Weta FX and AWS Partnering for Production-Integrated AI Tools

Image courtesy of markusspiske on pixabay

Artificial Intelligence is well known to be the spark of drastic changes across the VFX industry, but what exactly those changes will be is still up in the air. However, recent strides have been made as studios work quickly to discover how these tools can be integrated into their workflows.

Late last year, a partnership was announced between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Weta FX, the powerhouse VFX studio well known for work on franchises such as Avatar and Marvel.

What exactly will come out of this partnership is still unknown, but from what they have revealed, it’s clear this isn’t the typical text-to-video models so commonly seen floating throughout social media.

The studio emphasized that the adoption of AI is not one that will replace their artists, but rather aid them. The tools they are developing are described as “artist friendly”, and are intended to save time on repetitive, complex, and mechanical tasks, to allow its users to focus more on the expressive and artistically driven aspect of creating. Tasks such as simulations, environment creation, and creature animation can have hours of wrangling technology taken off the artist’s hands.

Additionally, the intention is to train the models on Weta’s own IP, as opposed to public data that can propose conflicts with copyright infringement.

The information shared so far about this partnership demonstrates the two companies’ awareness as they ensure they adopt this new technology ethically and strategically. With so much controversy surrounding AI’s impact on artists’ job stability and ownership rights, it is important for studios to address their integration of AI in a delicate and considerate way.