Meta Releases New AI Video Generator Movie Gen, Sparking Industry Attention and Concerns

2024-10-05

Recently, Meta introduced a major breakthrough—the innovative AI-powered video generator, Movie Gen. This tool can automatically produce high-definition videos from text inputs and integrate AI-generated audio, bringing unprecedented changes to the realm of video creation.

It is reported that the release of Movie Gen comes shortly after OpenAI's text-to-video model, Sora. Although it is not yet publicly available, its potential has attracted widespread attention. Movie Gen not only autonomously generates entirely new video content but also allows for the editing of existing clips or static images, providing substantial convenience for creators.

According to Meta, the videos produced by Movie Gen boast high-quality visuals and audio that accurately match environmental noise, sound effects, and background music within the images. Additionally, users can choose different aspect ratios as needed to meet various creative demands.

In addition to generating new content, Movie Gen has the capability to create customized videos from images or modify different elements of existing videos. For example, a static female portrait can be integrated into a video, depicting her vividly drinking a beverage in a pumpkin patch. This innovative technology opens up new possibilities for video production.

Furthermore, Movie Gen excels in editing existing footage. It can easily change the video’s style, transition effects, and even add elements that were not originally present. In an example shared by Meta, an illustrated video of a runner was edited by AI in multiple ways, including adding cheerleader pom-poms, changing the background to a desert, and dressing the runner in dinosaur costumes, demonstrating the tool's powerful capabilities.

However, the growing popularity of AI image and video generators has also raised some concerns. On one hand, issues related to data ownership and potential misuse are becoming more prominent. Reports indicate that an AI startup violated usage terms by using videos scraped from YouTube to train their video generator. In response, Meta stated that Movie Gen’s training dataset is composed of a combination of authorized and publicly available datasets, though it did not specify which ones.

On the other hand, creative professionals such as filmmakers, photographers, artists, writers, and actors are worried about the potential impact of AI generators on their livelihoods. They fear that as AI technology continues to advance, traditional creative methods may be disrupted.

It is noteworthy that in the nearly two years since AI image and video generators entered the mainstream market, major technology companies have been actively developing similar tools. Tech giants like Google and OpenAI, along with several startups, are fiercely competing in this field. It is anticipated that as technology continues to advance and applications expand, AI video generators will play an increasingly important role in the future.

Although Movie Gen has not yet been publicly released, Meta's innovation has already garnered significant attention within the industry. We look forward to seeing more AI-based innovative applications in the future, bringing greater convenience and possibilities to our lives and work. At the same time, it is essential to address and resolve the various challenges and issues that arise, fostering the healthy development of AI technology.