AI Empowers Film Industrialization: Alibaba Entertainment Group's Shenli Nishang Enhances Content Creation

AI Empowers Film Industrialization: Alibaba Entertainment Group's Shenli Nishang Enhances Content Creation"The mutual pursuit between technologists and content creators has resulted in a continuous increase in AI penetration across all stages of film-level content creation." At the second Beijing Internet Audiovisual Art Conference, themed "Technology Empowers Content," Zheng Yong, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Entertainment Group, introduced how the deep integration of AI with specialized knowledge in the film industry is accelerating the bridging of the "last mile" in film industrialization

AI Empowers Film Industrialization: Alibaba Entertainment Group's Shenli Nishang Enhances Content Creation

"The mutual pursuit between technologists and content creators has resulted in a continuous increase in AI penetration across all stages of film-level content creation." At the second Beijing Internet Audiovisual Art Conference, themed "Technology Empowers Content," Zheng Yong, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Entertainment Group, introduced how the deep integration of AI with specialized knowledge in the film industry is accelerating the bridging of the "last mile" in film industrialization. In the era of AIGC, the development of new application-level technologies in the film industry requires deep integration of technology and art. Only after countless rounds of communication and coordination on set can technology truly serve artistic creation flawlessly.

Alibaba Entertainment Group is actively exploring the use of AI to empower film content creation, aiming to leverage technology to break through the bottlenecks of film production, enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and unlock more possibilities for content creation. In June this year, Alibaba Entertainment Group launched "Shenli Nishang," the first AI vertical model specifically designed for film and television costume and styling design. The creation of this model is the result of the Alibaba Entertainment Group's technology team working closely with film creation teams, deeply understanding industry needs, and constantly refining technology.

Shenli Nishang: AI Assists Film Styling Design

A costume drama with more than 30 episodes typically requires over 200 sets of makeup and styling diagrams, with additional design iterations, totaling close to 1,000 sets. If these diagrams are hand-drawn by artists, each set would require several hours, which is undoubtedly a massive workload. To solve this challenge, Alibaba Entertainment Group's technology team immersed themselves in film crews, conducting extensive research on the needs of stylists on set, collecting a large amount of real-world cases and data, providing valuable material for training "Shenli Nishang."

During development, the technology team continuously iterated the model and engaged in repeated communication and testing with stylists, ultimately refining an AI model capable of accurately generating content. Zheng Yong shared that while the industry has previously attempted to utilize AI for design assistance, the image generation AI models available in the market have not been precise enough. For example, a character's hairstyle, armor, and clothing details like waistbands and skirts often deviate from the costume regulations of the era depicted. "Shenli Nishang," through its deep training on cultural concepts and aesthetic perspectives, overcomes these limitations.

Currently, Shenli Nishang includes three key functions: styling design, hair and makeup design, and pattern design. Stylists can select dynasty, gender, and identity conditions, input relevant keywords, and generate styling images within 2 minutes. The model can generate character makeup and styling for various dynasties, including Tang, Song, and the Republic of China era, encompassing various styles like official attire, ladies' costumes, dancer outfits, and ethnic clothing, offering stylists a wealth of creative inspiration and materials.

Virtual Shooting: Enhance Efficiency and Realism

Beyond the pre-production phase, Alibaba Entertainment Group is also actively exploring virtual shooting, bridging the "last mile" of technological application. Previously, virtual shooting for productions involved lengthy asset creation cycles in pre-production and time-consuming on-site adjustments. Moreover, virtual shooting was limited to single cameras and often resulted in screens not meeting camera requirements.

To address these issues, Alibaba Entertainment Group developed and continuously optimized AI algorithms, reducing the on-site adjustment time for virtual shooting from 2 hours to 20 minutes, enabling rapid scene construction and switching for multiple scenes, boosting shooting efficiency by over 35%. This encourages more creators to actively embrace virtual shooting, unlocking new possibilities for film creation.

The recently completed film "The Mystery of the Qingming Shanghe Picture" incorporated eight scenes, including snowy landscapes beneath trees and lakeside sunsets, using Alibaba Entertainment Group's virtual shooting solution. Achieving these scenes through real-world location shooting would be a time-consuming and laborious endeavor. Leveraging virtual shooting technology significantly enhances shooting efficiency for these scenes, while the realistic feel further immerses actors in the experience, resulting in a smoother and more engaging performance.

Team Collaboration: Breaking Down Barriers Between Technology and Art

The key to successful implementation of new technologies lies in the seamless coordination between new technology teams and traditional filming teams. Effective technological solutions and efficient collaboration between teams are crucial factors in boosting production efficiency.

Tao Kun, the executive producer of "The Mystery of the Qingming Shanghe Picture," remarked, "In this regard, we have achieved excellent synergy with Youku's technology team." The technology team can rapidly comprehend the director and cinematographer's shooting intentions and provide professional technical support to ensure smooth production.

Alibaba Entertainment Group's relentless efforts in leveraging AI to empower film content creation have significantly transformed the industry. Continuous technological advancements drive the transformation and upgrading of film creation models, presenting numerous development opportunities for the film industry. Moving forward, Alibaba Entertainment Group will continue to delve deeper into AI technology, collaborating closely with film creation teams to jointly develop more efficient, convenient, and imaginative film content creation workflows.

Conclusion

The application of AI technology is continuously reshaping film industry creation models, expanding the possibilities for film content creation. Alibaba Entertainment Group actively embraces AI technology, utilizing technological innovation to empower content creation, contributing to the development of the film industry. It is believed that in the future, AI technology will integrate deeper with film content creation, driving the film industry towards an even more prosperous era.

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