a year and a half...it’s an extremely long process, especially for 2D animation. Everything that you saw was hand-drawn and hand-painted...I really wanted to push my skill set, and that made me sacrifice sleepless nights,” Campbell explained.
With animation so firmly established as a time-consuming art form, festival emcee Daindra Harrison asked panel moderator Jackson his views about the use of AI in the animation process.
“Artists do have a threat with artificial intelligence (AI) to some extent, especially in situations where AI is stealing people’s work or infringing on copyright,” Jackson said
He noted that a challenge was that creators “can spend years developing a style, only to have AI steal it and not compensate you for it”.
“At the same time, I believe artists are embracing the fact that they will have to use AI in some shape or form, at some point in time, but one of the challenges they want to be addressed is that copyright issue.”
Recounting her experience in utilising AI to generate an animated video, Harrison asked if she could therefore be considered an animator. Jackson said, “No.”
“If I direct a film I’m not a cinematographer. I did not work the camera. I don’t want to insult animators and say that generating an image is the same thing. If I generate a scene with AI and I put my face in it, am I an actor?” Jackson asked.
In an interview with The Gleaner, Chloe Campbell said that AI in animation depends on how it is being used.
“If I, for instance, use ChatGPT to help with the ideation process, that’s something I can still go ahead and manipulate afterwards. But when you’re just taking works from, say, Studio Ghibli to produce something that you want, it’s an insult to the artists themselves that pour so much of their life into developing the style,” Campbell shared.
In March this year, an update to OpenAI’s image generator resulted in a viral trend in which users would produce images in the style of the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, thanks to the generator’s lack of restriction as it relates to copyrighted work.
While the trend was embraced by several users across social media platforms, many in the animation industry took to social media to condemn the use of the image generator.
The Shot List is an annual film festival event showcasing short films from local and international artists. It was held last Sunday at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre.
English (US) ·