Amazon will use AI tools to produce film and television works: simplifying the creative process, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency

Tech Home February 5th News, Amazon is pushing AI into the film and television production process in an effort to accelerate the production speed of movies and TV shows.

Albert Cheng, senior entertainment executive at Amazon MGM Studios, is responsible for building and leading an AI team dedicated to developing new tools for film and TV production, aiming to reduce production costs and simplify creative workflows with AI tools. Amazon plans to launch a closed beta in March, inviting industry partners to participate, and expects to announce phased results in May.

Albert Cheng explained that the AI studio operates according to Jeff Bezos's "two-pizza team" concept, maintaining a lean team primarily composed of engineers and researchers, supplemented by a small number of creative and business roles.

According to reports from Tech Home, amid rising production budgets and limited number of film and TV projects, Amazon has proactively promoted AI applications in hopes of improving production efficiency through technological means, enabling more projects to come to fruition.

Albert Cheng stated that high production costs make it difficult for the industry to take on innovation risks, and the value of AI lies in accelerating the creative process rather than replacing the unique role of humans in content creation.

Amazon emphasizes that AI is merely an auxiliary tool; writers, directors, actors, and character designers will still play central roles throughout the entire production process.

On a broader scale, Amazon is requiring all business units to explore AI application scenarios. Amazon also admits that efficiency improvements through AI are one of the key reasons for the layoffs of approximately 30,000 employees since October last year, with Prime Video also affected.

Albert Cheng pointed out that AI helps Prime Video address the long-term challenges of large-scale film and TV production in terms of costs, workflows, and collaboration.

Currently, the AI studio is focusing on developing tools that connect consumer-grade AI with the needs of professional film production, including maintaining character consistency across shots and deep integration with industry-standard production software.