The world’s first fully AI-generated movie has been announced with the trailer for Next Stop Paris predictably containing one too many fingers.
TCLtv+ Studios is a brand new production team and its first release will be a short AI-generated romcom featuring professional voice actors and an original script but the imagery will be generated with AI tools.
The studio is a brand of TCL ( which stands for Technology Group Corp.), a partially state-owned Chinese company that predominantly sells consumer electronics including televisions, mobile phones, air conditioners, and more.
Next Stop Paris appears to be a romantic story between a woman called Claire who meets a man while on a train to the City of Light and is described as an “AI-powered love story.” It will debut this summer.
“Story will be at the heart of everything we do,” says Chris Regina, Chief Content Officer at TCL. “We are empowering creators and storytellers to use this new technology so the human experience is enriched, and we believe that Creatives with limitless imagination will drive endless innovation. We view Next Stop Paris as an early experiment and we’re excited to see how it’s received in the town square.”
The special feature film has been animated by artists from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Poland. Accoding to Light Reading, the creative team used Stable Diffusion to make custom AI models for the movie.
“The AI technology used to create these characters and fictional world allows the creative teams to push boundaries and invigorate the viewer experience, while also creating new opportunities for marketing partners,” writes TCL in a press release.
“The push into originals helps drive a market advantage in a noisy environment filled with content options, and the IP has many applications across the platform from interactive components to sponsorable elements and more.
“TCL is well positioned to take advantage of this cutting-edge technology and is exploring content development in all formats with several series and specials in the development pipeline.”
Will Anyone Want to Watch?
While this may be the first AI-generated film, it will not be the last. The question is if the genre will be a hit with viewers. Kotaku went with the headline “First AI-Generated Romance Film Looks Like S***.”
“The trailer for Next Stop Paris is embarrassingly bad,” writes the publication. “I can’t imagine looking at this thing and going ‘Yeah, upload that to YouTube and keep spending money on it!’