the light in the cove

A short film exploring the character of a cove.

I used AI tools to animate still images that I took in kelp forests at Catalina Island and Palos Verdes. What possibilities can AI tools offer us as filmmakers that can’t be achieved by other means? In this instance, I found that the strange AI artifacts added an element of surrealism, strangeness, and surprise. The fish don’t seem like real fish, the colors and the light are hyper-real, or strangely too detailed and visible. I liked it when the AI tool accidentally understood “surge” to mean waves and created weird underwater waves. I used audio collected from Catalina, above water and below water, to compliment the surreal feeling I was experiencing. AI tools are changing and improving daily it seems, and among the ethical questions of working with AI, as with all powerful technology, it was interesting to create a small project that captures what is possible today.

Developed through a Future Cinema Creator’s grant via USC and Amazon. With support from USC Wrigley Marine Research Station. Made with generative AI tools.

Special thanks to Holly Willis, Tom Thudiyanplackal, and the staff at USC Wrigley.