Editor's note: Artificial intelligence is reshaping a broad range of industries, including the film industry. During the 16th Beijing International Film Festival, various insiders of AI, the film industry and scholars shared their insights on AI's role in filmmaking and how professionals should respond to the trend of AI. Below are excerpts from their comments as reported by Xinhua News Agency. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

AI can assist film producers in collecting and summarizing data and information. It can also help film directors visualize, while also assisting them in character design and casting.

Large AI models are able to create B-roll footage and scenes featuring animals. Footage that once took a week and cost hundreds of thousands of yuan to shoot can now be produced efficiently at low cost.

Currently, films that have powerful visual effects, such as The Wandering Earth 3, still rely on motion capture and modeling for previsualization of action and performance, as AI is as yet unable to achieve the same results. The smaller the screen, the wider the application of AI. The larger the screen, the more limited its application becomes.

AI technology is applied to only part of the production process of theatrical films, and has not yet been used to generate all the scenes in them. In AI-generated scenes, rendering human skin texture and subtle facial expressions remains a challenge.

The iteration of generative AI has drastically changed the underlying logic of audio-visual content creation. The production pattern of movies and television shows is shifting from one that features a clear division of labor and collaboration of multiple sectors to one that is highly creative, agile and involves human-machine cooperation.

AI technology is able to combine different kinds of media. Its "real-time generation" capability has greatly enhanced the interaction between products and their users, blurring the boundaries between animated films, live-action films and video games, and boosting the integration of films and video games. This will give rise to new patterns of consumption.

Films need a dose of human warmth to strike an emotional chord with the audience. For example, films such as Dead to Rights and Her Story have won praise mainly because they showcase genuine emotions, making audiences shed tears or smile.

The memorable parts of many classic film scenes are actors' impromptu performances inspired by directors. Algorithms cannot replicate this aspect of movies.

In an era when more and more people have gained access to tools for audio-visual creation, filmmakers need to make greater efforts in polishing their products, including the way a story is told, the aesthetic quality of the film and the audio-visual experience it provides, so as to make watching films in cinemas an irreplaceable choice for the audience.