LTX Studio Launch Event – Insights from Filmmakers

Artificial Intelligence

by Omri Keren LapidotApril 5^th, 2024

LTX Studio, the all-in-one generative AI video creating and editing software was teased about a month ago. LTX Studio garnered significant attention in the filmmaking community, featuring a unique, selective editing workflow. Earlier this week the company held a launch event featuring some of their co-founders and leading personnel as well as Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir, and more), and digital creator Tim Simmons (Theoretically Media). Hosted by video journalist Cleo Abram (Huge if true, Vox) they discussed the history of Lightricks that led to this moment, what the future holds for us as creators, and more.

LTX Studio (by Lightricks) is an unusual AI video generator. Most other generative AI apps can generate a “baked” video, a unified clip, with no cuts, layers, etc. LTX Studio on the other hand creates a storyboard-like product. This enables precise editing, cutting, and replacing of shots. It also enables highly controlled video manipulation, as the app can specifically identify objects and manipulate them according to the prompt. Add this to highly emphasized continuity and you can use specific “actors”, “locations”, etc. This core design feature separates LTX Studio from the likes of Sora and others.

Dreamweaving

The event begins with a short screening: “The Dream”. This charming little clip, made in collaboration with Ari Folman, shows a mother and her son on the phone. As he tells her about his dream, she types some key moments, creating a comprehensive video representation of this dream.

A deeper look may help us gather some insight regarding future prospects of LTX Studio. The video emphasizes ease of use, casual family use, and above all – the ability to make every dream come “true”, or at least become a video (while undermining the bonds connecting visual information to the truth, potentially fraying the fabric of society at the same time…)

LTX Studio in the eyes of filmmaking

Though this was the second seat, I took the liberty of cutting off the first part. As interesting as Lightricks’ history is (it is! trust me), an article’s length is not unlimited. In writing, as with editing, such liberties are the core of our profession. For full transparency, both Ari Folman and Tim Simmons have worked with Lightricks and their LTX Studio. While the details of this cooperation are naturally undisclosed, I believe it’s important to acknowledge this statement.

A director’s dream

Ari Folman is no stranger to the hard, repetitive, and eroding work of animation. In his eyes, a tool like LTX Studio can help create an impressive pitch to show studio producers. More importantly, it can significantly elevate the speed and efficiency of the animation process, eliminating the need to manually draw every frame, moving to man-made keyframes, and AI will quickly fill the rest. I do see how this is a director’s dream, and how it will significantly improve speed and efficiency. Costs will also drop and with them the threshold for animated features. But there’s another side to this procedure – much less work for existing animators, mostly junior animators. With fewer animators – where would senior animators come from?

Indie content creator’s dream

Both Cleo Abram and Tim Simmons run successful YouTube channels. LTX Studio (and other Generative AI tools) holds a huge promise for smaller, low-budget, independent creators like them. If true, this tech has the potential to level the field, letting independent creators produce results potentially indistinguishable from those made by top studios. Simmons described generative AI apps as substitutes for specific departments of large production studios. Now you no longer need the 3D department or the sound department. You just generate what you want, working with various AI assistants to which you convey your idea of the end product. Abram works with a 3D creator for her channel. She mentioned the efficiency such tools may bring to the back-and-forth dialog, as she can now better demonstrate her idea of the needed change.

Another step on the same path?

Is generative AI just another step in the path of technological democratization? To this point, Folman answered with a story. He shared an anecdote about his second year at film school, where he was sent to study a new technology. The dean told him that this tech would end cinema as we know it so he better listen carefully because this is the future. The year was 1988 and the new disruptive tech was IMAX. Several years later Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg shot award-winning films with $600 cameras. I personally believe Generative AI is more closely related to low-end affordable cameras, but the point Folman made revolved around new creative tools and their unpredictable, sometimes disruptive effect on the creative process.

AI is great, but it can never replace the performance of Emma Stone.

Ari Folman

All three panel speakers agreed that generative AI is an additional tool, adding abilities, not replacing current professions. While comforting, I find such a prediction a bit too optimistic. Sure, from the director or content creator’s perspective, the advantages are clear. Emma Stone will probably manage just fine, but we shouldn’t pretend as if the efficiency Generative AI promises directly translates to fewer jobs.

Creator glorification

Another less popular and less direct effect of generative AI is a declining number of perspectives. Everyone who has ever worked in a feature production knows the director is one of many talented people affecting the end piece. The editor, the DOP, the actors, the soundperson, and the grip, each add their interpretation to the grand creative vision. Filmmaking is a team effort. The magic lies in this culmination of talents. A single creator can never achieve such diverse points of view. An AI workflow may forfeit this cooperation, and while solo work may seem quicker, easier, and more seductive, a dialog, a compromise, the bouncing off ideas are at the heart of the seventh art.

Moving fast, breaking things

The awe-inspiring progression of Lightricks’ LTX Studio is also described by Folman. He mentions the extreme speed at which every bug was fixed. “One day we had the witches holding the guitars; the next they were playing. Six fingers on the trumpet became three on the next day”. I presume Folman received special attention as both an esteemed filmmaker and alpha tester, but the fast, sometimes hasty progress of generative AI is disturbing as much as it’s exciting.

It’s 1899 and the Lummierres just gave everyone a camera. See what they’ll make of it.

Tim Simmons

But generative AI is no traditional camera. Face-swapping and audio-generating abilities, if given to the general public, may very well fray the fabric of society. Noticing fact from fiction is already a major challenge in our society. I fear this additional, thick layer of manipulation may spell some serious challenges. I’m not sure the ability to create a funny film of a child’s dream is worth this. Both regulators and AI companies should do as much as possible to brace society for what is to come.

Are you optimistic about generative AI tools and their adoption throughout the industry and creative world? Do you see them as assistants, or as a threat? Let us know in the comments.