Because creating a story is never about being the audience. It’s not about making something, watching it back, seeing how you react and remaking.

It’s not about prompting.

Nothing in that process of watching back guides you in creating a different meaning. You are judging the finished product.

The surface.

Creating means thinking deeply about what you want to express. Then you take the elements at your disposal to express that as a narrative.

In your process, you work with:

- What the actor might say (if it’s drama)
- How you might light it
- The size of the frame
- How you move the camera
- What you discover in the moment, with the actors, about the deeper meaning of the idea
- Which affects their inflection, movement, and micro-expressions

And, of course, the contributions of every other human being in the team, with their unique life experiences and talents.

What AI does for new filmmakers is that it de-trains them. It teaches them to use the result as a guide to your next step.

(If you’ve ever been in an edit and heard the phrase “I’ll know it when I see it” you might have experienced that heart-sinking phrase.)

Of course there are many filmmakers who engage in the process of creation.

But I’ve seen — in my LinkedIn feed — examples from film schools and directors of imagery that is praised for its creativity. What it is, for me, is quite obviously copying a thousand styles that have evolved out of some sort of struggle.

The ones that do work come from people who have worked in the real world for a long time and are filtering what they see through their years of experience.

But so much of it is meaningless.

Just my opinion, but I feel it when I watch AI creations.

However proud they are of their achievements, I think the makers of these tools must know.

It takes me back to Apple, when they developed the iPad.

I remember Steve Jobs saying he would never let his kids use tablets as children, not stating directly that they were harmful, but not afraid to talk about his choices, while at the same time pushing them out into the world.

The people creating this stuff must know the harm it's causing...?

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