Sung Q Lee, Netflix's senior director of production for Asia-Pacific, said Saturday that the streamer has used AI on about 300 titles, speaking at the Busan International Film Festival.
Lee told an industry panel the tools show up in previsualization, production design, set-dressing concepts, editing and VFX. His test is not how much AI a title can hold. It is what more the title can do with AI's help.
The panel came from Netflix's annual Creative Asia event, which the festival partnered on and the Motion Picture Association co-hosted. Also on stage were Kang Yun-sung, director of The Outlaws and an enthusiastic adopter of AI tools, and Kimball Thurston, chief technology officer at Wētā FX.
Much of the talk focused on what AI could offer filmmakers working with limited budgets. Speakers repeatedly said human creative judgment has to stay. The event also showed a split: Hollywood's creative community is profoundly wary of the technology, while Asia's content sector mostly sees opportunity.
Last year Kang co-directed Run to the West with self-described AI filmmaker Kwon Han-seul. The film carried the label of Korea's first fully AI-assisted feature. It earned about $100,000 amid bad buzz over its AI visuals, and Kang remains undeterred about the technology's potential for screen storytelling.
He says AI moved so fast that his own film already looked somewhat dated when it came out.
Common questions
How many Netflix titles have used AI?
- Netflix has used AI on about 300 titles, according to Sung Q Lee, the streamer's senior director of production for Asia-Pacific. He said so Saturday at the Busan International Film Festival, speaking to an industry panel. The panel was part of Netflix's annual Creative Asia event, which the festival partnered on and the Motion Picture Association co-hosted.
Where does Netflix use AI in making its shows and movies?
- Netflix uses AI in previsualization, production design, set-dressing concepts, editing and VFX, according to Sung Q Lee. He told a panel at the Busan International Film Festival about those uses. The panel also included Kang Yun-sung, director of The Outlaws, and Kimball Thurston, chief technology officer at Wētā FX.
What did Netflix say about AI and the human touch?
- A Netflix executive said the "human touch is critical" even as the company uses AI on about 300 titles. Sung Q Lee spoke at the Busan International Film Festival on Saturday. His test is what more a title can do with AI's help, not how much AI it holds.
