AI is changing how directors and cinematographers work—but not the way you might think

FastCompany: AI is changing how directors and cinematographers work—but not the way you might think When people think of artificial intelligence in Hollywood, they might picture deepfakes , synthetic actors , or AI-generated scripts and video. Google’s Veo3, along with other tools like Pika Labs and Kling AI, made headlines for their photorealistic AI generated video clips (as did OpenAI’s Sora 2 before the company in March announced plans to shutter it ). But for freelance filmmakers, the real shift is happening behind the scenes. For years, cinematographers and directors have had to wear many hats: artist, technician, project manager, negotiator.

Now, AI is quietly taking over some of the more tedious jobs. Short-Form Frontier Michael Goi, former president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and current co-chair of its AI committee, remembers widespread panic in the industry a few years ago. “There was this blanket fear that AI would completely replace jobs,” he says. That fear has been overblown, Goi says. He presented an ASC seminar last year outlining one of the largest hurdles to widespread adoption of AI video—consistency.

In a live demonstration with six-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and AI creator Ellenor Argyropoulos, the filmmakers attempted to use AI tools to generate a specific shot. “Caleb had a very clear vision,” says Goi, “and it was a struggle to even get close.” Though video AI tools have made significant strides since then, they are still very much geared toward short-form content, with most tools only capable of generating clips of up to two minutes in 4K quality.

That’s good news for the growing number of people working on vertical series —Goi among them—who get to test new video-generation models, sometimes before their public launch. A striking example of what’s now possible is Fruit Love Island, an AI-generated “fruit slop” microdrama from TikTok account @ai.cinema021 that became the platform’s fastest-growing account ever, amassing over 3 million followers in nine days and 300 million total views before coming to an abrupt halt in late March after being flagged for low quality.

Each two minute episode allegedly took around 3 hours to make, and are thought to have used text-to-script tools like Object Talk that are then plugged into an AI video generator. For most freelance cinematographers, though, the gains of AI aren’t on-screen, but behind the scenes, making it easier to plan how they will capture the shots they need. Streamlining storyboards While fully AI-generated feature films may not be around the corner, filmmakers are regularly using tools like Midjourney and Runway to create storyboards and visual references.

Rob Berry, a freelance cinematographer whose clients include Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom, Berry remembers his first encounter with AI-generated storyboards on a commercial project. “[The clients] were able to make them very quickly, change them the day before the shoot and hand them to me. I was like wow, the future’s here,” he says. Director Sage Bennett, who’s shot campaigns for Dior and Jim Beam, sees a similar trend. “Budgets are getting smaller, and expectations are getting bigger,” she says. In her experience, AI is often being used to bridge that gap, though it still needs a human touch.

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The article highlights the evolving role of AI in filmmaking, which is significant for the industry but may not directly influence brand strategy professionals.