More than a month has passed since OpenAI announced Sora, a tool that generates videos from text. While it remains unavailable to the public, a select group of artists, designers, and filmmakers have been testing it out. Finally, on March 25th, US time, OpenAI unveiled their work.
Sora: The Joys and Scares of Living with a Balloon Head
“Sora’s ability to create something realistic is impressive, but what excites me even more is its capability to generate completely surreal creations,” says Sora. Shy Kids, a Toronto-based multimedia production company, created a short film titled “Air Head”. The video features a man with a yellow balloon head and is best described as surreal.
“I’m literally filled with hot air,” says the balloon-headed man.
The man with the balloon head discusses the joys and challenges of living with his anatomical abnormality. On windy days, his head tends to fly off his shoulders, and navigating through the cactus section of a plant store is quite nerve-wracking. Despite these difficulties, he maintains a profound awareness that “all of us can be deflated with a pin,” and he expresses gratitude for this realization.
‘air head’ is one of the first short films made using #Sora by @OpenAI .
the response so far has left us floating.🎈 pic.twitter.com/bBR6IMZQ8M— shy kids (@shykids)March 25, 2024
Sora: A New Generative AI Tool for the Generation of Video
The new generative AI tool, first released by OpenAI in mid-February, can generate up to one minute of video from a single text prompt. Sora is not yet available as a product, but OpenAI is currently working to evaluate the tool’s capabilities, limitations, and risks. OpenAI said in a blog post that videos from early testers, including Shy Kids and OpenAI’s first artist-in-residence, Alexander Leben, will help OpenAI evaluate the project. However, OpenAI declined to specify the exact number of visual artists, designers, creative directors, and filmmakers testing Sora, or the parameters that influenced the creation of the videos featured on Monday.
“There is still a lot to improve on Sora, but we are already seeing glimpses of how this model can help creators bring their ideas to life,” the company said.
New Sora videos created by actual artists!See the rest in the blog post belowcredit @paultrillo pic.twitter.com/J9SDZsg2UA— chrypnotoad (@chrypnotoad)
March 25, 2024
I’m so excited to unveil something truly groundbreaking in collaboration with @OpenAI a glimpse into the future of storytelling with #Sora technology. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/62gAPaNSos— Don Allen Stevenson III ᯅ (@DonAllenIII)
March 25, 2024
Sora: A Short Film about the Imagination and the Imagination of Humans Floating
Generative AI has sparked a range of responses, from enthusiasm over its creative potential to concerns about intellectual property theft for training AI datasets and fears that algorithms could replace human creators’ jobs. This diversity of reactions underscores ongoing debates. However, early-access artists and filmmakers appear largely optimistic about Sora, leaning toward its aspirational possibilities.
Josephine Miller, creative director of London’s Oraar Studio, specializing in 3D visuals, augmented reality, and digital fashion, expressed, “The ability to conceptualize quickly at such a high level of quality not only challenges my creative process but also helps evolve my storytelling.” She depicted a dream-like underwater world where humans, adorned in scales, floated gently and swirled. This short film, featured by Open AI, exemplifies a world that blurs the line between reality and unbridled imagination.
Creator Don Allen Stevenson III stated about his video that “Sora is not bound by the traditional laws of physics or conventions of thought,” and noted that his collaboration with the tool has shifted focus from technical hurdles to pure creativity, unlocking a world of instant visualization and rapid prototyping.
The short films announced include work by Nick Klebeloff, co-founder and creative director of Los Angeles creative agency Native Foreign. His entries present a fascinating compilation that spans decades of moods and visual styles.
Klebeloff says he can already see how Sora will change the way he approaches both his agency work and personal projects. ‘Sora allows us to iterate and explore original concepts that have sat on the shelf or been put on hold indefinitely due to budget and resource constraints,’ Klebeloff said while sharing a Sora video on LinkedIn.
“In the video, a man who appears to have stepped out of a black-and-white noir scene walks down a rainy cobblestone street, while another peers through the windows of an old-fashioned watch repair shop, painted in nostalgic sepia tones. As the scene unfolds, a futuristic sports car emerges from the ocean. Yes, that’s right.”
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