Intelligent creation: every third creative project in the Russian Federation is created with the help of AI

The share of neural networks in creative work doubled over the year and amounted to 30% - every third creative project in Russia is created using artificial intelligence. For example, the series "Svoi" on Channel 5 was completed with its help, STS produced "Sidorovykh" based on an AI script, Channel One in a special edition of "The Voice. Kids are Fantastic" will show digital versions of cartoon characters who will sing along with real performers, and the book service "Stroki" is already using neuroscience to create live book covers. According to experts, in the perspective of five years, AI integration into creative processes will become a standard action, but the key will always remain human talent and a unique view of the world.

AI in TV projects

In Russia, the share of artificial intelligence application in the creative sphere has doubled over the year and amounted to 30%, this trend will continue, Dmitry Solopov, President of PROGRESS Communications Group, told Izvestia. However, according to him, AI replaces humans in a limited format, saving employees' time and allowing them to focus on more creative and strategic aspects.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

- AI is still unable to reproduce the complex emotional, cultural and social contexts that are the basis of creative decisions. We can be sure that professions related to the creation of quality content will remain in demand, and perhaps even more so than before," he believes.

AI technologies have become particularly widespread in Russia in the creation of promos, sound effects, and television shows. The National Media Group (NMG) said that in 2023, for the first time, they used neural networks to create a non-standard promo campaign for the Scarlet Sails graduation show. Neural networks were used to create seven promo videos and a broadcast splash screen. In total, work on the project took only two months - from writing scripts and tasks for the AI to receiving the finished product, they said.

In addition, artificial intelligence technology is used in movies and TV series - it is used to clean up speech and do pre-voicing.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Sergey Pyatakov

- Robot Werther in the recent movie "100 Years Ago" was voiced by Fyodor Bondarchuk, but some phrases were created with the help of speech synthesis technology based on modern AI-solutions, - said in NMG.

They noted that the model of speech synthesis was developed, which allowed to change the characteristics of the voice, affect intonation, break the rhythmic pattern of speech, create unnatural but typical for the robot effects. At the same time managed to preserve the original and recognizable timbre of Fyodor Bondarchuk's voice.

The work of writing scripts with the help of artificial intelligence is much more difficult than doozvuchka. Earlier, STS announced the creation of the first Russian TV series, created by the script of neural network called "Sidorovy". The AI was trained on the example of STS comedy shows ("Rodcom", "Voroniny", "Dyldy", "The Eighties", "The Oligarch's Wife", etc.). As a result, an algorithm was set, as close as possible to writing a movie script, NMG added.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

- Neural network learned to independently generate the main structural elements of the script: time and place of action, names of characters, replicas, remarks and other components. This allowed STS to completely abandon scriptwriters in the crew. But the final tweaking of the script was done by humans. It is considered the most difficult task for an AI to integrate humor into its product. Humor is present in this series, but it was finalized by a human," the company explained.

As Svetlana Balanova, General Director of NMG, noted at the annual conference of the National Advertising Alliance at the end of October, AI is just a technology that cannot yet produce any miracles, but it can coordinately accelerate and simplify work in very many cases.

How AI will be developed in Russia

Artificial intelligence is already actively helping employees in the creative sphere to realize ideas faster and with higher quality, according to Victoria Zagitova, Chief Operating Officer of Breaking Trends. In her opinion, AI is not a replacement, but a tool that empowers creators, making routine tasks easier and giving more time to develop ideas.

- Of course, there are concerns that some roles may change or disappear, but I believe that technology will open up new directions and create opportunities for those who are ready for change," she said.

A still from the TV series "Mukhtar."

Photo: Studio 2B

According to her, in the perspective of five years, the integration of AI into creative processes will become a standard action, but the key will always remain human talent and a unique view of the world.

Gazprom-Media Holding said that they also actively use AI technologies to optimize processes and improve efficiency. With the help of artificial intelligence, NTV restored about a thousand hours of airtime of the popular series about Mukhtar in HD quality and with better sound, the first season of which was filmed 20 years ago.

- As for TNT, over the past year and a half, artificial intelligence and neural networks have become almost full-fledged employees of the channel, who work on various projects, - said in the press service of the holding.

As an example, they cited the sports show "Titans", where AI has become not only the host of the show, but also its author, who invented the most difficult challenges for strength and endurance. Sometimes even Olympic champions could not pass them, Gazprom-Media Holding noted.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Vladimir Pesnya

Today, digital mind technologies are used not only in the creation of shows and movie soundtracks, but also for the animation of book covers. According to Anastasia Troyan, head of the Stroki book service, the company uses AI to create animation of book covers and illustrations in such books as "Tales of Sorrow and Joy" and "Skills. What I Can and What I'm Learning." They also use AI in development - for example, in creating a chatbot for the launch of the children's book "Lesovitchki. In the footsteps of the Blue Heron", which processes users' photos. In addition, inside the service books are presented in the multimedia format EPUB 3, in which audio fragments are integrated inside the text of the e-book, making reading more interactive.

It is absolutely certain that in the near future the issue of protection of generative AI results will be solved at the legislative level all over the world; in Russia this discussion is already underway, Alexey Byrdin, head of the Internet Video Association, told Izvestia. According to him, AI will be used very widely in the future.