Fran Gas is a professional filmmaker, director, scriptwriter, editor and musician with over 10 years of experience. Throughout the past few years he has started experimenting with artificial intelligence in his creations and has been kind enough to share some insights from his experience with this technology.  For Gas, the magic behind AI lies in its surprise factor. This “paradigm shift” that we are undergoing in our creative productions is characterized by a constant feedback between humans and machines that will mostly produce unexpected results. 

What becomes essential in this human-machine interaction, ultimately is the artist's criteria. Approaching his productions with an open mind and a flexible objective, allows him to take his creations into areas he could have never imagined before. Through constant artistic choices and feedback based on these choices, the creative skill of thoughtful curation becomes crucial. 

In approaching the award winning “Of Youth”. Gas had preconceived ideas about what messages he wanted to convey, a certain aesthetic conception and an overall artistic discourse. His script and final edit were developed even further through his interaction with the technology. This interaction afforded him flexibility in making decisions, ultimately shaping the production to his vision. Through constant conversation and feedback, Gas was inspired and able to use his own judgment to create the film in a way he could call it his own. 

Against common conceptions, creativity flourishes thanks to its limits rather than in spite of them. When discussing the limits of creating with AI, Gas shares that continuity in the image seems to be one of the main issues. However, in working around and with these limitations, is where a creator's art really takes shape. The limitations of image, which as he explains will surely be solved soon enough, are what pushes him to find new ways of expression and ultimately making this lack of continuity a pivotal part of the artistic production. Nonetheless, he warns “We will see both sides”. With any development there are two sides of the story. There is the one we discuss around a creative awakening and new possibilities. But also, as he rightly explains, there is a massive industry behind film which will probably opt for the quick and effective options that AI provides rather than through a dedicated creative decision. This is where criteria takes another central role, what one wants to achieve and is willing to decide upon in their production. It’s like in artistic creation: 

“In the arts one will always obtain something more interesting, and in mass production one will always obtain something with less criteria” 

In this sense AI becomes like any other tool, in that it depends what you want to achieve and how you use it. In response to the skeptics, and those who are fearful of AI’s creativity taking over, Gas responds “people don’t do art for work, they do it for a calling, it’s a human necessity”. Here he interestingly points out that human creativity will never be able to be completely replaced by AI. We shouldn’t be looking at art through its economic value, human art as a form of self expression will always be a necessity, which has withstood centuries of human existence. 

When discussing aesthetics, AI nowadays has quite a recognizable aesthetic. It becomes one choice whether to use it or not, and again, down to the artist's criteria. However, in the future Gas predicts the technology behind AI will reach a point of hyperrealism where it becomes indistinguishable from other forms of film. New conversations will have to be had when it happens, as new legal, ethical and creative questions will surge. Audiences’ desire for something “real” won’t be replaced. Gas clarifies, we will still want to see a live musician, or a live actor, or a hand drawn image. There will just be a new form of production available for consumption.

Art has never just been about the tool though, art stands by itself as an institution. For audiences, art will still generate emotions, we don’t question whether an image taken by a camera moves us more than an oil painting. The discussion often focuses on the production side of things but there are also considerations that must be had on the reception of the art. 

Fran Gas is looking forward to +RAIN 2024 where he will be premiering his newest film “Latex Kid”, on the 12th of June. Make sure to join us in watching it as from my brief conversation I am sure it will be a thought provoking piece of art. 
 

By Michael Poots

P.S. Original quotes from Fran Gas were translated from Spanish to English