LogInNot everyone liked the BAFTA and Oscar winner's AI artist job listing.
Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures | Barbie
Several days ago, VFX studio Framestore faced criticism after its job listing for a generative AI artist was found online. The team was looking for someone familiar with Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, and Automatic1111, who had "understanding and experience in using datasets of images to train bespoke models and extensions to generate consistent images in a given style or of a particular object."
As expected, not everyone liked the idea of a VFX company hiring artists to leverage AI – a force that is largely feared and disliked for its ability to take humans' jobs. Addressing the backlash, Framestore released a statement where it explained the role of the AI artist and its views on machine learning.
"Yesterday, one of our job postings, for an AI Artist, caused some concern among our community. While the project is confidential, the new hire will work in collaboration with an illustrator on a campaign for a good cause. We will commission an original piece of art from the illustrator and use various VFX techniques including AI to bring it to life. This will be done in part by animating specific keyframes, plus the training of private bespoke models and extensions, which will in turn be driven from original footage we will shoot."
The studio added that it uses AI to facilitate human creativity, helping teams of artists get to the result faster. It believes Al can "aid artists' work, enabling them to do more of what they love."
The comments under the post are split: some think artists and AI should work together to maximize the output, but most think it's a terrible idea, partly due to copyright concerns, and Framestore should just hire a traditional artist.
Framestore is a BAFTA- and Oscar-winning studio that has worked on Barbie, The Golden Compass, Harry Potter, Wonka, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other famous projects. Its generative AI artist listing has been removed from its website, but you can find it here.
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