After in my last blog post I discussed the SAG-AFTRA strike and the agreement for the use of generative AI, I now wanted to know how good Chat-GPT actually is at writing movie scripts and how much big the potential impact of it could be.
Scriptwriting is often a meticulous process evolving developing relatable characters, engaging narrative, and constructing complex dialogues. A script is often the first step to a successful movie as it can be seen as a blueprint for directors, actors, and crew members (AI, 2023).
With the introduction and boom of generative AI this process becomes easier. But how much easier? And how good is Chat-GPT at writing scripts on its own? One notable example of a movie entirely written by AI is the short film “Sunflower” in 2016. An AI tool called Benjamin was fed numerous sci-phi screenplays to produce a new script. The result was a unique, if somewhat nonsensical, piece of cinema which sparked intense discussions about the potentials of AI in screenwriting (AI, 2023).
IDuring my research I stumbled on an article from Stuart Heritage in The Guardian (Heritage, 2023). In the article, Heritage explains his experiment to write movie scripts with Chat-GPT. His prompts were very broad like “write me the outline for a movie that will make billions of dollars theatrically” or “Write me an Oscar-winning movie”, but also a included a more concrete prompt: “write me an Avengers movie, featuring Kang as the antagonist and elements of the multiverse in the plot, that is actually good” (Heritage, 2023).
Inspired by this article, I myself tried to utilize Chat-GPT’s potential to write a movie script. Ironically the topic I chose was to write a black mirror episode script that shows the potential consequences of Chat-GPT itself. My prompt was:
„Can you write a black mirror like episode about Chat GPT that delves into the potential consequences of advanced gen-AI on human behavior, society, and culture.” Chat-GPT then generated an episode script called “The Echo Chamber”. As the script is too long to showcase in this post, I have include a link to it, so everyone can read it: https://chat.openai.com/share/ac6cb132-2566-49bd-b403-f1222382468f .
The summary and message of the episode is “The episode ends on an ominous note as they question the broader implications of a society dependent on AI that could manipulate and radicalize individuals, further highlighting the need for ethical AI development and regulation. “The Echo Chamber” serves as a thought-provoking reflection on the consequences of technology’s role in shaping human behavior, society, and culture.” This summary itself fits in well with the ones from existing black mirror episodes.
Although the generated script is still quite simple and lacks depth, it gives a creative starting point from where writers can improve the script until it is worth to become an actual movie. So, coming back to the question raised earlier: Chat-GPT is already able to create solid movie scripts. Although the quality of it is not yet good enough to create a movie just with AI, the inclusion of AI in writing screenplays can improve efficiency immensely. However, ethical implications should not be neglected. To get a detailed insight into the ethical considerations of this topic, I encourage you to also read my latest blog post “The SAG-AFTRA Hollywood AI agreement: A breakthrough for AI regulations?”.
References
AI, C. (2023, 14. Juni). The future of Screenwriting: AI as the next great scriptwriter. Medium. https://medium.com/@CircuitAI/the-future-of-screenwriting-ai-as-the-next-great-scriptwriter-2a0b4c2eb54a#:~:text=The%20Potential%20of%20AI%20in%20Screenwriting,-How%20AI%20Could&text=AI%20has%20the%20potential%20to,creative%20aspects%20of%20their%20work.
Heritage, S. (2023, 24. März). Can an AI program really write a good movie? Here’s a test. the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/24/chapgpt-movie-script-ai
Interesting article! It’s fascinating to see how AI, like Chat-GPT, have the potential to disrupt a huge industry like the scriptwriting one. Your own experiment with Chat-GPT generating a Black Mirror episode script highlights the possibilities and challenges of using AI in storytelling. The ethical implications, as you’ve rightly pointed out, are crucial to consider. As you mentioned, AI-generated drafts can serve as a starting point for human writers to further develop and refine. Do you think that the collaboration between AI and human creativity in scriptwriting holds great promise for the future as AI continues to make advances or do you think it will become a bigger threat for current scriptwriters?