The Future of Content Creation

The future of filmmaking is looking brighter and greener! Cutting-edge technologies like virtual production and generative artificial intelligence have the potential to pave the way for more sustainable practices. To thrive as a content creator, it's important to explore these new technologies to understand how they can be leveraged sustainably. 

What is virtual production?  Virtual Production blends traditional movie-making techniques with digital innovations like LED screens and  real-time game engines like Unreal Engine to create photorealistic environments. Virtual production is changing the way many films are being made, greatly expanding the creative possibility for content creators.

Virtual production may be an option for greener production, potentially reducing carbon emissions by 20-50% when compared with traditional filmmaking practices. Virtual production provides creators with the opportunity to shoot in a virtual studio, reducing or eliminating the need for travel, generator use, and other big carbon contributors like building sets.

According to a lifecycle analysis of virtual production by UCLA’s Institute of  the Environment and Sustainability, virtual production reduced CO2 emissions compared to traditional filming methods across the board, with reductions ranging from 1141 kilograms of CO2 per minute all the way up to 20,783.5 kilograms in tested scenarios. Virtual production is becoming more sophisticated and accessible, even for low budget producers, meaning that even low budget productions can access complex visuals that were previously impossible.

Virtual production is not carbon-free, but cost savings such as travel time, crew costs and equipment costs, can result in significant carbon savings as well.

Whether generative artificial intelligence systems will ultimately be good or bad for the creative industries is still up for debate. The sustainability of this new technology is also unclear. Would it surprise you to hear that writing and illustrating using AI systems may actually be greener (Nature.com)? GAI applications may reduce the time needed to make content, thereby reducing emissions.

At the same time, when AI is scaled up to the societal level, it can become a significant carbon emissions source due because of the incredible amounts of energy needed to run them.

Regardless of the environmental impacts, it’s clear that artificial intelligence is going to become more integrated into content creation. Producers and creators who opt to use AI should consider and measure the emissions from render farms & data centres to get an accurate carbon footprint. You can also keep yourself informed and advocate for responsible and sustainable AI use and regulation whenever possible.