Your Voice Is Still There: Thoughts on AI, A24 & Google
The recent partnership between A24 and Google has sparked a lot of discussion online. Some filmmakers see it as an exciting opportunity, while others see it as the beginning of the end. Personally, I don’t think it’s either. AI has already been part of filmmaking for years. Long before ChatGPT, editors, sound designers, and VFX artists were using AI powered tools to clean dialogue, remove background noise, create masks, track objects, transcribe footage, and speed up technical work in post production. Those tools never replaced filmmakers. They simply helped us work more efficiently. That’s where I think AI is at its best.
One of my favorite ways to use AI is to challenge my own ideas. I’ll ask if a title already exists, whether a concept feels too close to another film, or how I can make an idea feel more original. I’ll even use it to test whether a story is communicating the purpose I intended.
It doesn’t create my voice. It helps me find it.
My perspective, my purpose, and the emotional core of the story are still mine. AI just helps me refine them. Of course, generative AI brings up important conversations about copyright, ethics, and protecting artists. I’ve also heard filmmakers argue that AI could take away from the many artists whose voices come together to make a film or reduce creative opportunities. Those concerns are real, and I don’t think they should be dismissed.
At the same time, I think it’s worth looking at the other side. Many independent filmmakers don’t have the budget to hire a full team. They’re working after their day jobs with limited time and resources. In those situations, AI isn’t always replacing someone’s job. Sometimes it’s helping a project exist that otherwise never would.
The A24 partnership also makes sense from a business perspective. More investment gives them greater opportunities to develop, market, and acquire films. If that leads to more independent movies reaching theaters and more filmmakers having their work discovered, I think that’s something worth being optimistic about.
Technology has always changed filmmaking, but audiences have always connected with great stories. At the end of the day, your perspective and your purpose are still the most valuable parts of the process. AI can’t replace why you’re telling a story or what you’re trying to say.
As a filmmaker at 19 ENT, that’s the mindset I’ll continue bringing into every project I create. It’s the same approach I try to bring to projects like BoxTrip and our television pilot Street Food. Technology will continue to evolve, but my goal is to use it to strengthen the story without losing the voice and purpose behind why I wanted to tell it in the first place
July 1 2026