The Nugget
- Washed Out releases first major music video created with OpenAI's AI-powered Sora text-to-video technology, marking a pioneering collaboration that could signal a groundbreaking trend in video production by enabling more expansive storytelling unconstrained by budget limitations.
Make it stick
- 🎵 Washed Out's "The Hardest Part" is the first major AI-generated music video using OpenAI's Sora
- 🤖 AI allowed director Paul Trillo to explore alternate storylines without budget/location limits
- 💸 Music videos are a logical medium to experiment with AI due to shorter length and lower costs
- 🎥 AI is seen as a tool to push music video art forward, not replace traditional methods
Key insights
First major AI music video collaboration
- Washed Out (Ernest Greene) worked with director Paul Trillo to create "The Hardest Part" music video using OpenAI's Sora text-to-video AI technology.
- It's the first collaboration between a major music artist and filmmaker on an AI-generated music video, according to Washed Out's label Sub Pop.
AI enabling expansive storytelling
- Sora allowed Trillo to speedily create scenes that would have been far more expensive with real actors, sets and locations.
- He explored various outcomes of the couple's life across multiple locations by generating elaborate text prompts, completing the 4-minute video in about 6 weeks.
Limitations and relinquishing some control
- Sora sometimes created chaotic, unusable clips with inconsistencies between scenes.
- Trillo had to "pick his battles" and accept the chaotic nature, relinquishing some creative control.
- The video's dreamlike quality matches the haziness of human memory the song explores.
AI as a tool to expand possibilities
- Music videos are a logical medium to experiment with AI due to shorter length and lower budgets compared to films/TV.
- AI is seen as enabling artists to "dream bigger" and push the art form forward as another creative tool, not a replacement for traditional methods.
Key quotes
- "I think where we are now — that's about to explode, and so I look forward to being able to incorporate some of this brand-new technology and seeing how that informs what I can come up with. So, if that's pioneering, I would love to be part of that." - Ernest Greene, Washed Out
- "A lot of music videos just don't have the budgets to really dream big. I think AI can help the music industry in terms of creating things that even Ernest could dream of that maybe he wouldn't have dared to dream before." - Paul Trillo, director
This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.