A viral music video has spawned a wave of AI imitations. Its director is not impressed, and not suing.
When a striking video goes viral, imitations follow. In the case of the "Storm" video from GENER8ION and Yung Lean, the imitations are largely made by AI, and the director behind the original has now spoken about them. Stereogum summarises remarks Romain Gavras made to Vulture.
The original
The "Storm" video shows Yung Lean standing and smoking a cigarette among 66 dancing boys. Last month Yung Lean made his US TV debut at the VMAs by recreating it on stage, which kept the clip in conversation.
The copies
Gavras said his daughter first showed him an imitation, a version featuring dogs, which he found cute. The trend then moved toward edgier and more offensive material built from public figures. Vulture reports that many were made with Genjutsu, a tool released in late August by AI video company Higgsfield.
Gavras said the trend upsets him because of the work the original crew put in, and that this kind of trend can make good work look silly. He argues the copies miss what made the original land: they lack, in his words, Yung Lean's swagger.
Licensing and law
- Several AI companies have asked to license "Storm", and Gavras has declined.
- He says legal action is impractical, since it would mean suing every individual taking part in the trend.
The bigger picture
This is a small case of a large problem. Visual style, choreography and mood are hard to protect, and tools that can reproduce them in seconds make it easy for a distinctive work to turn into a meme. For artists, the options are limited to declining licences, speaking out, and making work that cannot be copied by someone who has only seen it. Gavras seems to be betting on the third.
Source: Stereogum
