In today's film industry, where new technologies are constantly being explored, the world's first government-approved AI-generated feature film, The Sea Queen, Ching Shih, premiered in Singapore on April 24th. This 70-minute film pushes the boundaries of traditional filmmaking, showcasing the limitless potential of artificial intelligence in film creation through its complete narrative and diverse characters.
The Sea Queen, Ching Shih is based on the historical legend of Ching Shih, a female pirate who once commanded approximately 1800 ships and led 100,000 pirates. Led by the creative team FizzDragon, the film not only recreates Ching Shih's legendary story but also demonstrates how AI technology can be utilized in complex film production. While AI has been used in film before, such as Netflix's short film Dog & Boy, this is the first time a 70-minute feature film has been produced, marking a significant advancement in AIGC (AI-Generated Content) technology.
The film's production faced multiple challenges, including handling long dialogues and long shots. Chen Zhuo, founder and CEO of FizzDragon, stated that AI often performs poorly when processing lengthy information, requiring the director to supplement and adjust the shot division to ensure smooth and diverse visuals. Furthermore, character consistency was a major hurdle; AI-generated characters might exhibit "face-matching" issues in different scenes, or even inconsistencies in the appearance of the same character. To overcome these problems, the team used post-processing and specific training to ensure the uniformity of character images.
Despite the continuous development of AI technology, human creativity remains indispensable in aspects like scriptwriting and shot design. Chen Zhuo emphasized that the script for The Sea Queen, Ching Shih was entirely created by the human team, as AI was unable to fully handle this task. The creative process required accurate verification of historical details, something currently beyond AI's capabilities. Additionally, AI-generated storyboards often lack creativity and personality, failing to match the unique perspective of a human director.
The successful release of The Sea Queen, Ching Shih not only showcases the potential of AI in film production but also sparks deeper reflection on the future of filmmaking. In today's rapidly developing technological landscape, the key to future film production lies in achieving a better combination of human creativity and AI technology.
