Generative AI Still Needs Artists’ Judgment, Says Netflix’s Eyeline GenFX Chief James Rustad at Busan

Generative AI can widen the options for a visual effects shot, but artists still decide which of them serve the story, according to James Rustad, global head of GenFX at Eyeline, Netflix’s in-house VFX studio. Rustad made the case at an InnoAsia session “Making What’s Next: Generative AI and the Future of Filmmaking at Eyeline,” […] At Busan’s ACFM, Eyeline’s James Rustad mapped the studio’s generative AI VFX workflow, saying artists still decide which shots serve the story. Generative AI can widen the options for a visual effects shot, but artists still decide which of them serve the story, according to James Rustad, global head of GenFX at Eyeline, Netflix’s in-house VFX studio.

Rustad made the case at an InnoAsia session “Making What’s Next: Generative AI and the Future of Filmmaking at Eyeline,” held at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents & Film Market. He used Netflix’s “Brazil ‘70: The Third Star” as a reference point. The series features more than 1,300 visual effects shots, including over 800 set on the soccer field. Eyeline works with 45 artists on a hybrid approach, Rustad said, bringing generative tools into a process that also draws on established effects techniques. Asked which aspects of filmmaking