Our capacity for wonder is diminishing. Since OpenAI opened up ChatGPT to the public on November 30, 2022, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not surprised us with the power in our hands. Before that date they seemed impossible. Today, nearly four years later, adoption of AI is widespread in the most developed countries, and the benefits of large language models rival the capabilities we’ve seen countless times in science fiction.
The film industry is not far away from this technology. Production companies are using AI to write, create scripts StoryboardCreate conceptual images, create visual effects, dub voices, write subtitles… all these processes are important in making a film, but AI can now go further. In fact, Elon Musk promised in July this year that Grok Imagine will have a feature film based on Homer’s epic ‘The Odyssey’, ready before the end of 2026.
The xAI leader’s initiative comes in response to public criticism of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’, released in Spanish cinemas on July 17. Elon Musk did not like this movie at all. “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity,” he said at X. “Chris Nolan has desecrated The Odyssey to deserve an Oscar,” he concluded on the same social network a few months later. However, he did not limit himself to giving visibility to his criticism. With this promise he closed his discussion
We already have the first seven minutes
Three months after Elon Musk made his promise, we already have the first images of his version of ‘The Odyssey’. It’s just a 7-minute video that takes us all the way through the prelude to the adventure starring Ulysses, as the first chapter. It was created using Grok Imagine, xAI’s image and video generation tool, under the direction of production company Wonder Studios and Deb Walker, a filmmaker associated with audiovisual production using AI.
A good film does not depend only on realistic images and bombastic compositions.
As expected, the reaction to the release of this video on X is mixed. Some praise its photorealism, while others criticize its cinematic quality. There is no doubt about that, and the reality of the image is impressive in many moments The atmosphere is quite complete. However, it is clear that a good film does not depend only on realistic images and bombastic compositions. It’s unfair to judge this production by just the first seven minutes, but this preview gives us a pretty good idea of what we can expect from Elon Musk’s ‘The Odyssey’.
It remains to be seen whether the AI-generated characters’ “performances” are believable in moments that require expression and emotion. And if the narrative rhythm has the power we might expect from an epic production. In any case, whatever the quality of this version of ‘The Odyssey’ in the end, there is no doubt that AI is a very powerful tool that in the hands of an experienced film director and creative team can give us a very satisfying experience in the future. we will see
For now we will wait and see what can they do Deb Walker and the team at Wonder Studios, and if they really, as promised by Elon Musk, do justice to Homer’s work.
Picture | Grok Imagine
More information Grok Imagine
In Xataka | You’re not going to see ‘The Odyssey’ but a warped version of ‘The Odyssey’: Christopher Nolan did it on purpose.
