The three-time Oscar-nominee cinematographer is at Evolution Mallorca, where he also revealed he is currently 'testing' AI technology alongside 'Black Swan' director Darren Aronofsky for their next collaboration Stepping outside the airport in Mallorca, three-time Oscar-nominee cinematographer Matthew Libatique was taken aback by the light. He briefly delayed greetings so he could take it all in: the way the autumnal sun kissed baby-pink buildings and glistened against the island’s shores before setting behind the mountains. This is an experience the veteran DP shared while speaking at Evolution Mallorca, the Spanish island’s leading film festival, where he is this year’s recipient of the Cinematography Icon Award.
When taking into consideration how passionate Libatique seems to be about the natural, how is he dealing with the fast-paced changes brought by artificial intelligence? The matter seems even more pertinent to the cinematographer, whose longest creative collaborator is “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky. The “Noah” filmmaker launched AI studio Primordial Soup last year in collaboration with Google DeepMind and is currently heavily invested in understanding how the technology might shape the future of cinema.
Asked by Variety whether or not he and Aronofsky have spoken about how AI might affect their collaboration, Libatique says they are currently “testing” the technology ahead of shooting their next film together. I have a belief that the more you give to the system, the more it’s gonna have what you’re looking for. He wants to see how little you can do; we both want to learn more about it.” The “Iron Man” cinematographer adds that AI “won’t replace cinema.” “What it could replace is Marvel,” he adds, clarifying that the major studio and others like DC “make these giant films and technology is clearly a part of it.” “They make their movies for so much money, I can understand why, through visual effects, they are going to have to employ AI to curb some of their costs,” he goes on, noting how he doesn’t think, however, that Marvel “will ever use AI actors.” “They’ve always been able to get a personality into the characters, whether it’s Chris Evans or Robert Downey Jr.; these people become these characters people fall in love with,” he says.
You can’t tell me you’re going to make an AI character that can do what Robert Pattinson does. You can’t.” Libatique brings up Zach Snyder’s “300” as an example of a film that could become an AI product in today’s day and age. The 2006 epic was filmed almost entirely against green screens in a massive warehouse, with the creative team constructing almost all landscapes digitally.
If you want your movie to look that way, go for it. But, again, how do we connect [to it] as humans? The audience for some of these films is really limited.
It’s limited by age, gender, and also by social interaction.” “Nobody’s going to make ‘Sentimental Value’ with AI,” he emphasizes. We’re gonna stand on set. Darren is gonna get on his knees, and he’s gonna move everything around with his fingers, and he’ll do what he usually does.
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