ByteDance Seedance is taking over Hollywood.

From being rejected to taking over Hollywood, what has ByteDance's Seedance done??

Now Hollywood has become like this:

For example, this 95-minute feature film "Hell Grind," produced by Higgisfield AI.

And this AI fantasy series "The Bone Chronicle," featuring 6 independent storylines and numerous characters:

The delicate expressions of the characters, the placement of light and shadow, the grand backgrounds.

You'd think you were watching Game of Thrones.

That's right, what you're seeing was all generated by various independent Hollywood filmmakers using the Seedance video model.

Our Seedance has completely taken over Hollywood~

But just this February, a rooftop fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise generated by Seedance 2.0 had Hollywood crying out, "It's over."

Some even considered it outright copyright infringement.

But four months later, Hollywood says:

"It's Amazing!!!"

Four Months After Hollywood Called It Out, Seedance Sneaked Into the Film Set

According to the Los Angeles Times, Seedance is entering LA's AI creator circles, independent film projects, and Hollywood-adjacent workflows.

Yes, this is no longer just about making short AI videos; it's genuinely being used to make movies and feature-length films...

Some use it for concept shorts, others for testing camera styles, some for generating pitch materials, and still others are exploring using AI in feature film production.

For example, Higgisfied's "Hell Grind" was primarily made using Seedance 2.0 by a team of 15 people in two weeks.

And filmmaker Kavan Cardoza's AI fantasy series "The Bone Chronicle" was also built on Seedance.

The series releases one episode monthly on YouTube, each no longer than 30 minutes.

Average views per episode reach 3 million, and Cardoza himself has accumulated 500k subscribers on YouTube.

Don't let Seedance's current popularity among filmmakers fool you; just a few months ago, it was seen as a "dangerous sample" in Hollywood's eyes.

In February, Seedance 2.0 went viral overseas due to a rooftop fight video featuring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

In the video, these two top Hollywood male stars were trading blows on a rooftop, fighting with thrilling intensity.

The camera movements, action rhythm, and lighting quality all looked like a trailer ripped straight from an action blockbuster.

But the more realistic the video, the more tense Hollywood became.

Soon, the MPAA could no longer sit idly by and named Seedance, claiming such tools could infringe on copyright and celebrity image rights.

Actors' union SAG-AFTRA also pointed fingers at AI-generated actor images and unauthorized use of performance data.

However, official warnings couldn't stop the frontline producers.

In just four words: Easy to use, love to use.

On Seedance's side, it hasn't targeted major studios like Disney, Warner, or Netflix.

Instead, it aims directly at independent filmmakers, AI filmmakers, low-budget genre creators, and those constrained by budget and timelines.

The Los Angeles Times noted, After ByteDance launched Seedance in the US this spring, it has been proactively reaching out to filmmakers, independent artists, and entertainment industry executives.

During this year's Cannes Film Festival, Seedance's team appeared at industry events surrounding the festival.

In May, its related product line Dreamina also showed up at Amazon MGM Studios' AI on the Lot event.

AI on the Lot is touted as a large offline conference for AI film, TV, and media creation, with attendees including filmmakers, AI startups, media executives, investors, and creators.

Clearly, ByteDance has brought Seedance into offline spaces crowded with Hollywood creators, producers, and AI film and TV companies.

One producer commented:

I know many studios in the industry haven't officially approved the use of Seedance, but they're all using it tacitly... It's kind of an unspoken rule.

Why Hollywood Changed Its Tune

First, it's cheap.

According to Artificial Analysis data, the cost of generating video plus audio with Seedance is about $9 per minute, lower than Google Veo's $24 per minute.

And the production workflow for making films with AI is now completely different from traditional sets.

For example, "Paranormal Activity" producer Steven Schneider announced a hybrid AI horror film "Terrarium" in May.

Director Jason Zada stated that the film will heavily use the Seedance model for generation.

In the past, making a movie usually followed a linear process: script, casting, set building, shooting, editing. Each day after shooting, the director and producer would review the dailies and decide on adjustments.

On an AI film set, these stages are compressed onto the same workstation.

Zada can first write a detailed outline and character settings, then generate visuals through prompts.

Generate a batch of AI dailies in a day, review the results the same day, and then adjust the script, characters, and shots accordingly.

His own words were, With Seedance, creation can become more fluid because you can constantly regenerate.

According to Zada's plan, "Terrarium" will first be shot in a studio with live actors, then decide which parts are better suited for traditional filming and which can be handed over to synthetic techniques.

As for cost, Zada estimates that generating 15 seconds of high-definition footage costs only about $5.

That means a 90-second concept short could have a pure generation cost in the tens of dollars range. Of course, that's not the total cost of the entire film—script, sound, editing, and production management still require human effort.

But for independent filmmakers, many steps that previously required spending big money to test can now be iterated repeatedly on the desktop.

This is incredibly appealing for creators on a tight budget.

"The Bone Chronicle" producer Cardoza stated that he can't afford Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt.

Because having him star in my movie would cost $5 million, $10 million, $20 million.

But with AI, anything is possible~

At the same time, Seedance also provides these creators with free monthly generation credits and access to unreleased new features.

These producers essentially become opinion leaders in the AI video space: they test the model early, tell the team what works and what's still unstable, and integrate Seedance into their short films, concept pieces, and personal film projects.

Vying for Hollywood Against US Video Models

Looking at the broader AI video model race, things are quietly heating up.

Now, whoever can create the strongest video generation model has become a head-to-head contest between China and the US.

On the US side, Google has Veo, and Runway and Luma are representative players among AI video startups.

OpenAI's Sora was once seen as the ultimate trump card, but now the video tool has ceased operations, and the imagined space for Sora has been quickly filled by other players.

Meanwhile, Seedance is rapidly closing in, and in the eyes of some filmmakers, it has already become the strongest video model available.

Stephan Vladimir Bugaj, SVP at Indian media company JioStar, said:

Seedance's rise hinges on its focus on pleasing filmmakers and producing more cinematic visuals.

According to Bugaj, Seedance has introduced timeline-based prompt capabilities, allowing producers to select specific moments for adjustments.

It has also improved the model's understanding of camera direction, physics, lighting, and motion smoothness.

Zada noted that demand for Seedance is so high that it has even offered some major Hollywood studios unrestricted special access for $2 million.

The competition among video models will continue to intensify.

According to the State of Generative AI Media report, media companies' spending on AI is expected to grow from $2.6 billion in 2024 to $12.5 billion in 2029.

That means the film and TV industry's investment in AI will continue to rise, and the battle over AI video tools will only become fiercer.

And now, Hollywood producers are no longer prioritizing US video models. Zada said bluntly:

We aren't loyal; as long as it's the best, we'll use it.

Source: QuantumBit

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