According to Nadira Azarmi, the founder of the Belgian company ScriptBook dealing with artificial intelligence technology, the same production company, Sony Pictures in the period from 2015 to 2017 could save millions of dollars of their funds, if used they have developed a computer algorithm, and not relied on people involved in the approval of certain screenplays.
Before the development or rejection of one or another scenario of the film company, usually take into account several factors. Of course, it is an interesting history itself. The assessment of economic potential of the project – whether a film recoup the production costs and to collect more cash. But another important factor is who is writing the script – is this man the famous writer, who has a whole bunch of successful projects.
Anyway, with the final authority are the people. Sometimes these people make mistakes. Sometimes very large, costing the companies hundreds of millions of dollars. Films, which are invested big money just doesn’t pay off. Nadir Usermay in turn believes that in the future these problems can be avoided because the function of the approval of the screenplays will be under the artificial intelligence.
For example, the same Sony Pictures, said Azarmi by her company and trained on the basis of 6500 screenplays algorithm ScriptBook was able to identify 22 out of 32 and cash of the failed movies Sony that says it is a very good predictive ability.
“If Sony had used our system, it could eliminate 22 obviously disastrous project,” says Azarmi.
“With artificial intelligence we want to create a real revolution in the business of storytelling, providing an opportunity to investors, producers, publishers and film makers to reduce all associated with the production of a movie risks,” adds Azarmi.
For the development of their system ScriptBook in 2016, the company raised $ 1.4 million investment. The current version of the algorithm works as follows: to the cloud server loads the PDF file with the written script. System approximately five minutes conducting a detailed analysis of the document, and then reports the results. They noted the expected rating of the MPAA (the rating system of the American motion picture Association), predicted the potential audience of the future picture, including gender and race, as well as, most importantly, offers forecasts with regards to the potential box office of future films.
“When we showed the results to the clients, the first question always asked was: how is it possible to just give the computer to read the script and exit to get such a detailed analysis?” — says an expert on the theory and data analysis methods and processes the ScriptBook Michel Roelens.
The whole point of machine learning techniques. Initial instructions the program gives people, but after the machine is in the process of learning and creates a massive database on the basis of which it can very quickly carry out the desired analysis.
Publishers, too, will find their benefits from the use of the algorithm ScriptBook says Rolens.
“They have to take a big risk, releasing films in different markets. Now such decisions occurs subjectively: they just read the script and try to listen to your intuition. But we want to mitigate the risk to include objective parameters that can tell publishers more about the real potential of the project. Expertise is always important, but it is very even more important to back it up with real results.”
Guide ScriptBook notes that the assessment of the effectiveness of the system in question is whether to give one or the other scenario “green light” reaches 84 percent. Azarmi adds that it is three times the accuracy of the predictions being made by people who evaluate scripts.
The system is imperfect, admit the developers. For example, in assessing the “potential” box office of the film “La La land” after the film’s release, the system predicted that the film will collect the cash in $ 59 million in real numbers almost 500 million (as well as several collected in the course of business “Oscars”). However, the algorithm based on the information on the modest budget of the film, still gave the “green light” the film.
Azarmi notes that many people saw the technology, predicting the loss of such thing as creativity. Because it will not make any sense. Know yourself to write a script for the ready successful patterns and will not have any problems. But the developer does not agree with this opinion.
“Artificial intelligence ScriptBook is designed for screening films that follow certain formulas. The algorithm is also able to effectively choose the art projects with good financial potential.”
The cost of one application of the algorithm ScriptBook for analysis of one film is estimated by its creators around $ 5,000, but the company offers incentives to those companies who want to evaluate the potential of several projects.
Approval screenplays will deal with artificial intelligence
Nikolai Khizhnyak