HK film sector turns to AI to save time, money
Despite positive changes, some doubt AI’s impact on stagnant industry
Roger Proeis is in Tseung Kwan O, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, and walking around a cavernous railway station unlike any in the city.
The station, complete with ticketing machines, escalators, seating areas and advertising billboards, is fake. The video producer created the whole set-up within his 5,000 sq ft studio using artificial intelligence (AI).
Proeis, 44, the Norwegian CEO of film production firm Votion Studios, is convinced that new technology is shaking up the industry, changing the way traditional filmmakers work and trimming costs too.
By creating realistic virtual locations, for example, there will be no need to fly actors and crew to different places, and audiences will not be able to tell the difference.
There are other ways the new technology can work at various stages of making a film, right through to the tedious stage of post-production editing and making technical fixes.
“Training AI models on extensive realworld data sets can save time and resources in creating accurate and immersive countless environments and production workflows,” he said. “AI can also automate tasks like video editing, colour grading and visual effects composting.”
Hollywood filmmakers have already begun using AI to tweak scripts, select cast members, shorten the time taken to choose locations and even predict the financial success of their films.
Differing views on AI’s role
In Hong Kong, some filmmakers have embraced technology, but others are skeptical that AI can make a difference to the city’s stagnant industry, which has struggled to break from stale formulas and rely on the same group of aging actors.
Film editor Wong Hoi, 56, who has won multiple awards for his work, said he believed AI could improve film production in many ways.
He recalled editing the blockbuster hit “Bodyguards” and “Assassins,” which swept eight Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film and best director, in 2010.
“It was shot in Shanghai, where the production team built a physical set that felt like Hong Kong was transported there,” he said.
It cost HK$50 million ($6.4 million) to create the set, resembling Hong Kong Central in the 1900s, on a site as big as 10 football fields.
“The set was really magical. But now if we use AI and virtual sets, we can achieve equally stunning and detailed results without needing extensive construction,” said Wong, who is chairman of the Society of Film Editors Hong Kong.
He estimated that using AI could at least halve the cost and time needed to create film locations.
“Human creativity is the key to it all and we will not be replaced by AI, but people of the industry and all Hongkongers must embrace new things to avoid being left behind in the tide of progress,” he said.
The rising adoption of AI globally has prompted Chinese technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, which owns the Post, to support Hong Kong’s creative sector.
Its entertainment and media arm Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group announced in March that it would invest at least HK$5 billion in Hong Kong’s culture and film industries over the next five years to help reboot the sector.
The company said the investment would go towards producing local broadcast series, films and performances and grooming young talent.
Filmmaker Norman Chan Hok-yan, associate director of Baptist University’s film academy, said AI and technology could not fix the most pressing issues in Hong Kong’s film industry.
“Many big-budget productions often fall into the same genre such as crime thrillers. The cast tends to be just a handful of wellknown stars audiences have grown tired of seeing repeatedly,” he said.
Chan said the abundant choice offered by online streaming platforms had also made it harder for Hong Kong’s films to score at the box office.
“People can simply tune in to Netflix to watch any movie from as close as Thailand and Indonesia, to as far as Finland, Denmark and Sweden, with a vast variety of genres,” he said.
Chan, who produced classics such as “An Autumn’s Tale” and the series of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World” films in the 1980s, said Hong Kong films did not enjoy global recognition as major production companies focused on co-productions with mainland China targeted mainly on the market there.
“Such multimillion-dollar productions often prioritize established stars, while new actors are left to continue in smaller roles, creating a gap in the talent pool. But even big stars are no longer a guarantee of box office success,” he said.
Focus on fundamentals
Veteran filmmaker John Chong Ching, 65, who produced the classic “Infernal Affairs” trilogy, brushed aside talk of AI, saying Hong Kong’s film industry was more concerned about breaking into the mainland and overseas markets.
“Nobody has the time to be preoccupied with the use of AI. We are more concerned about making breakthroughs with our storytelling, presentations, scriptwriting and how to attract viewers and tap different markets,” he said.
“Without good storytelling and thought-provoking content, it doesn’t matter what kind of AI you use.”
Chong said some sci-fi blockbusters had used a lot of advanced technology but received bad reviews and had not made much profit.
“Many industry players won’t put the horse before the cart. The script comes first, then we’ll see if technology can complement the script and provide value for money. We won’t write a script to cater to a specific technology,” he said.
But James Leung Wah-sang, 64, director of production house Mutual Workshop, said AI and virtual production helped him shoot a music video for singer Jeffrey Ngai Tsun-sang’s “My Own World Map” in a single day.
The video featured a variety of scenes including an ancient cathedral, a pirate ship, a snow-covered mountain and a vast grassland, all created in six hours by Votion Studios.
The singer’s record label had given him two weeks to get the job done.
“In a very compressed time frame, the studio was able to produce background scenes that matched my vision. We filmed most of the music video there as well,” Leung said.
Describing himself as “old school” after more than four decades in the industry, he said using AI was eye-opening.
“It allows actors to blend in seamlessly with virtual imagery. I can monitor the screen in real-time and fine-tune things right away,” Leung said, adding that he spent less time on adjusting lighting and color quality. “It halved the production time compared to shooting at real sets.”
If we use AI and virtual sets, we can achieve equally stunning and detailed results without needing
extensive construction.
Film editor Wong Hoi, chairman of the Society of Film Editors Hong Kong
Nobody has the time to be preoccupied with
the use of AI. Without good storytelling and thought-provoking content,
it doesn’t matter what kind of AI you use.
Veteran filmmaker John Chong Ching, creator of the classic “Infernal Affairs” trilogy