AI can now generate convincing video from a sentence. But can a filmmaker actually direct it? William Cusick, filmmaker and former Creative Director at Stability AI, has been making films with generative AI and building tools for it since the launch of Stable Diffusion in 2022. In this talk he shows what AI filmmaking can do today, where it breaks down, and what it changes about cameras, sets, actors, and the director’s job. He places the moment in a century of film technology, then looks ahead to real-time AI worlds where a film is generated while you watch it.
This 45-minute lecture will be followed by an open audience discussion. No technical background is necessary.
William Cusick is a New York filmmaker and creative technologist who specializes in AI filmmaking. He was Creative Director at Stability AI during the public launch of Stable Diffusion and DreamStudio, and he is building Moviengine, an experimental system that turns screenplays into AI-generated films. He has directed two feature films, including Welcome to Nowhere (Bullet Hole Road) and Pop Meets the Void, designed projections for Broadway and international stage productions, and has taught at The New School for more than thirteen years.
