How I made a music video utilizing Midjourney’s Zoom out function

The world of artwork has all the time been an area for creativity, expression, and innovation. All through historical past, artists have pushed boundaries, challenged conventions, and embraced new applied sciences to create groundbreaking works. Synthetic intelligence (AI) has led to a big shift within the inventive panorama in recent times, sparking each fascination and concern.

One platform that has captured the eye of many artists is MidJourney, which presents new performance that enables customers to zoom out and generate pictures endlessly rapidly. This functionality has opened up a realm of potentialities for storytelling and experimentation. This new function impressed me, and instantly, I needed to make use of it to inform a narrative. I settled on a music video as an idea.

Utilizing Midjourney’s Zoom out function

I performed round with creating a place to begin and landed on this lizard-like alien particular person, and I beloved his shocked expression, which gave an impression of “existential dread”. In the beginning, I made it up as I went alongside. The place may he be? I assumed a spaceship was apparent, however I may make it a bit weirder.

I needed to make it awkwardly lengthy, so the viewer may marvel the place it could finish or if it could. After establishing the ship, I wanted to present him a purpose for being so shocked. Maybe the ship was caught in a cosmic tear in actuality, and we are able to journey via a number of planes of existence earlier than touchdown in some reality-creating server room. Is AI actuality a simulation? I don’t imagine it’s, but it surely’s enjoyable to play with as a narrative factor.

The music is a observe I made for enjoyable, and it suits with the imagery I used to be making on this experiment. After MidJourney, I used Adobe After Results to edit the video collectively.

How AI devalues artist’s work

So how do I really feel about generative AI as an artist? Concerning AI and MidJourney, I discover them extraordinarily fascinating and terrifying in equal measure. I’ve been taking part in with generative artwork for some time, however with the arrival of Disco Diffusion two years in the past, it grew to become clear that issues would change within the business and positive artwork world.

I didn’t anticipate precisely how briskly we might go from attention-grabbing summary painting-like pictures to high-fidelity pictures which might be indistinguishable from pictures in some instances. AI is already disruptive, and I don’t see that going away. It’s possible solely to worsen.

Earlier than AI, business artwork (design, movie, VFX, video games, and so on.) was already on the trail of “extra extra extra for much less much less much less”. Each growth created to assist alleviate that’s met with a need for much more content material created quicker. AI generative instruments are a logical, inevitable subsequent step in answering that demand.

These instruments empower artists, enabling them to create extra effectively and inexpensively. Nevertheless, in addition they increase issues in regards to the commodification and devaluation of inventive craft.

The darkish facet of Generative AI

In a world the place I wouldn’t have to become profitable to outlive or help my household, I’d use AI instruments, however I’d additionally take extra time to attract, paint, play music, and create for creation’s sake. That’s not the world we dwell in, although. AI exposes many weaknesses and pre-existing exploitation of artists by exaggerating it additional and quicker.

The best way during which these instruments had been created is problematic as effectively. Scraping the web, regardless of the authorized gray space, and diffusing the works of just about everybody into the fashions with out their permission is horrible. As artists, we should always struggle again towards the businesses that created and capitalised on these fashions for reparations.

However whether or not I prefer it or not, its continued use is inevitable. I see it utilized in ads on a regular basis, regardless of no clear rulings on its legality. The upsides of economic use are seemingly well worth the dangers.

How artists can use AI to boost their work

Moreover the truth that I discover it extremely enjoyable to play with and creatively releasing in a method, I need to be ready for its widespread use as I count on it to have implications for my profession, a technique or one other. Nevertheless, inventive coaching and talent will stay advantageous regardless of the technological advances as a result of a big a part of the work when utilizing AI instruments is curation. Separating the photographs which have actual worth versus simply churning out mediocre compositions is a ability individuals should develop to create higher work.

This all sounds adverse, however there are some main upsides as effectively. The trail from thought to tangible picture is so quick, and iteration time is so low with these instruments that one can flesh out an entire presentation in a day or two. That may improve the standard and likewise the communication of concepts.

The bodily barrier to executing high-quality pictures can be lowered, permitting individuals with bodily challenges that stop them from utilizing conventional instruments now have new means to specific themselves. I’ve additionally been involved with people who find themselves neurodivergent and have gained superb communication and creation instruments via AI. It has unbelievable potential to boost one of the best that humanity has to supply.

We should use AI responsibly, with transparency

In the end, there’s a accountable method to make use of AI. Crucial facet is honesty. Utilizing it deceptively to trick individuals into believing a picture was made another way or by presenting a false actuality as true is an enormous hazard. But when one thinks of it much less as a device however as extra of a format that one might be candid about, it has a spot within the business and positive artwork world.

In the identical method, it wouldn’t make sense to submit {a photograph} to a portray competitors, it doesn’t appear acceptable to me to current AI works as something aside from AI work.

As artists, all of us have to resist the truth that AI isn’t going away. If something, it is going to turn out to be extra pervasive in each discipline. We should proceed to discover and embrace AI responsibly, with integrity and transparency. This fashion, we are able to harness its potential to boost human creativity moderately than diminish it.

In regards to the Writer

Christopher Smallfield is a Berlin-based VFX Supervisor, Artist and Writer. Most just lately, he labored as VFX supervisor on Loki Season 1 and She-Hulk. He has labored extensively for the final two years with AI generative artwork and is called Blckbox in that neighborhood. He has just lately launched his first guide, Mostly Human, which is the primary in a sequence of books on the subject of AI artwork. You’ll be able to see extra of his work on his website, or observe him on Instagram.