Using AI the it way it was meant to be used.
Back in 1986 I was working on a small, independent film crew for the production of a short film. It was so much fun. We did everything including building sets, props and models. It was a space-themed film so we had to build model space ships. To create their motion we had to develop a technique for stop-motion filming. All of this had to be done with a single 16mm film camera. It was difficult but creative work.
And everything took a very long time.
In 1987 we got our first Apple Mac — a Mac SE. It had a small 9-inch monochrome display with 1MB of RAM. Shortly afterwards we added a Mac II, the first color display Mac. Our world changed. We were able to create animations using the new program from Macromedia called Dreamweaver. Additionally, we started using a program called Illustrator from Adobe. We then created individual animated frames on the SE and transported them, via the 3.5” floppy disks, to the Mac II. Once on the Mac II we were able to color the individual frames. One frame at a time.
Because there was no way to export our animations we invented a way to film directly off the computer monitor. We created a timer that would trigger the camera to expose a single frame and advance to the next frame. This would usually run all night and over weekends. This was the only way for us to create the animations we wanted.
If all of this sounds archaic, that’s because it was. By today’s standards you can create and record these types of animations in minutes. It’s amazing what has been developed in the last 40 years.
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Add to this short history what happened in 1990 when Adobe introduced Photoshop. This program was so revolutionary that you could no longer use photographs as evidence in court. Artists every where were crying foul as they saw their livelihoods disappear. Because of my experience in Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop, I realized my personal path would be graphic design. In fact, I was hired by a local community college to teach Photoshop because this school recognized the need for students to know how to use programs. The school even changed the program’s name to Media Arts & Technology.
As I had this job for the next 5 years, I built my graphic design business. Then came the internet and web design. I closed my company down when a long-time customer I did web design for announced that he would no longer be using me for this service. He said me he was going to hire his wife’s nephew to do their website. This was the handwriting on the wall. I shut down my business and had to reinvent myself.
Why do I bring all of this up; this personal history? Because I see it is happening all over again. This time it’s about AI. I hear the same screams from artists, musicians and graphic designers wringing their hands and crying foul. “This isn’t art,” they say loudly. But no one is listening. Instead, those that want to create art and music are diving head first into these applications and discovering how creative they are able to be.
The new AI applications make it easier for people to be creative and productive. For artists, this has always been the case, and technology this is stoking the fears in many corners of the artistic community. It is this same fear I encountered long ago earlier as I mentioned above — when Photoshop was introduced. “They aren’t musicians.” Or, “They aren’t musicians because they have never suffered for their art.”
Recently I told a friend who is turning his amazing poetry into outstanding music videos. He is very conscious of what he does to make his music and his videos. He doesn’t want anyone to think he is a poser. He is not a musician and believes he needs to tell everyone this. I told him he is a poet. This is not something that many can do creatively. I also told him to not expect to be going on the road soon. He laughed.
For years now we have been following Everymann Productions (Robert Mann) for his unique videos where he uses AI for the animation and the music. As with all the best AI music we have seen, Robert writes his own lyrics then massages the final product that comes out of the AI application. As with other artists, Robert is in a similar situation in that he is creates his own music using the same application (Suno). Inputting his lyrics into the application, then makes adjustments necessary to fit his vision.
It is his vision that attracted me to his work. Robert has something to say about our world and it is his AI creations that has helped him find his voice. Just as with other artists I have found, I’m seeing are people who have a creative vision but have been unable to bring it to fruition — until now. Suno and other AI applications are tools in a toolbox that allows these artists to create the kind of stories they have always wanted. In Robert Mann’s case, he has been able to create an alter ego that can travel through time and space, showing us how his hero is working to same his world.
Robert is a storyteller. He has been able to create the animations about his hero using this new technology. Here we see him navigate a world much as our own, as he struggles to get people to listen to his warnings. In Race Against Time he breaks up his story into short chapters highlighting his leading man and what he is up against. This is a classic tale that Robert has reinvented for our time and place. A story of a hero who see what the world is turning into and does something about it.
In Race Against Time: Pilot Episode—The Preparation, the narrator in the music describes the hero and how is going to build the new world.
In subsequent episodes he shows us how technology is a double-edged sword and how it can be used to save us or destroy us: Race Against Time: Episode 1—The Dawn of Technology.
You don’t have to look far to see the world we currently live in. As mentioned above, new and different are usually viewed with skepticism if not downright fear. These themes are explored in subsequent episodes. The episode titles reflect what the chapter is about — titles we recognize because they are familiar to our own time and place. And because we have become familiar with this type of story. Here are:
Episode 2-The Race is On — Where we see time is running out and our world is falling apart.
Episode 3-Greed and Corruption — Here is a world we are all too familiar with. Where basic human avarice threatens the survival of our species. As always, the lyrics to music become the narrator to what we are seeing in the animation. We also see and hear the hope that our hero and his quest will bring. Here is also where Robert introduces us to the spiritualism that we adopt to carry us through these changes.
Episode 4-The Elders' Plan — Here is the hope for civilization spelled out. A trip that will take the remnants of civilization on a journey of hope and exploration.
Episode 5-Cryogenic Chambers — This chapter begins the exploration of what happens when we are in cryogenic sleep. This is necessary to keep the mind active and alive, but also to keep us looking forward to the eventual destination. Here we see the total of human history that those in a deep sleep are able to explore in preparation for the new world ahead.
Episode 6-AI Simulation — Here Robert explores the lines between reality and an AI simulation. Here we are all part of a Matrix-like world. Being part of a world generated to keep those in a perpetual sleep—here called the digital stream with an awaking to a brighter dream.
Episode 7-The Long Journey — The long journey of the silent flight; here the dreams become more a reality for the characters in cryogenic sleep. The search for the new world becomes more of a reality. In this episode I am reminded of all the travelers who left the old European world looking for a better life in the new world. The overall dimensions of our human story rarely change. It is just the little details that change. We are all on the long journey.
Episode 8 - Landing on a New World — All the planning and dreams now become a reality for our hero and the remnants of civilization. We see a new world that looks very similar to the world they left behind. What is different is here they find the hope to carry on.
Episode 9-Unconditional Love — It’s no accident this episode is about how to transcend all the problems we left behind. Unconditional love will survive the depths of space and time and bring our civilization back again. Here we see cutting off the shackles of our past and the hope for the future.
Episode 10 - A New Beginning — Here Robert Mann shows us a new world where we have evolved to live in a place where dreams can come true. Here is we come full circle. Where the echos of the past create the path to this whole new existence in this new world.
Why is this series so important? This isn’t just a story about exploring a new world. It is a story about exploring our world—and our own minds. What these AI programs have allowed to happen is they have created a world where everyone (Everymann) is allowed to explore their own creativity and share it with the world. Just as Photoshop and the Mac computer were able to do 40+ years ago, we, that is all humanity, is allowed to be creative in ways that we could only recently dream of doing.
Here, Robert Mann was able to create an entirely new universe made up of dreams that spanned reality. His music bridges the story and the art, bringing everything together. In the end, we still need to ask if we are looking at the story or some other reality.
We are all the results of the decisions we have made in life. At my age I find I worry less about the details. The bigger picture stays in my mind. That is, understanding how we are able to move on with life and accepting who we are.
When I was working on the small film crew back in 1986 I never dreamed of becoming a graphic designer. That decision led me to Photoshop; which then led me to teaching at a college; where I soon met my future employees who I hired to help my growing business. It was the changes in technology that caused me to close my business. But my employees were able to find new and exciting work because of the work they did for me. I went on to continue my work in graphic design.
That led me to where I am now. Meeting up with an old friend we developed what we now call TikiKiti. Where I am the general manager. Not only do we explore where the music video has taken us all, but also the technology that has led others to redefine their future. TikiKiti is now working with artists such as Robert Mann to lay the groundwork for a new generation of artist who aren’t afraid to take on the challenges presented by AI. TikiKiti is now working with artists in podcasting and film development. This is where our decisions have led us.
When you stop being afraid, a whole world opens up.
