Experience Matters: Creating Generative AI Training for Seasoned Production Crew
When we were recently approached to develop a Generative AI training course for our existing clients, we realised the importance of integrating AI skills with the existing expertise of their staff. Here’s our story.
We founded Fatbars in 2001, customising post-production training for international broadcasters and facilities like CNN, RTHK, SCMP, and China Daily. As post-production tools and workflows evolve, each facility has unique needs and limited time for upgrading their in house staff. Producers, editors, and designers within these companies already understand their brand deeply. By updating their skills, they gain efficiency and enhance productivity with newer tools.
Control Over Content
Generative AI services like MidJourney or RunwayML are powerful but pose copyright risks for broadcasters. These services require uploading content to external servers, which can be problematic for proprietary or sensitive materials. Running generative AI processes locally, such as with Stable Diffusion, offers a viable alternative for broadcasters seeking to maintain control over their assets. By processing data and generating content locally, broadcasters can mitigate the risk of unauthorised access and maintain greater control over their data.
Local processing also provides content creators with the flexibility to tailor AI algorithms to better suit their needs. For instance, training custom models like LORA ensures that generated outputs align closely with the brand’s aesthetic and standards. This level of control is crucial in protecting intellectual property.
Delivering the Right Message
While “a picture is worth a thousand words,” a flood of AI-generated images can often lack the intended message. If your content is not directed at a real human audience, then AI-generated images with extra hands and distorted limbs might be acceptable. Generating stills and movies are powerful tool in the realm of creative content generation. It is essential to recognise that these tools, while potent, are just that—tools. Delivering the correct message is better done by people who know your company and its audience well. It is more than just putting media together; it’s about designing with intention.
Learning and Adapting
The training class included experienced editors and designers.Many of whom had tried tools like Adobe Firefly and MidJourney but were unsure how to apply them in their daily work. Text Prompting can be a daunting task when English is not your first language. Generating titles in different languages, bumpers, 360-degree backgrounds for chroma key, and upscaling generative images good enough for print, are just some of the essential workflow covered in this training.
Conclusion
It would be naive to ignore the fear of losing creative jobs to generative AI. The AI wave is unstoppable. It will disrupt and evolve our workflows. Creatives can learn to ride this wave and use its power to increase the rate of iterations, concept generation, brainstorming and push the boundaries of what’s possible in content creation. Together, creatives and their new tools can achieve something truly epic.
PS : The header image’s photo is from www.pexels.com/@ron-lach. Robot generated from leonardo.ai. Combined using Affinity Photo by human me.
Want to know more about this training? Please contact us at training@fatbars.org