Just months after OpenAI launched its controversial text-to-video artificial intelligence tool Sora for the general paying public, the company is making its sales pitch directly to L.A.’s filmmakers and digital creators.
This week, the ChatGPT maker screened 11 short films made with Sora on the big screen at Brain Dead Studios, a movie theater on Fairfax Avenue. The event, called Sora Selects, aimed to showcase filmmakers using Sora while also marketing the technology. The company’s first such event was held in New York in January, followed by L.A. The next stop is Tokyo.
The movies shown on Wednesday featured various themes and AI-generated environments, including medieval times, dreams and sunsets — with scenes showing AI-produced humans, animals and landscapes.
“I’m most excited for people to walk away with a sense of, ‘Oh my God. These people are so creative. There’s so much that you can do with Sora,’” said Souki Mansoor, Sora artist program lead for OpenAI. “I hope that people go home and feel excited to play with it.”
Since Sora launched, creatives have used the tool to make music videos, animation, commercials and other projects. Some indie filmmakers praised Sora, saying it gives them the opportunity to test ideas without budget constraints. But there also has been controversy in Hollywood around how Sora and other AI tools could displace actors, special effects artists and other workers in the entertainment industry.
Last week, more than 400 Hollywood creatives, including Ben Stiller and Ava DuVernay, signed a letter asking the government to defend and uphold existing copyright laws when it comes to AI. The Writers Guild of America last year sent letters to studios encouraging them to take legal action against AI companies that have used writers’ work to train AI models without their permission.
Tech industry executives have said that they should be able to train AI models with content available online under the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for the limited reproduction of material without permission from the copyright holder.
In 2023, writers and actors went on strike to fight for more protections against AI in their contracts with major studios.
Filmmaker Ryan Turner, 35, said he navigated his own AI ethics while creating his film “Wi-Fi Kingdom” for Sora Selects. His film satirizes smartphone and tablet addiction by using AI-generated animals.
“I love working with actors, so I was like, ‘How do I stay authentic to who I am and make something that feels like it’s not threatening?’” said Turner, co-founder of L.A.-based Echobend Pictures.
Souki Mansoor, Sora artist program lead at OpenAI, speaks at the Open AI text-to-video tool Sora’s showcase “Sora Selects” at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles on March 19.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)
”Wi-Fi Kingdom” was the first time Turner had an AI film shown on a big screen to an audience of 160 people, who laughed along as his mockumentary showed a lioness annoyed with her partner for scrolling on his phone too much.
“This short [movie] is a note in my Notes app,” Turner said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, that would be funny,’ but instead, because of this tool, I can bring it to life.”
OpenAI said it’s pleased with the number of users who have signed on for Sora since its December launch but declined to share numbers.
“It was way more than we expected,” said Rohan Sahai, who leads Sora’s product team in an interview.
Sahai said at peak traffic, there are 10 Sora videos generated every second. The four top cities using Sora are all abroad — Seoul, Paris, Tokyo and Madrid, OpenAI said. New York ranks fifth.
People can access Sora with a ChatGPT+ or Pro subscription and Sahai said there is overlap with ChatGPT users. While there are plans to one day make a free version of Sora, it is not yet available.
AI companies have engaged in discussions with major studios about their technology, but few content-related deals have been announced, in part due to legal concerns and fears raised by talent.
Sahai said there’s “a ton of interest” from studios in Sora and that people in the industry use their personal accounts or get permission from their legal and IT teams to test it out.
“They have to get it legally approved and it’s touchy in terms of what they can use,” Sahai said. “Conversations have been happening for a while and we’ve been doing a couple of pilots with people who are interested and where we just want to get their feedback.”
Audience members said they were impressed with how far the technology has come. They were offered a month’s free access to Sora.
After watching the screenings, Universal Pictures film executive Holly Goline said she had many feelings — excited, skeptical and inspired but “mostly curious.”
“We’re here now, right?” Goline said. “Let’s go.”
