With his latest experimental short film Nature Portals, London artist and director Markos Kay continues his mission to integrate AI tools into the environment of professional art direction and production.

Markos Kay: “The aim of the film was to create a peaceful and immersive journey through the imaginings of a neural network. This is part of an ongoing series that explores the implications of a world where nature and technology have become so intertwined and questions the fundamental difference between the artificial and the natural.

“For the past eight months, I have been developing a methodology with diffusion models and other AI tools with the aim of integrating them into professional art direction and production workflows.

“You may have already seen my video Abiogenesis where AI tools were very carefully art directed to create the visuals; none of the images were raw outputs but rather a result of a complex and very deliberate process. However, I felt that this could be pushed even further.
 

“This is only the beginning… In a few years, AI tools and all these techniques we are developing right now will become standard practice in the industry.”

 
“With this new film, I finally feel that production values have been achieved that I am (almost) fully satisfied with. I say almost because I think the medium can be pushed further and further.

“This is only the beginning, and everyone experimenting with this new medium is bringing something different into the mix. In a few years, AI tools and all these techniques we are developing right now will become standard practice in the industry.

“In terms of my methodology, the gist of it is using diffusion models to generate rough compositions or creating compositions with traditional tools and then feeding these into the diffusion models to generate thousands of iterations.

“After a strict selection process, the iterations are Photoshopped together into a new composition and then fed again into the diffusion model for further refinement, and then back again into Photoshop.

“This creates a feedback loop between manual digital tools and AI tools giving the artist full control. In this way the AI tools are art directed towards a specific outcome, working in a similar way to a render engine. When they are finished, the images can be taken into standard post-production software like After Effects, DaVinci, or Nuke where they can be animated with the more traditional methods we all know.

“As AI tools develop, we will surely gain more fine control but also more automation where needed. I for one look forward to seeing tools designed specifically for professional use, as well as advanced animation tools.”
 
 

 
Director/animator: Markos Kay

Score: Jesse Solomon Clark