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Exploring Cutting-Edge Production Technology Beyond AI

08/11/2023
Adtech
London, UK
363
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LBB asks production experts Sergio Lopez Ferrero, Pat Murphy, Ivan Mason, and Anthony Barry about the technology that’s helping them solve modern production challenges today

Sure, AI is on everyone’s lips but it’s not the be-all and end-all of production technology. In fact, all great production teams will always have a whole arsenal of cutting-edge production tools and technologies at their disposal. That’s why in this feature - the latest instalment in a series sponsored by Remote Filming - LBB asked production’s leading experts about the technology beyond AI they use that’s helping them solve production challenges. 

Anthony Barry, co-founder of Remote Filming says: “In the past 12 months, AI has dominated headlines in production and elsewhere but anyone working in this industry knows that it takes more than one tool to address the fast-paced production environment. By letting AI dominate the conversation, we’re obscuring the range of tech and experts needed to stay ahead of market demands. That’s why I’m so pleased to be hearing from leading voices in production on what kind of tools they’re working with on a daily basis.”

What exactly is aiding them and their teams to produce ads and content today? We asked them to get granular and to give us a closer look at the hardware and software that’s aiding (or causing issues) in production today. We think it’s time for AI to stop dominating production-focused headlines - will we be proven wrong?


Sergio Lopez Ferrero, global CEO, Publicis Production 

In this brave new world of production, our focus is on harnessing technology to not only elevate creativity and breathe new life into ideas but also to achieve scale and agility to drive deeper engagement. We believe that technology is essential at every stage of the production process. It’s for this reason that our strategic partnerships with Open AI, Adobe, Snap Inc., Meta, and Storyteq play an important role in this process. As avid users and connectors, we leverage their expertise to amplify our capabilities.

AI, though an impressive tool, is just one element of the tech landscape. There are so many other tools at our disposal. We deploy technology in various ways, making sure that our processes are tailored to suit the unique demands of our clients and the project at hand. 

Consider content production: We have virtual studios equipped with high-resolution LED screens and dynamic 3D backgrounds that seamlessly replace traditional green screens. The result? A visual experience that pushes boundaries and blurs the lines between reality and imagination. AR and motion capture also elevate our creative capabilities, giving us the means to craft content that captivates and inspires. Our partnership with Snap Inc. cements our commitment to AR/VR, highlighting our dedication to pushing the boundaries of creativity.

When it comes to versioning, we leverage automation and 3D rendering. These tools are the backbone of our ability to generate content at scale, ensuring that no idea is too ambitious.
 
We also recently launched PX, the first all-in-one content supply chain management platform that is enhancing the way we work by connecting disparate systems and automating tasks. This new and innovative platform represents a giant step in our ongoing efforts to streamline operations and better serve our clients using state-of-the-art tech.

With these tools at our disposal, we're not just keeping pace with the industry; we're setting new standards, forging ahead into a future where creativity knows no bounds.


Pat Murphy, founder and CEO, MCA

AI is already playing a significant role in advertising production to streamline processes and using generative AI for concept work and even 3D backgrounds for virtual studios. 

So what’s next? Well think about that, we weren't even talking about AI one year ago so it's difficult to predict but one of the wonderful things about talking to such great guests on my podcast is getting their perspective on what's round the corner. 

Technologies for even more hyper-personalization will enable advertisers to create video assets that are tailored to the individual viewer incorporating real-time data about the viewer's preferences, location, and other factors to make the content more relevant and engaging.

AI-driven video editing tools will continue to evolve, allowing for quicker and more efficient post-production processes. These tools can automatically select the best shots, add effects, and fine-tune the pacing of an advertisement.

AI can already be used to analyse and predict the performance of various video assets before they are even produced. Advertisers can use these insights to optimise their creative strategies.

I talked to Nick Dodet of PIG China about the use of blockchain for authenticity and attribution: blockchain technology may be used to ensure the authenticity and ownership of video assets. This is important in the context of intellectual property rights and attribution.

What is clear though, is that no one is an expert on AI although they may claim to be. The power will be in the combination of different technologies together, plus of course a differentiator. Rishad Tobaccowala said on my podcast last week, "Every company, every production house, every client and every brand will have access to exactly the same technology, and then what will become the difference is basically the storytelling, the craft, the talent and what you do with it."


Ivan Mason, chief strategy officer, Hogarth

The AI revolution is amazing – we can already see that it will enable us to generate copy and imagery at a scale and speed like never before.  However, while incredible, it is clearly only part of the solution. 

We believe there will always be a need to capture content, with real actors, and fortunately this is also an area in which we are seeing strong technology innovation through Virtual Production, which blends traditional filmmaking with new and emerging technologies, including real-time game engines (e.g. Unreal), Realtime camera tracking (e.g. Startracker), graphics mapping, playback servers and live onset compositing  (e.g. Disguise), and of course LED Panels (e.g. Alfalite), these work seamlessly together to allow filmmakers to visualise and capture complex scenes more efficiently while maintaining a high level of creative control. 

And of course, around this also sits a set of skills and technology which supports the development of the environments and elements used in the virtual production, everything from lidar scanning and photogrammetry, to Realtime artists leveraging an enormous library of virtual assets that, when combined, allow for the creating of photoreal environments at a speed never before possible.

And then looking specifically at the world of 3D content creation, we are very excited about our partnership with NVIDIA and in particular their Omniverse platform. Not only will it help us create realistic simulations of anything we can imagine, but it will also revolutionise the way we create, engineer, and visualise environments. At its heart Omniverse is a collaborative simulation and design platform that allows our teams to create and share virtual worlds, unifying the fragmented and complex 3D content creation tools through an interchangeable USD format. It will drive real-time collaboration and development of end-to-end pipelines.

The great thing with our Nvidia partnership, is that it will not look to replace but rather work hand-in-glove with AI partners. Using responsibly trained generative AI tools and content, from the likes of Adobe, Getty, and Shutterstock, to allow creative teams to collaborate in the creation and rendering of large volumes of brand-accurate 2D images, videos, and even publish interactive 3D product configurators.


Anthony Barry, co-founder, Remote Filming

Integrating new technologies in film production with each other is a challenge at the best of times. So much more so when those technologies advance and metamorphose almost every day. For Remote Filming, it means we must keep ahead of the technology game and ensure that our streaming system works alongside all new and emerging creative and production technologies. Remote Filming’s system remains simple to install and easy to operate for all stages of production so there’s no need for any production of any size to compromise on the imperative to reduce their carbon footprints by streaming to remote viewers and collaborators.


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