Production studio in Southern California embraces AI

SILVER LAKE, Calif. (NBC, KYMA) - It's become one of the biggest debates in Hollywood: What does the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) mean for the TV and film industry, especially in Los Angeles which has lost thousands of production jobs in recent years?

For the first time, NBC affiliate KNBC got a look inside a production company in California who said they're adapting to AI in their work, and they believe it could be key to getting the industry turned around in Hollywood.

However, there's so much fear around what AI means for the film industry.

Based in Silver Lake, Asteria says they're "an artist-led generative AI film and animation studio powered by the first clean and ethical AI model."

It's a unique mission statement in an industry grappling with what AI means for Hollywood.

"AI has become one of the biggest topics in Hollywood, particularly because the creatives have this fear and it may be not totally unfounded at all, that AI could replace their likeness, their voice, could take jobs from writers, actors," said Paul Dergarabedian, Head of Market Trends at Rentrak.

Back in 2023, the movie and TV industry was shut down for four months as multiple unions went on strike.

At the heart of the issue: Calls to regulate the use of AI amid fears that AI-generated actors, not humans, would appear on screen, and scripts would start coming from AI models, not writers.

When asked that's what the company is doing, Bryn Mooser, co-founder of Asteria, said, "We don't do the things like AI actors and those things. In fact, I think a lot of that is largely overblown."

Asteria says they're using generative AI differently. They said it's a tool that can help their creative team with video effects and animation.

"You use the model to do things like in animation, in-betweening, filling out crowds, extending shots, cleaning up shots, removing things out of it," Mooser shared.

Mooser said this is a moment where the industry in la needs to be willing to adapt.

Federal data shows more than 40,000 production jobs have left Los Angeles since 2022, with experts saying that's because it's significantly cheaper to shoot and edit in other states or overseas.

"I think that anybody who says, well AI doesn't belong in Hollywood, I would ask them is Hollywood working right now? Is it working for those people? If the industry was in a perfect spot I would say sure, let's leave it alone. But it's not," Mooser expressed.

Mooser says by using AI, smaller teams can finish jobs more quickly, which could drive down the cost of production, and hopefully bring projects back to Hollywood.

"We have to do something to try to bring jobs back here. And it's really important that Los Angeles becomes the place that is always the center of the entertainment industry, including being the center of whatever technology comes next," Mooser remarked.

KNBC also noted that the studio says even being AI-forward themselves, they still have to adapt, they're having to change models frequently as this technology keeps getting better, but they said it's working, their team is handling big streaming shows and movies, and they're sticking to the plan.

To learn more about the studio, click here.