AI overview
The director of photography (DoP) plays a crucial role in shaping the visual storytelling of any film or video content, ensuring that the creative vision comes to life through lighting, framing and camera movement.
As AI assistance and tools in camera automation, lighting adjustments and even scene composition become more sophisticated, the DoP's responsibilities are shifting.
Rather than focusing on manual camera operation and lighting setup, the role of the DoP may start to include the oversight and direction of AI-driven tools that can handle repetitive or technical tasks.
This can give the DoP more time to refine the visual style, providing creative input and making critical decisions that AI does not replace, such as interpreting the emotional tone of a scene or working closely with directors to capture the nuances of human performance.
In addition to this, the DoP may need to focus on more specialised tasks. For example, ensuring that automated camera systems deliver the right aesthetic, while making adjustments on the fly to achieve the desired look and feel.
While AI can assist with technical tasks, it lacks the human intuition and nuanced understanding essential for storytelling, and each individual's unique human experience that forms us all.
Even with advances in AI, DoPs remain vital to connect with audiences. This emphasises the importance of the DoP's artistic eye and expertise in visual storytelling, ensuring that technology supports, rather than replaces, their creative role.
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How can I prepare for the future?
Embracing AI tools within the cinematography workflow is vital for DoPs preparing for the future. AI can handle technical aspects like focus tracking or initial colour grading, providing a starting point for further refinement. By using AI as a collaborative tool, DoPs can work more efficiently and explore new creative possibilities, all while maintaining control over the artistic elements of their work.
Think about how you could start to archive and collate data with your colleagues around repetitive tasks or low level decision making, such that an AI assistant could automate those kinds of operations in the future, freeing you up to spend more time thinking through critical creative decisions. An AI can help with that data archiving and labelling process as well.
It is also worth considering how virtual production and AI tools will impact the methods used for content capture in the future. For example, new systems using AI to create a full volumetric model of the stage during shooting are starting to allow camera or lens positions to be moved or adjusted during the editing process, rather than simply colour as is currently possible.
Remaining up to date with advancements in this space can help you when preparing for future technologies.
Embracing AI as a director of photography
AI offers directors of photography a unique opportunity in creative and technical filmmaking. Putting effort into automating repetitive tasks and adopting innovative tools for visualisation and precision, can enable DoPs to focus on aspects of storytelling and artistic expression.
This craft of cinematography - capturing emotion, atmosphere and meaning through visuals - remains a deeply human ability.
Embracing AI as a collaborative partner, DoPs have the opportunity to elevate their work, adapting to modern production demands while staying true to the artistry of their role.
What AI tools can I use right now?
Gain inspiration by using chat-based large language models (LLMs). With these tools, you can turn your jotted thoughts and notes into detailed shot lists and planning paperwork.
AI can also help you communicate with others more effectively, helping you expand details so that they are suitable for all members of a department from a simple initial thought or prompt.
You can use image and video generation tools to create previsualisations of shot ideas and quickly generate images for inspiration, mood boards and further visual development.
These image tools can be self-hosted on local systems and trained on personalised data sets, keeping your data private, and enabling bespoke results, focused to your style.
For the most optimal use of AI assistants, formatting of the data is required for paperwork such as scripts or storyboards, that makes it easier for the AI to process.
Improving the data labelling and archiving systems of even broader data sets improves the extent to which AI can help you with repetitive tasks.
AI is also being integrated into camera drones for automatic framing and obstacle avoidance systems, which will make the control and flight of these systems easier for inexperienced pilots, while simultaneously pushing the complexity of shots that can be captured with camera drones.
Similar object recognition and tracking technologies are being integrated into other camera systems as well, such as autofocus and stabilisation. This allows a camera operator to explain intent rather than having to directly control the system.
AI is now being implemented into the colour grading pipelines. Tools exist that can create colour graded footage automatically, which can then be used on-set to preview instantly with your camera with a rough look.
This can integrate with other industry software so that it can be passed over to a colourist with ease. It can also be combined with new virtual production workflows giving complete colour pipeline control from end-end.
With virtual production becoming more commonplace many live event technologies and AI automation aspects are coming to production services, speeding up the process of setup, calibration and operation.
Generative tools: Automated creation of production simulations, AI tools generating video content with a high degree of control, AI tools demonstrating camera moves and framing during previsualisation.
Autonomous robotics: Developments from traditional motion control such as stunt robotics, autonomous robots and physical manipulation robots can allow onset special effects (SFX) to take place where it was too dangerous, or simply not previously possible.
3D volumetric capture technologies: Capturing live performances directly into a 3D pixel format and 3D mesh based formats, allowing re-positioning of cameras after the recording has been made.
Colour pipeline: The capture and reproduction of colour in a controlled and predictable manner and the conversion between different colour spaces and EOTFs.
Live events technologies: Tooling and technologies that are commonly used in the live events ecosystem, such as automated rigging, motorised lighting and LED/projection.
Metadata tagging and VFX integration: Automated metadata tagging for seamless post-production workflows.
Real-time exposure and colour monitoring: AI systems that monitor frame consistency and exposure balance on set, giving warnings or indicators of potential issues.
Self-hosted AI models for privacy: Local AI systems for secure data processing and visual concept creation.
ScreenSkills offers a variety of training opportunities for people at all stages of their career. Explore all training, events and opportunities.
ScreenSkills resources:
- Director of photography job profile
- Director of photography skills checklist
Other resources:
- Bow Robotics software and development platforms are increasing access to a much wider market and simplifying the process of motion control.
- Udemy and Coursera learning platforms have useful resources.
- The Academy of Live Technology delivers training around delivery, management and design of live events systems as well as courses on using automation in filmmaking.
- GitHub has resources on self-hosting AI and YouTube offers guides on the same subject.