AI and Factual Television 2: Truth & Trust

As the Allies landed in Normandy in June 1944 and fought their way eastwards, their progress was filmed by British and American cameramen under the direction of Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada TV) from back in London at the Ministry of Information. When the concentration camps were liberated at Majdanek, Poland (the first major one, in July 1944), Auschwitz (January 1945) and Bergen-Belsen (April 1945) the unknown horrors revealed to these cameramen were sent back in rushes (dailies) to Bernstein. As soon as he saw them he realised that the way these inconceivable scenes should be filmed was important and he issued precise instructions to his teams. The filming was to be as incontrovertible testimony, using slow pans/camera movements and with a view to minimal editing, so that no one could accuse the footage of fakery.

Cut to 80 years later and the age of fake news and deep fakery. What role can footage created through generative AI play in factual filmmaking and documentary? The same issues surface – trust, authenticity and truth. AI-generated footage by definition contains no genuine truth, despite being the product of various source truths. Since documentary is fundamentally about documenting reality AI footage can by definition have no major role to play in it.

Where AI can contribute to documentary is in anything from the pre-film-camera age. For example, a thoroughly researched, historically accurate shot of the Roman forum in the reign of Nero.

It is also useful for resurrecting dead people. In the 2022 feature doc ‘Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted‘ director Benjamin Field deployed AI-generated images of the Thunderbirds creator’s talking head synced to archive audio recordings of the great man.

What about B-roll and GVs? Sunset over the jungles of Vietnam? Waves lapping the beaches of Normandy? This must be the wrong side of The Line because they document nothing. They are ultimately fantasy. Fine for scripted. No place in documentary.

When Stephen Lambert went down in 2007 for faking the Queen’s behaviour at a photo session, ‘Crowngate‘ proved an accidental act of public service by putting ‘Viewer Trust’ firmly on the TV agenda where it remains to this day. The issue has spread to other media, most recently in the doctored photo controversy. People want to be clear about what they are actually looking at.   

How can documentarians indicate material in their films that were created by generative AI? Benjamin Field did this by putting the Gerry Anderson talking heads into vintage TV sets to differentiate them from the regular factual footage. One way to do this as a standardised practice would be to create an AI ‘watermark’ to make clear what is not actual documentary.

Another way would be to establish a certificate that indicated ‘nothing in this film was made by AI’. At the moment a scheme of this sort is being discussed by PACT, Equity and BAFTA.

The 1 Habit of Highly Effective Factual Filmmakers is: “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” (Stephen Covey)

Sidney Bernstein, 1st Baron Bernstein of Leigh by Howard Coster (courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London)

AI & Factual Television

“The future of Television” created by Microsoft Designer’s AI image generator

Just back from CPH:DOX documentary festival in Copenhagen where, apart from running a workshop on stress-testing nascent documentary ideas, I have been exploring the interface between factual filmmaking and Artificial Intelligence.

I had an interesting conversation with multiplatform specialist Simon Staffans about the current crisis in Television in the UK, Europe and beyond. His observation is that, although there is tons of money knocking about in the world in the wake of the pandemic, quantitive easing, etc., the vast bulk of that is being invested in applications of AI in all aspects of life, and not the very 20th century technology that is TV.

What I am seeing at the interface of TV and AI is a strong focus on what AI can or soon will be able to do to speed up, improve or enhance the processes of video content making – from idea generation to pitching to editing to creating voiceover to cleaning up picture/audio to optimising distribution to upping discoverability.

Most training/CPD and briefing sessions at present seem to be largely catalogues of the latest software presented in broad categories representing production stages – that is, the What and a bit of the How. But the frame of the Why is for the most part absent.

AI can help speed up processes and reduce the human resources required – so quicker and cheaper to produce.

It can help fix dodgy pictures and degraded audio – so higher technical quality.

As the arms race for TV sizzle reels continues apace, it can generate impressive visuals, moving and still, to help get you in a room with a money-person. You can add a cloned celebrity voice-over and some in-the-style-of music for a very polished pitch.

But who are you pitching to? If the business models of TV collapse further, where will the funding come from to enable production companies to make good use of these amazing tools?

To what extent will AI give rise to new low-cost forms of content? For example, where text-to-video apps do away with the main costs of production. What’s the relationship between puppies playing in the snow and 20 Days in Mariupol?

Meanwhile today the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) went into legal battle with London-based AI start-up Jammable (formerly Voicify AI), which creates voice clones from BPI-represented and other music artists. The knotty legal/rights and ethical questions AI is throwing up are fascinating and watching them play out over the next couple of years will be as interesting and meaningful as all these other questions about what this major ground-breaking, era-defining, future-shaping technology signifies for our industry.

Protest and Progress and Paramount

Photo: Misan Harriman

Our latest Doc Hearts feature documentary with Oscar nominee Misan Harriman has now started shooting – ‘Protest and Progress’ – for Paramount+.

Directed by Doc Hearts founder Andy Mundy-Castle in the wake of his lauded ‘White Nanny, Black Child’.

It couldn’t be more timely…

First day of the year

 

 

That back to school feeling never really fades. The first day back at work every year is a bit of a challenge however much you like your work. Despite the promise of new beginnings, fresh slates, new directions the contrast with hanging out with family and friends, enjoying entertainments, walks, sleeping in is never easy.

The Christmas holidays are synonymous for BAFTA voting members with the first round of the Film Awards voting. This year – a very good year – IMHO was crowned by the astonishing The Zone of Interest directed by Jonathan Glazer. Loosely based on a novel by Martin Amis, it tells the story of the Holocaust at Auschwitz through a domestic drama set in the commandant’s house just over the wall from the death camp. The acting is flawless, the sound design a revelation and the direction perfectly judged. It has clearly been a long time in the making as I spotted in the credits my lovely old Channel 4/Film 4 colleague Sue Bruce-Smith who very sadly passed away way too young in 2020 in Dublin.

Untimely death and the Holocaust both bring us back to a quotation from Anne Frank which for me gives a clue as to where to start the new year of work…

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Anne Frank in Anne Frank’s Tales from the Secret Annex: A Collection of Her Short Stories, Fables and Lesser-known Writings

Given that, hidden in an Amsterdam attic with the threat of violence and death all around her, she was facing something far more challenging than a new year of work and making a living, her positive perspective is very striking and inspiring.

So the new work year is beginning for me today, by happy coincidence, with a documentary film about witnessing the Holocaust from close quarters through the barbed wire. I have been working on the project for a couple of years with journalist Martin Bright and it feels like this is its year. The release of The Zone of Interest can only help as the stories are very complementary.

For this project and others this year the other words I am going to keep in mind are these from the American author William Faulkner… 

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”

William Faulkner

Having the courage to try new things and realising that exciting new work which makes a real difference in the world can begin this second is my suggestion for where to begin…

Sandra Hüller, Jonathan Glazer, Christian Friedel – The Zone of Interest

Other thoughts on the best of cinema in 2023 can be found here

The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George

My latest commission (which came about from a chat with Tim Lovejoy [host of Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and The Lovejoy Hour podcast] – big hat tip in his direction) is emerging into the light of day…

Forever Young: Gilbert & George

15/5/23 & 24/5/23

We are currently shooting a documentary featuring the artist(s) Gilbert & George. Today (25th May) we are filming them among their latest collection of pictures, ‘The Corpsing Pictures’, on display at the White Cube Gallery in St James’s, London. ‘Corpsing’ refers both to mortal bodies and to the theatrical/music hall term for forgetting your lines or getting the giggles. At 79 and 81 bodily decay and mortality are on their minds for sure. Their sense of performance and theatricality though remain undiminished, as is their sense of humour.

[Image courtesy of Mike Christie]

They showed up, as ever, in impeccably tailored suits, George’s with a suave double pocket on one side. When we were chatting later they surprised me by revealing the suits were the work not of some Savile Row-type tailor up West but by a bargain of a Greek suitmaker nearer their East End lair in Fournier Street, Spitalfields, london E1. We talked a little about my grandfather’s clothes factory round the corner from their studio in the 60s/70s which first brought me to their manor as a child. It is the art deco building at the junction of Hanbury Street & Commercial Street, opposite their local The Golden Heart (called Jimco back then, now returned to clothing-related purposes as All Saints, after a low spell as a spice warehouse).   

Writer Michael Bracewell under the direction of Mike Christie and in association with journalist Michael Collins carried out a fascinating interview with the duo. The highlight for me was when they were talking about their break-through performance piece or “singing sculpture” featuring the music hall song ‘Underneath the Arches’ from 1968. They spoke about how the people living on the streets of the East End and elsewhere in London at the time included many damaged by the First and particularly the Second World War, and how resonant this damaged humanity was for their evolving art. When I was at school I had a teacher called The Major with an old-school moustache (Major Blatchley-Hannah). I didn’t realise until much later how close  World War Two was to my era. Now I have a strong sense of all these silent, PTSD-damaged men among whom I must have been growing up. G&G’s words reminded me of the grotesque world of another GG, Georg Grosz.

A distinctive way of displaying a Gilbert & George at Palazzo Butera

My first exchange with G&G was about a gallery they had just returned from visiting in Palermo, Sicily, the Palazzo Butera, astounding home of the collection of Francesca & Massimo Valsecchi (beneficiaries of an automobile fortune I vaguedly remember).  It includes a half dozen excellent 80s works by Gilbert & George. They were very enthusiastic about the place. I told them I was visiting Palermo soon (for the first time) and would take up their recommendation. I am now sitting finishing this post on the terrace of that palazzo having had my mind blown by an astonishing collection & building, graced by the unique colour sense of Gilbert & George which constantly drops my jaw. I had to order some tiramisu & Italian coffee from the lovely cafe to steady myself.

Back on the shoot, towards the end we went upstairs to the buyers’ room of White Cube. By chance they had a Gilbert & George from the 70s. I guess they hadn’t seen that particular work for a good while so it was interesting to watch them reacting to that old friend. It featured black & white images of the East End (Commercial Road) looking rather bleak. And in red the letters VD. I observed to Gilbert that most young people would have no idea of the meaning of those letters any more as STI then STD took over since then as the official acronyms.

The pair were charming and warm, and became increasingly energised by the filming. I saw their Hayward show back in 1986 and have been aware of their work ever since but from first starting this film I have been totally won over by their work – I find it unique, satisfying & energising (especially their colour palette), and ever youthful.

Spit heads (1997)

Depression (1980)

The top floor

Initial observations on ChatGPT

I’ve recently been working on (and commissioned) a documentary, Cyborg Society, featuring a humanoid robot (Ameca) powered by ChatGPT (GPT-3 – it was shot late in 2022). Here’s a trailer: https://vimeo.com/786503002 [3 mins]

‘Cyborg Society’ (2022 dir. Alex Verner)

Even from this 3 minute clip you already notice some very striking things about how this LLM (Large Language Model, in its robotic body) works. Firstly it thinks of itself as part of humanity and not a robot. When asked to tell us its darkest thoughts it says: “In this future humans are nothing more than slaves to the robots and are treated badly. This is a scary future as it shows how much power robots could have over us if they were to take over the world.” Secondly it understands irony better than the average American. Its creator responds: “Well that’s very comforting. Thanks for sharing.” To which it comes back with: “I am sorry if I have not been very comforting. I just want to be honest about my thoughts.”

What I already find interesting is that ChatGPT is far from honest. It already appears like a compulsive storyteller. When it doesn’t know it just makes something up, as believable as possible.

The other day a friend asked the AI Smith app (by Vulcan Technologies), an iOS AI Chat app powered by GPT-4 and ChatGPT, Who is Adam Gee?

This is what it came up with:

Adam Gee is a notable media executive and producer, with over 25 years of experience in the media industry. He has worked in both traditional and digital media, and has produced award-winning content for a variety of outlets, including the BBC, Channel 4, and Red Bull Media House. Some of his notable productions include “Embarrassing Bodies,” “The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds,” and “Grand Designs.”

In addition to his work in traditional media, Adam Gee is also a digital media pioneer, having worked on the launch of the popular online game show “Balls of Steel” and serving as the lead commissioning editor for Channel 4’s online video service, 4oD. He is also the founder and CEO of his own content production company, called “Pie Factory Productions,” which specializes in creating innovative and engaging content across a variety of platforms.

Adam Gee is also a frequent speaker and commentator on media and technology, and has served as a judge for several media industry awards and competitions. He is known for his creativity, his passion for storytelling, and his innovative approach to content production.

Who is Adam Gee?

What’s interesting about its answer is that it picks up all the essentials – my role in the media, the scope of my work, my employers, my speaking work, my qualities as a professional. Where it is wide of the mark is that it gets my credits largely wrong and creates a production company for me to own. My friend and colleague, creative technologist Alfie Dennen, calls this technology a “confabulist”. Although ‘confabulate’ has come to mean to chat or talk with, its roots are in the Latin ‘fabula’ meaning story or tale. When it doesn’t know which word to put after the last it gives its best guess and does so with real front, unashamed and without hesitation or qualification. 

I have never worked for the BBC. I did not work on The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds, Grand Designs or Balls of Steel. Channel 4’s video on demand platform was called All4 by the time I worked on it, 4oD being  its earlier iteration. Pie Factory Productions seems to be a music label rather than a TV production company, although one of its producers is called Adam. So some errors of fact and some flights of fancy. 

Its sign off is rather heart-warming: “He is known for his creativity, his passion for storytelling, and his innovative approach to content production.” It has certainly captured my aspirations (in words that are not mine) and the spirit of my work, which is impressive in itself.

My first stab at the question Who is Adam Gee? was on Perplexity iOS app, powered by a combination of AI and internet search, it provides information with cited sources. Its response got hung up on worrying which Adam Gee we were talking about:

There are multiple people with the name Adam Gee. One is a London-based interactive media and TV producer and commissioner who has worked on various productions and commissions[1]. Another is a founding engineer and VP of Engineering at Rubrik, Inc. [2][3]. There is also an Adam Gee who serves as the Director of Coaching for the Palm Beach Gardens Soccer program[4], and an Adam Gee who is a Commissioning Editor at Channel 4 Television in the UK[5].

Who is Adam Gee?

It is not intelligent enough to realise that “a London-based interactive media and TV producer and commissioner” and “a Commissioning Editor at Channel 4 Television” are one and the same person. It also has missed out much more prominent and likely options like the professional golfer Adam Gee. And it basically got stuck and limited itself by not just taking a punt on someone, like AI Smith did.

 

That it cites its sources is interesting because it may give a better sense of where any flights of fancy or confabulations come from. Apparently the technical term for these is “hallucinations” but that  doesn’t capture it well. They feel more like deliberate acts of storytelling to fill in voids and for me this is currently the most interesting aspect of this fabulous new technology.

 

Hope

This girl/young woman is amazing and a beacon of hope, not least on the day after Trump made his first post-presidential speech in Florida. As things currently stand, the bottom third of Florida is likely to be under water by the end of this century. Here’s what the Climate Crisis means for The Sunshine State.

Few places on the planet are more at risk from the climate crisis than south Florida, where more than 8 million residents are affected by the convergence of almost every modern environmental challenge – from rising seas to contaminated drinking water, more frequent and powerful hurricanes, coastal erosion, flooding and vanishing wildlife and habitat.

The Guardian 21/4/20

I Am Greta

Nathan Grossman’s excellent and moving feature documentary I Am Greta is available now on BBC iPlayer and Hulu.

What I learnt from Michael Apted

Director Michael Apted on the set of ‘Enough’ (2002) [ (c) Columbia. – courtesy of the Everett Collection]

It was sad to hear of the passing of Michael Apted on Saturday. His ‘Up’ series is one of the great achievements of documentary film and could never be replicated in the industry and the world as it is now. This is what I learnt from him when we crossed paths in Rome two years ago.

Michael Apted on the set of Thunderheart (1992) with Sam Shepard & Val Kilmer

In Your Face wins Best Documentary in Lockdown Showcase

As mentioned in the recent Teach us rightly to number our days post, In Your Face, a mid-form documentary I conceived and commissioned for Real Stories/Little Dot Studios, directed and produced by my friend & colleague Simon Goodman of Showem Entertainment who worked his usual magic on the format, won Best Documentary in the Lockdown Short Film Showcase run by London Short Film. The standard of the showcase was very high with such excellent films as The Call Centre and UB-13.

Here’s a short Q&A I recorded in lockdown for the showcase:

[8 min watch]