Netflix buys Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking company InterPositive

Netflix connected Thursday greeting said it is acquiring InterPositive, a filmmaking exertion institution founded successful 2022 by histrion Ben Affleck.

The acquisition aligns with Netflix’s attack to the usage of generative AI successful filmmaking: The institution has already used generative AI for peculiar effects successful immoderate archetypal content, and has assured investors that it is “very good positioned to efficaciously leverage ongoing advances successful AI.”

Affleck wrote successful a connection that helium began reasoning astir however AI would interaction the aboriginal of filmmaking successful 2022. He says helium wanted to “preserve what makes quality storytelling human, which is judgement,” and sought to “protect the powerfulness of quality creativity.”

InterPositive isn’t trying to marque AI actors oregon synthetic performances. Rather, the institution has created a exemplary that helps accumulation teams enactment with footage from their ain productions to assistance marque edits successful post-production, similar addressing continuity issues, making lightning adjustments, oregon enhancements to the environment.

“Intensive probe and improvement led to our archetypal model, trained to recognize ocular logic and editorial consistency, portion preserving cinematic rules nether real-world accumulation challenges specified arsenic missing shots, inheritance replacements oregon incorrect lighting,” Affleck wrote.

“We besides built successful restraints to support originative intent, truthful the tools are designed for liable exploration portion keeping originative decisions successful the hands of artists — and ensuring that the benefits of this exertion travel straight backmost to the communicative they’re trying to tell.”

Affleck is joining Netflix arsenic a elder advisor arsenic portion of the deal. Financial presumption of the woody were not disclosed.

“Our attack to AI has ever been focused connected meaningfully serving the needs of the originative assemblage and our members,” Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s main merchandise and exertion officer, said successful a statement. “The InterPositive squad is joining Netflix due to the fact that of our shared content that innovation should empower storytellers, not regenerate them.”