In Flux

Been doing some thinking over the past two weeks. I spent much of July focused on the current state of AI video and was trying to determine its limitations and capabilities. That meant researching Gen-3, Dream Machine, and Kling. There are others but those are the main three so far. There is great potential. No doubt. But, to get the best results you need to use Image-to-Video, preferably with one or two images. I can see generating between a series of single images in a longer sequence as a thing. Having one at the start and one at the end of a 10-second clip is wicked cool, but I've heard of these tools being able to do 2-3 minute sequences. Imagine adding 120 single images and next thing you know you have a whole scene created without needing to be so tedious with these shorter clips. Not all the models are doing these beginning and end frames yet but they will soon. Oh, and FLUX is giving Midjourney a run for its money as far as realistic images. 

I love all of that. Imagining how it will progress is just as fascinating to me. It's amazing to watch. New use cases are rolling out every few weeks. For instance, you can shoot a video with your camera and take an image from that video to add a VFX sequence that can be edited into the live shot using editing software. After I saw that I realized I could go back and test on old short films I made years ago. I am discovering these brilliant techniques people are coming up with and testing them to determine possible use cases. 

Like many people who have realized over the past year that we have entered a new era-- one that seems likely to change society and the way we live our lives, I have been trying to determine how to pivot. While I am no longer a young man, I still have dreams and aspirations similar to those of that younger version of me who returned from California with a creative fire burning in his eyes 25 years ago. The stories are the key. They reveal the lessons learned along the way, and the possible futures based on the world as it is perceived.  

Give me an hour at a cafe with a cup of coffee, a good book, my phone, a notebook, and a pen and I couldn't be happier. It's a pocket of time when I am free to let my mind wander. While some of my best story ideas happen while I am out for a walk, so many of those ideas are fleshed out at a cafe. The constant change around me, people coming and going, as I sit there observing while looking inwards, making connections, recalling the journey, and trying to predict and plan for what comes next. 

I have given myself till the end of this week to assess AI Video models to see what I could learn and then determine how that might impact me creatively in the near future. I still have another week, and there are likely to be many new use cases to discover, but I feel I have made my mind up already.

I am not in this space to be the guy who is the first to discover new techniques with these GenAI tools. I do not feel obligated to post content every day to keep my engagement metrics up. No, not yet at least. I want to see how others are using these tools to learn from them so that I can tell my stories in new ways. I think we are in a new frontier-- creatively speaking, and I consider myself one of those pioneers. My goal is to create a multimedia company. Or a "media empire" as a friend recently joked after reading my most recent TV series bible. It lays out big plans for the TV series that involve a few new ways of interacting with the content. 

Simply put, the goal is to work with Gen AI tools to be able to do more. Two things came to mind last spring when I began to immerse myself in the Gen AI space: How do I use these tools to help me creatively? And, how do I use this technology to help others? 

I am by no means an altruistic saint who thinks only of helping his fellow man every second of every day. Far from it. We are a screwy species and it is often best to mind our own damn business. But I do come from a long line of educators so maybe genetically that is where it comes from. Anyway, an APP was one of the first things I thought of last spring after sitting down with GPT-4 for a month. I have been researching ever since. 

While I won't go into detail about the APP at this time, it is interesting that other than creating moving and still images to accompany my written words that I thought of creating an APP to help others. The idea just made sense. Even more so now. Not only can I help others with it but I can also help myself as well.

As I was assessing the current state of AI Video tools last week I realized something. 

If I am serious about starting a multimedia company, I can't expect AI video trailers/ short films, or graphic novels to fund the way forward... yet. AI Video has gotten a whole hell of a lot better than it was this time last year. However, it's not easy to tell a substantial story. And while the trailer I am working on means a lot to me, it cannot be my main focus. These tools need to get a lot better. Right now you need to be a patient and persistent puzzle master to piece together a worthwhile 2-minute trailer. You'll need to pay out your ears for all the tools needed to create something special. But it can be done. Within a few months, folks will start creating longer works where they have pieced together using the same methods from shorts to create something special. We'll learn their process and cringe at how difficult it was. And yet that will be the most difficult it will ever be. By this time next year, it will be so much easier to do all of this.

There is a window that has opened for AI Video creators and those like myself who are gradually learning more about it every day. The familiarity with these current tools and the proven results of using them may help during the big run to create content that will likely arise next year once AI Video takes its next big leap forward. That leap should be to provide the ability for these models to take a script from a scene, ask you questions about it to make sure it understands what you are wanting and then generate the scene. Once these models can communicate with us like LLMs do using chain of thought then we will see a massive explosion of AI-empowered storytelling. 

For the time being, AI Video is still too unstable, both with its outputs and the overall process. These tools have only become worth my time since June. Sora was in February, but that doesn't count because we still haven't gotten our hands on it. Again, I am not here to discover all the techniques and share those. The people doing that are amazing and I thank them for what they are doing. Their work will be a road map for all of us. They are the OG pioneers, charting the path forward for the rest of us. 

As far as the APP, I can help people with it while working in the background on the more creative side of things. I want to avoid going the clickbait route where I create disposable content to feed a metric. I prefer substance not only with my creative output but also with the APP. The goal is to provide a service that people need.  I want to create value for others and I fully plan on doing a free version of the APP, which may be all people ever need. And that is great! But, I also see charging a monthly fee for premium services for those who need more than the basic service. 

The decision to focus on the APP is not the one that I wanted to make. If I was calling all the shots, then I would have access to all AI video tools that are being held back for the election. That would mean I might be able to go full-steam ahead on making movies and TV with AI tools. Something that I may be able to do now with animation, which, as I have said before, has more room for error than the life-like AI content. But I am not in the animation mindset yet. Once I transition to the comic book series/ graphic novel then I might be more open to focusing on AI animation. Thinking about that now maybe I should focus on the comic book sooner rather than later. Food for thought. 

My evaluation with one week to go in my AI video assessment period is that with the publicly available tools you can make comics, illustrated novels, commercials, trailers, music videos, short live-action films, and longer animated projects that most people would never know are largely AI-generated. The VFX part of this can't be overlooked. That means those who have been filming live-action sequences but have been strapped financially, can actually do some amazing things right now with AI tools. That is all great but these are not my main creative focus. While this company I am creating will include illustrated novels and comics, these current capabilities are still short of where I would need them to be to create realistic AI TV series and movies. That said, in the meantime, I can focus on all the other things I can create using AI video and audio tools, which is a lot. For me, it is all training for TV and movies, though.  

If I had access to all the tools that are being worked on behind the scenes I would likely have a different take on things in this moment. I like to think I have some idea of what may be in the pipeline, but you never know for sure. The good thing is that it is highly likely that these tools will only get better, and fast. So, it makes sense to focus more of my attention on creating the APP for the next few months. Once the dust settles after the election, it will be the perfect time to shift my main focus back to AI Video. Not that I won't be working on AI Video at all between now and then. No, I just need to prioritize the APP for now to try an make some headway before Fall. 

This time last year, I was thinking that we would be right about where we are with video. A short scene is not a performance, though. Not yet, at least. Consistency and stability are nearly solved and performance will be the next big hurdle. Or at least I think it should be. I believe we may have an AI-animated movie out by the end of the year that will be indistinguishable from a traditionally animated movie.

While I want to be able to do all of these things, I am not attempting to be the first. I want to keep learning about all of it because my goals are more intricate than just trying to be the first to create a proper AI movie. That said, I have thought about what that might be like-- the first AI movie that most people cannot tell was created using only AI tools. It could be a hybrid that actually has some live-action. That seems likely to happen soon, which will raise a lot of eyebrows. And that may open the door for the first all-AI movie that generates enough buzz to create some acceptance and appreciation from the public. The Blair With Project always comes to mind when I think of this. 

That said, these AI tools will continue to improve with each passing week. While my main focus will be on the APP, I will keep working on the trailer for the TV series. I won't be sharing a lot of details about the APP until it is ready for public testing. My initial goal is to have it ready for initial testing by November. Rolling out the APP after the election is a good target. It seems likely that even better tools will become available then. This will allow me to adapt the APP based on any updates before final testing and release. 

I'll keep pushing with the trailer and the illustrated novel series in the background. If I am to create a proper multimedia company I need to have a lot of content. I am also open to doing more with these tools in ways that may not be top of mind at this moment. I may get adept enough with these tools that others may want my assistance with their projects. I could grow fond of creating commercials or fall in love with AI animation. Maybe I decide to create a video game. Who knows? 

The one thing I would stop everything to work on is a new form of storytelling entertainment. If the tools get good enough that I can do all I laid out in the bible for my recent TV series, then that will be my top focus. In reality, I am building towards that anyway. So it is best that I take this step-by-step approach toward the likely inevitability of a more immersive entertainment experience. 

It is a process. A process guided by imagination and fueled by rapid technological change. Embracing it was much easier than expected. Some are vehemently against any use of AI for anything involving creativity. Again, I get it. However, the dreams I have had for over 20 years were stifled in the pre-AI era. My creative visions had remained only partially realized through the written word. The chance to create more with these stories may allow me to fulfill the creative goals that I began setting out for myself when I returned from LA at the turn of the century.

I am an independent artist, and through the years I have grown to value my artistic freedom more than I felt a need to sacrifice it all for someone else's idea of success. I just love to create stories. And with AI I will be able to create all the worlds I've ever imagined while maintaining my artistic autonomy. And that's all that matters. Thanks for reading. 

All At Once

I love Time Bandits. A TV series based on the movie is coming out tomorrow on AppleTV, which I didn't realize until I started looking for the GIF. Hope it's not what caused AppleTV to essentially shut down. Anyway, I love the original. So, what does this have to do with anything? 

Today, I got up early and went to the store for a few things. That was when I saw an odd wreck. Some guy ran his car over a curb, between two poles, through a flower bed, and into the stone wall/ sign for an apartment complex. 

Went right between two poles and smashed right into the wall, which you can see in the picture cracked upon impact. The guy was talking to the cops. I'm guessing one of his flip-flops got stuck and he couldn't stop or he was intoxicated. A peculiar accident to see at the beginning of the day. 

When I got home I took out the trash. As I was putting a new liner in the can, a story idea came to me. Ideas sometimes develop over days, weeks, or months. This one came all at once. I normally don't Tweet about ideas, but this one was one of those amazing ones that comes almost fully developed. 

Is it too late to be thinking in terms of Classic Hollywood? 

For a decade, with the rise of streaming, I rarely thought in terms of movies, but stories just decide on their own what they want to be. This story is either an anthology movie, a mini-series, or a holodeck experience.

A what?

By the time I get around to actually writing this story Gen AI tools may make it possible. Nothing wrong with thinking ahead. If this is to be a new frontier we are entering, and it sure seems like it, then we need to think beyond what has been possible up until now. A holodeck or a truly amazing immersive video game-like XR headset experience are what seem the most likely next big steps.

As a storyteller of fictional worlds, I have long wondered what it would be like to tell stories in a gaming format. The worldbuilding on my recent TV series got me thinking about the creation of a gaming world. This was before the era of AI started last year. 

Again, I write a lot of anthologies. I do this because I have a lot of stories brewing at any given time. Most of which have been on the backburners for years. One has been sitting there on simmer for 2 decades. It too is an anthology tale but on the grandest of scales; it feels like the time has to be right, like I have to earn the privilege of writing that story. And I haven't yet. 

Many of the other stories that are waiting their turn upon the stage are stand-alone stories. As time passes while I am working on other projects, these stories will sometimes magically coalesce into something greater than their parts. An Anthology is born. What once could have been three to upwards of a dozen or more, otherwise stand-alone, stories come together like a pod of killer whales ready for whatever the ocean might bring. 

Good grief, I'm mixing metaphors here. What it means is there are certain tales within the fictional world of my current TV series that a gamer may want to explore, especially one of the three interwoven stories in the first season. The same could be said for this new idea I'm so excited about, but also the one that's been sitting on the back burner for 20 years. 

Today's new story harkens back to the early 2000s once again. An era my mind gravitates towards. So many of my beliefs about the world were carved during that period. It was a time when I started to think more like a writer and less like an actor. The new millennium began with so much drama, much more than any of us could have expected. This is likely why the first decade of the 21st century so deeply resonates with me. 

The reason this new story idea triggers my recollection of that time is because it has similarities to both Monarch and Psykosis. The Monarch similarities are because of the story Cipher, which actually echoes back to the 90s when I was studying philosophy and poetry. Therefore, this new story echoes back to those days when I was kicking around Hollywood and Los Feliz. 

Why do so many of these stories always seem to be anthology-type tales? I am not sure I can pin that down. With this current idea, could it be a movie? Yes, of course. Could it be a series? 100%. It really is a collection of stories that make up one story. Sound familiar? An anthology. 

The TV series I am creating a trailer for is the same. However, this new story might be better served as a movie. In fact, even though there are a ton of storylines it might be better to put it all into this one overarching story. I think people will relate to it. A full series might dilute the multi-story potency if not done right, but a mini-series might be another option. I've been surprised by how many movies I once wrote have evolved into miniseries. The specific nature of this new story's overall tale makes it perfect for a future holodeck expedition or a video game. It will be very personal.

The stories I have been comparing it to since this morning are all movies. If it were to be a series, I think it would be better as a limited series than one with multiple seasons. The multiple-story aspect would likely be better served in a more contained format (a movie or a handful of episodes) instead of a sprawling 8 to 14-episode season.

I will probably develop it as a movie and expand if needed depending on how it feels once completed. 

And that's kind of how these things develop. An Idea pops and the next thing you know you're making plans on how to write it. I keep wondering if I will have a normal story idea stir my soul like this one day. But then what is a normal story? A Norman Rockwell painting comes to mind. Hallmark movies and Romantic Comedies too. I'm not sure any of that is normal anymore nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century.

Nowadays, everything seems to be perceived through a superhero filter, but that's not normal. Normalcy is no longer one view of the world. The most normal story I created over the past decade was not received well. My writing partner thought it was boring, and then I used up one of my last contacts from my time in California with it as well. I thought it was something that it wasn't or had a hard time making it come across. I can't help but think it was too much like an episode in a telenovela. Which was too bad because it was meant to tie into the Monarch universe. Oh well. We go again. 

Okay, it's time to get back to working on the Trailer for the TV series. Need to get some traction on that by the end of the week. I finished the script over the weekend and started working on visuals yesterday. 

I probably should have paid for unlimited generations when I signed up for Runway Gen-3 at the beginning of the month. That way I could just keep generating and generating without concerns for running out of tokens. However, by having spent most of the month focused on getting the script for the trailer right I have also been reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the model based on the outputs of others. 

We'll see how this week and next week go. Apparently Kling will become available worldwide very soon. I have been reluctant to jump through hoops to get access. It's a Chinese company which gives me a bit of pause but it was the technical hoops I would have to jump through just to use it that has really kept me from using it so far. 

If I can achieve all I want with the trailer using Gen-3, Luma, and Hedra then I will. But Kling may be better than all of those models. We'll see in just over a week what I've got and go from there. And I can't help but wonder if all my new ideas will be geared toward a holodeck or a cinematic videogame. Thanks for reading. 

Summer: Let's Do It!

The past year has been so interesting. A year ago, I believed I would continue on with just writing books and screenplays. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. I had been doing it for fifteen years. Not going to lie, things had become... stagnant. Why? I knew the outcome before starting: excited about the story, mild response, and repeat. I lacked options and the willingness to change my routine.  

GPT-4 drew my attention in February of 2023. And then I dove into research mode about AI. I haven't come up for air since. There is so much to learn and the landscape seems to change every few weeks, often within only a few days or hours. It took me a few months to gain a broader view and see how things were unfolding.

You can see what is possible in the short and long term with just a little research, but you have to be willing to dig. And I love research. A large part of writing is research. It never really stops. 

There are different fields that I have an interest in when it comes to the emergence of AI. Not only do I have an interest in how these tools can creatively help me as a storyteller, but I also think about how these advancements may affect the world. 

Creative Path: AI images, AI Video, AI Voice, and AI Music

World Path: AGI, ASI, Education, Health, and Security

The Creative Path is self-explanatory. I am a storyteller and these are the tools that I need to tell my stories differently than by just writing them, which is why I started writing in the first place. Not to be read but to have a story fully experienced as a viewer.                        

Beyond the worlds within my head that motivate my pen, the World Path is more about us as humans being aware of how computer intelligence will affect us more broadly. My own angle will likely focus on Education.

There is a chance we may all become much smarter as a result of these advancements. We may even be able to live longer and figure out ways to have clean energy to meet the world's needs. It would be nice if we could also figure out a way to keep a handful of greedy people from profiting from the destruction of the planet. 

I am not saying computer intelligence will change human nature. It may, but it might take some doing. And we can be a stubborn lot. But there may be a chance we can clean up our act and become better stewards of this rock. I'm not sure we can do it without evolving in some way. Maybe if we can better educate all people and extend lifespans, allowing more people to become at least wiser if not smarter, maybe we can keep up with computers. Maybe. 

I know my current limitations. I am not the greatest writer in the world. I do not crave the limelight and often move on to a new project before I have exhausted all efforts to sell something. These are flaws I constantly work on. The act of creation is my main purpose. Each evolving story and her menagerie of characters are a mystery for me to solve and the source of my inspiration. The process is the point. Even if I do create a brilliant movie or TV show with the help of AI tools, I will need to be able to entice people into watching, and I loathe shaking my ass. Shake it, Pitters, shake it. Gross. 

I try to keep it simple and do no harm to others. Writing is a way of dealing with the world as I have come to know it. And my path has completely changed since the spring of 2023. The simple, well-worn writing path I had been treading for a quarter century has forever been changed.

AI destroyed that path and I couldn't be happier. 

I know these tools will update within months, but I am committed to learning what I can about them before they do. The tools I have needed to allow me to realize all the creative dreams I have had for decades are here. I have been released from the shackles of my own creative limitations. I cannot draw the images I need to create the graphic novel I've always wanted to make, and I can't create an entire "REAL" movie or TV show without a ton of help. World-building is one of my favorite parts of writing, and I've always wanted to use that passion to create a video game but lacked the wherewithal to attempt it. The tools now exist to help me compensate for those deficiencies. 

For years, I have had images in my head that I have wanted to share, to express in a way that I could be satisfied with and that might allow others to take something away from the experience. The act of writing has had to suffice for a long time. Words are one thing. Images another. Adding images, video, and audio allows me to present stories in ways I have long dreamt of. And they will only improve, maybe even create some new form of entertainment. Would I have loved to have had these tools 25 years ago? Of course. But they are here now and only getting better. 

They will soon be so good that I hope to be on the frontline of a new form of creative storytelling. Ever since I started packaging the TV series this year, I've been imagining exactly what that will be like. There is still so much to learn but the tools are here and a path is clear.

While I try to get up to speed with all of these tools, I fear I may have to push out work on the next illustrated novel series and the graphic novel. Since I already knew how to write a book before AI and I now know how to create a graphic novel with the help of AI -- something I learned over the past year, I can no longer just write books and screenplays when I can also get more involved in creating movies and TV shows. In case you weren't aware, I started writing to create the kind of stories I wanted to be cast in as an actor. An actor? I know, right. 

However, thinking about the story from a character's perspective has taught me a lot. By the mid-2000s I came to think of myself as a method writer. What the hell does that mean? I was never a "method" actor, my teaching was grounded in the work of Stella Adler who preached personal experience and imagination over emotional memory. Over time, that not only helped me understand the motivations of my characters, but also opened my mind to imagine all kinds of stories. 

The sheer volume of writing work I have cranked out over the years has gone largely unread. With 75% of that material meant for the screen, it is not surprising that I always visualize a story for the screen, even if I am writing a book. I see the movie play out before me, all around me. I live those moments with my characters as I write their stories, even to this day. Therefore, to now have the ability to visualize stories for the screen is like turning back the clock to Day 1 of my writing journey. Not that I want to act in anything ever again, but to have control of the sound and images of a story is both exciting and terrifying. 

The terror comes from knowing that it's all on me now. I can't just toss a new story onto the dust heap and say, "I tried to convince people to help me create the movie or TV show but there wasn't enough interest. Oh well, I guess I'll try again with something new." No longer. I'm breaking the cycle. The pile is too tall and I have new tools to work with. 

While my first objective is to create a teaser and a longer trailer for my current TV series, I would like to try and make the series the old-fashioned way while we still can. The long-term goal is to revisit some of these other stories using AI tools. Whether as movies, TV series, or this new hybrid storytelling format that is emerging. Very exciting! 

I mentioned the dusty pile of stories from the past 25 years. That is not a joke. Maybe that's just me laughing so as not to cry. Either way, I have several dozen stories that I can use to build a video library, with new tales waiting in the wings. That is why I have completely changed the path ahead. I can't see myself fully focused on an illustrated novel series while learning how to use the tools needed to create a teaser and a trailer, which may be more like a short film. 

Once I have a handle on these tools, I can start to divvy out more time for the illustrated novel series. My hope is that it will only take until August to get up to speed. When considering that I have written, directed, produced, edited, and arranged the music for several short films, maybe that will help me learn on a bit of a curve. We'll see in August. Until then it's time to accelerate my AI video research. Next stop? Teaser. 

July

June was interesting. July is already intriguing and it's only the first day of the month. Buckle up! 

I spent much of June waiting for OpenAI and Google to release all of the features they had both pimped out to us in May. OpenAI did come out and say that the Voice model will gradually roll out and that most of us plebs won't see it until the fall. Whether that means after the US presidential election or not who knows. But that was not the only new feature. I also need to try the image creation capabilities they teased. Especially to help me create a graphic novel or illustrated novel. I prefer to use only a few tools to create everything I need for these image-heavy projects. I like Midjourney a lot more for image creation, but I keep hoping that OpenAI will improve either Dall-E 3 or provide a new image generation tool with better quality and more capabilities. Not sure where Google's updates are either. I especially wanted to try the video model Veo and Project Astra. Oh well. I guess this is yet another lesson in how patience is a virtue. 

While the big boys have been overpromising and underdelivering in a timely manner, we now have a few new AI video generation models to fawn over. I touched on this in my last post. However, I have had time to think on things since then. On Friday, Runway started to grant access to more people, namely those in the Creative Partners Program. While I did apply to this last week, I was too late to get access. Hopefully, I'll be allowed to join the CPP program at some point so I can get early access to future tools. After seeing what GEN-3 could do I was thrilled to see  GEN-3 Alpha rolled out to everyone today. I am all signed up and ready to start using these new tools. Perfect timing. Thanks, Runway. 

Over the past year, I was reluctant to use the existing AI video tools, something I have mentioned here several times. The quality was not good enough. My focus for part of the last year had been on AI images. Even my writing plans have been guided by the great quality of AI images and the ease with which they can be created. My main focus after the recent two-month query period for a TV series I created was meant to be on a two-part illustrated novel series and a graphic novel series. Having learned enough about creating AI images, I felt confident I could not only create illustrated novels but also graphic novels. However, with these AI video tools all dropping in the past few weeks, and more still to come, I have been forced to reconsider my immediate plans. 

Ever since last spring, I have had an eye on the AI video space with the thought of diving in once the quality reached a certain point. Sora had me dreaming, but its belated release had me focus on what I could do with AI images. If I had access to Sora in February, I would have created a trailer for the TV series to go with the pitch deck and the series bible I created for my query package. Oh well. 

I knew when I saw those early Sora videos that other companies would start to catch up. And when they did I would pivot some of my time and attention to AI video. While AI images are at a point where I can create what I need for the illustrated novel series and for the graphic novel series, I think those projects have become secondary for the next month. It is time to learn to use these AI video tools. I have been waiting so long to have this type of control over moving images once again.

It is one thing to write a story and have people read it. With a novel and illustrated novels, I still have control over what a reader sees. Whereas when screenwriting I have to rely on countless others to bring my vision to life. With AI video tools I have near total control. I say near because we are still early in the AI video space and these things are not perfect, even if they are incrementally better than what we were seeing before Sora. This reminds me of the kind of control I had back when I was making short films back in the day. Because of that, I will spend a big chunk of time in July focused on AI video and learning all I can about AI audio tools. 

The one thing I have not mentioned much about here is my desire to create an APP. I spoke with the people close to me over the past year about my desire to create it, but I wasn't sure if the APP was something that was needed because I saw others creating somewhat similar APPS or GPTs. However, I think I can make an APP that can help a lot of people and help me learn more about the process of creating an APP. I had considered making a GPT through OpenAI, but I think an APP is a better way to go, even though I will have to do a good bit of research. I think it can help more people in that format than as a GPT. 

GPTs seem to be quickly becoming a thing of the past. Microsoft is doing away with them and there are rumors that OpenAI is not as keen on them as they used to be. I want to keep learning about technology but I also want to create. I will likely lean on AI to help me build the APP, while also learning about the process. I am an artist not a martyr, so I don't mind leaning on AI for not only the image and video side of my new creative process but also some of the technical aspects of creating and launching an APP. I have learned a lot over the past year, but I cannot just sit down and crank out this APP without some guidance. 

So, I am making my main focus of July all about educating myself. Learning about AI video, AI Audio, and APP creation with AI assistance. We'll see if I can learn all that I need in one month. Maybe, maybe not, and it may be that I need to keep at it for another month or two. I'm up for the challenge. In whatever free time I have left, I'll also try and get some work done on the first book in the illustrated novel series and create a few panels in the graphic novel. Busy. Busy. Thanks for reading. 

Will AI Change Everything Or Will It Be The Same Only Different?

I am starting to have doubts about how much AI will benefit me as a creative person. This time last year, I was just getting my beak wet, but my imagination was soaring with how it would creatively benefit me. While I have said for a long time that I write what I want to read or see play on a screen, deep down I'd like others to take some enjoyment out of the process as well, and maybe even make some money off of the hard work I've put in and the sacrifices I have made. 

Self-publishing books has almost run its course for me. What started as a personal challenge revealed a lot about not only myself but the business of books. It is tough as hell to sell books. You first have to have a great book, and then you have to stand out and be recognized amongst all the other books. When you self-publish it is almost impossible to stand out, especially now after the newness of the self-publishing craze has died out. 

Now think about Movies. Independent movies have always been a tough sell. And now, even blockbuster movies made for 100s of millions of dollars are having a hard time breaking even. This time last year I could see how AI would give me superpowers. The thing is that it also gives everyone else creative superpowers. Most of whom have never lifted a finger in an attempt to create worlds for themselves before AI, let alone done so to entertain others. And yet, within a year or two everyone will be able to do just that. 

Those who have been keeping up with the progress of generative AI and have seen the demos for all the new products know that massive change will wash over the general public soon. Many of those in Hollywood who have been fortunate enough to get access to Sora can see that this technology will change the business forever. Those of us who have been paying attention since February know exactly what I mean. The results are stunning and will only get better.  

At that time, I was knee-deep in preparing to query Hollywood about a TV show I had been working on. But, it was plain to see that Sora would change everything once people had access to it. I didn't let that deter me from my task, contacting others about the incredible TV series package I had put together. In fact, I worked into my pitch just how I envisioned AI tools could help with the post-production marketing of the series and may even be able to augment what had been shot after things were completed. I didn't want to suggest that any new tools like Sora should be used in the production. Those things should be left up to the production team. My job is to lay out the road map for the series. All I need is one person to believe in my story and the big ideas I have laid out. "It's hard out here for a pimp."

The most important part of my process is coming up with a story and then putting in the work to write the story for others. Once that is done, this is where AI would be massively helpful to someone like myself. Most people who are not authors or screenwriters will need AI to help them write stories, therefore they will be unable to copyright them - as the copyright laws stand now. That might be my only leg up on the masses who would be able to create just about anything with a few prompts. But, if I can eliminate the need to convince others, who are busy with other projects and in constant contact with other writers who they actually know and have worked with in the past, then I could focus on actually using my storytelling skills to create a film or tv show with tools like Sora. I'd rather work with people the old-fashioned way, but they have to want to work with me as well, and I can't force people to buy my work. Unlike most people, I would be able to copyright the stories I would want to use in partnership with Sora-type tools because I would have written them, and maybe that is the window of opportunity for me. Maybe. 

With each email I send and get no response my heart breaks a little. Not for myself, don't pity the Pitters, but for the work and the people it might touch, inspire, or somehow affect. I look forward to using AI as yet another creative means to an end. It feels like I am an explorer awaiting a ship that is being built. Soon enough I'll be off exploring new lands. I've sent thousands of emails through the years. It's like water off a duck's back at this point. I know my efforts are usually in vain because they largely have been for twenty years, which is fine. That's the way it is. Sometimes you catch a break but more often than not you will have wasted time, energy and passion only to be ignored.

If I had been more involved in the business over the past twenty years I might be more conflicted about using AI tools. However, I spent much of last year during the strikes and the rise of Generative AI wrestling with my conscience about its use. And recently I have had time to reflect on all the blood, sweat, and tears I have put into projects over the past twenty years with 90% of people unwilling to even respond to an email. And I feel empowered for the first time in a long time. 

I will not hesitate to bypass people in order to get my stories in front of an audience. Hopefully, those AI tools will be available soon so I can get trained up and put them to use ASAP. I've gained a lot of experience over the past two decades and learned even more about patience. In the meantime, I'll keep writing and sending personalized emails to those whose work I respect and would love to work with in creating movies and TV shows. 

I never dreamed of having a media empire when I started writing, I have just kept plodding away at creating stories in different formats. But, with the help of AI, I may be able to create dozens of movies, TV shows, and graphic novels in a short span of time, and all of the stories will be copyrighted. There are likely thousands of people like myself who have been writing for decades and only publishing or putting onto screen a few of the works they have actually created. In fact, if the technology is good enough that will be one of my goals-- a media empire. My ambitions are usually bigger than what I can achieve but then I am a dreamer and always think big. 

Once I have actually completed my first ready-for-consumption production I will have to deal with marketing and sales. Cringe. At least I will be on the backend of production and not stalled out waiting like a jackass for people to respond to an email. I have been reluctant to call producers and directors about the TV series at this point-- even though I have a few phone numbers, but once I have a TV show or movie in the can you bet your ass I'll be on the phone using all my sales skills. Regardless, it will still be a tough task to earn people's attention.

This is where I am starting to have doubts. Not in my own abilities to tell a good story or that the technology might not be good enough. It's that the technology likely will be good enough and I believe I will be able to create all the stories I decide to pull from my library of unpublished works. However, the marketplace will become over-saturated and I will face a similar problem that I face today: getting people's attention and earning their interest. The good thing is that the work will be completed and I won't have any regrets about stories sitting on a shelf because I could not get anyone to help me make them into movies or TV shows. But they might very well be stuck on a cloud unwatched next to millions of other unwatched movies and TV shows. I'm not sure which is worse, querying dozens of people with a well-written story whose plan for the first season is ideal for a number of streaming services with only a few responses, or creating the TV series using AI and no one watches it. Both are tragic. 

I've always said that I write what I want to read or watch because it does not yet exist. But if everyone is doing that and not consuming what anyone else creates then that is pretty damn depressing. And it probably won't be good for society if we just stay in our own imaginary bubbles without taking in new information. I hope that doesn't happen. I like what other people create and I always will, but I also like what I create as well. I may create it because it is something that I would want to read or watch, but I use that as a barometer because what I really want is to create something that others might enjoy. I don't want to sit around at night and read or watch my stories. That sounds vain and fucking boring. I hope we don't become a society that sits around quasi-creating movies or TV shows with a simple prompt custom-made just for us from scratch. Storytelling is something that is shared with others, even if we may experience it on our own in our own homes. We then go talk about it with others. 

I can hear the conversations with friends in the future. "I generated and binge-watched this amazing cop show series this weekend. I programmed it to be like The Shield  and NCIS: Los Angeles." Will people even be able to send that show to their friends so they can watch it or will it just be something that you can watch? Can it be shared with the world? Who makes money off of it? Do people get quasi-famous for prompting something that they had very little actual input in? So many questions. What I fear most is the loss of shared experience, which is the point of stories going all the way back to cave art. There are things we can learn from each other that we may not have learned on our own. 

The writing of a story is the act I love most, inspired by personal experiences and what I have learned about the world. An AI will do much of the same but without the personal human experiences of its own. That seems to be the possible barrier that these tools may struggle to pass. Blade Runner touched on this subject. They may become humanlike but may never be able to become truly human. But then we may become more machine-like as we look to expand on our own mental limitations. 

Once a lot of entertainment is AI generated there may have to be a notification system informing viewers how much of a story was created by a human. This might tell a viewer or reader if it has been copyrighted and how much was manufactured by an AI-based upon a prompt or prompts. It will likely get to a point where it won't matter as much because the AI will be a better storyteller than most people. However, there will always be a need to know if what we are consuming comes from the soul of a flesh and blood person who has lived a human life or if it is from an AI that has been trained to simulate those experiences. 

It's tricky because eventually we will reach AGI and we've no idea if that will be a net good thing for society as well as storytelling or a net bad thing. Until then, I will try, however futile my efforts may be, to create the stories that do not exist that I would want to read or watch hoping that you might too. Thanks for reading. 

Late April Update

Can't believe we're almost a third of the way through 2024. When I was younger time seemed to drip by as I was absorbed in every moment of every day as if tomorrow would never come. Nowadays, the days fly by, and I still have so much to do. That's just the way it is.

This year, like most years over the past decade, has been very fluid as far as my creative objectives. I looked back at a few of my posts during the past decade and noticed that my plans should have all come with the caveat: *Subject to change. In 2017 I was focused on trying to finish and release a two-part novel series. I learned with Monarch that everything will not go according to plan, which is one reason I have become more fluid in my approach to writing and don't get as bent out of shape when things come up and throw a plan off course. That's why when my plans were derailed halfway through 2017 by unforeseen circumstances, I realized I could no longer manage the expectations I put on myself with the two-part novel series. Instead, I shifted focus to the more manageable origin story in that series. At the time I was calling it In the Wake of Newton, but you will know it now as Michaelmas. 

That two-part novel series is still at the top of my list of pre-AI material to focus on. (I say pre-AI to mean stories that I began writing before the Spring of 2023.) I can't believe I've let that project slide largely overlooked through the years without more attention. It's written but still needs a proper rewrite and I do plan to sprinkle in a few illustrations as well. My hope is that by June I can restart work on that project. Who knows when it will be finished. Hopefully by this time next year. It has been a labor of love and I will be so relieved to be finished with it. While it is my main priority as far as long-term literary works, I still have so many other projects that need attention. 

I can say that querying is finally underway for one of my screenwriting projects. That project has been evolving over the past few years and it is nice to finally be able to start reaching out to others about it. 

Beyond those two projects, I have the TV mini-series that I am going to turn into a graphic novel series. This story has been near and dear to my heart ever since I first wrote it almost twenty years ago. It was such a massive undertaking that I strongly considered making it into another novel or novel series. This was the second massive story that I had written after the Cipher trilogy, which became a part of Monarch. I don't know how it became my preferred style or why I felt so comfortable telling these intertwined stories. At first, I thought it was just because I had so many stories and needed a way to tell them. I have written dozens of normal-length movie and TV scripts, but there is something about developing these epic tales often with multiple main characters across several storylines that is so enchanting to me as a writer. It's a bit like when I went to Disney World as a kid and entered all of these different amazing rides that are similar and yet different from one another. A psychiatrist might possibly say that the trip to Disney laid the creative foundation for my creative path. I wouldn't dispute that. "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "It's a Small World" certainly made an impression on me as a child. 

I suppose the magic I feel with these grandiose stories, in some way, is what I am trying to provide an audience. Monarch certainly was meant to take readers on a somewhat magical psychological ride toward middle age. However, my stories are also meant for younger adults because they are usually packed with action and/ or suspense. Oftentimes, they are meant to provide an experience for people who are trying to find their way in life. Something I did for a long time. Hell, I'm still not completely sure where I fit in on this rock. 

I often think back to a question that was posed to a writing friend and myself. We were asked, rather unfairly, "Who is the better writer?" My fellow writer did not answer. I don't know why I said it, but I stated, "He was." Did I believe it to be true? He is a wonderfully talented technical screenwriter who can give you 10 pages in a few days on any type of story. Did I feel pressured into saying it because my writing friend's best friend had asked the question and I didn't want to rock the boat? It doesn't really matter. But that has always bugged me that I felt like I had to say that. 

And you know what, maybe he is a better screenwriter than me. He's certainly had more work produced. He will write anything, and I respect him for that. He's good at writing anything quickly, which is why we have collaborated so much through the years. However, my main goal as a writer has always been to write what I want to read or watch. This is likely one of the main reasons why I have a library of screenplays with so few screenwriting credits to my name. I have a ton of stories that I have to tell, a list of well over a dozen at present. Unless someone is willing to pay me well, I just don't have the time to take my focus off of my work to tell other people's stories. Ironically, this may be the same reason why those who are best suited to help me out with my current project will likely not respond to my queries, even though the TV series is amazing on several levels and would be a smash hit with its intended audience. An audience that skews younger and is interested in edgier content that they can interact with in a multitude of ways. My main objective is as it has always been -- to try and write and deliver stories that I've not seen told before and that make my mind do cartwheels. 

While I don't have any regrets from this century—don't ask about the 20th century, two moments changed my path during the past 24 years. The first was in 2000 when my father got sick, and I moved back to Atlanta from LA after establishing some roots on the West Coast. Once he passed, I lost some of my motivation to wander in the desert alone in search of creative success. The second moment was in 2010 when I decided to divert my focus from screenwriting to writing books for a decade. During that time, I chose to only work on screenplays in collaboration with the same writing friend, but without putting myself out there like I had the decade before. I had been plodding along here in Atlanta without gaining much traction other than making a few short films. I was tired of querying hundreds of people with very little response and going to festivals where I have only within the past few years become more comfortable schmoozing with people I don't know. And so focusing on the writing of books seemed a much more tolerable way forward.  

During that decade, I not only completed numerous literary projects but also through my collaborations with my writing friend we managed to create half a dozen screenwriting projects. That was the plan: write literary works and collaborate with my writing partner. While I would have liked to publish that two-part novel series before today, I now have a small library of published and unpublished literary and screenwriting works. Some of which I have big plans for. 

However, I cannot help but wonder if I had not chosen to take that break in 2010 from screenwriting could I have gained more of a foothold here in Atlanta? The film and TV production industry was just starting to explode after the tax breaks kicked in. And looking back to the year 2000, I was in the thick of things while in LA. Not only was I starting to transition from being in front of the camera to screenwriting but I also had an interest in directing. My mind was on fire, but once Dad passed I needed time to heal and develop as a person. Since I had not really done anything of merit by that point in LA, even though I had created a few connections out west, written a few screenplays, and directed my first short film, a return to a different kind of creative struggle was not in the cards. 

Both of those choices (moving back to Atlanta from LA and focusing on literary work for a decade) served as cutting ties with the progress and most of the industry relationships I had fostered for years. I don't regret either choice but both of them likely led me away from opportunities. Would I have been more open to writing for others during that decade had I not made the turn toward literary works? Maybe. I think that making that turn in 2010 solidified my belief in only writing the stories I wanted to tell. Now it is just who I am. You want me to help write your Hallmark story. Sorry, not interested. I could see myself writing a story for someone else's anthology series or taking someone's film idea and meshing it with my own ideas, but an established program like CSI? No thanks. Those are someone else's characters. Bless those who write for those types of programs but I just can't do it. I prefer creating characters and stories from scratch. 

We are the choices that we make, right? My choices have led me to write only what I want to read or watch. This means if I want to have a film or TV series produced I have to seek out others to help me realize my vision. While I am not against helping others realize their vision, I just do not venture down that path very often. It may limit what I do as a screenwriter but I am working on many other things as well. With the novel series and the graphic novel topping the list. 

To sum up, we are a 1/3 of the way through the year. There have been two moments this century when I chose to shift away from the path I was on and hurt my screenwriting career, but I have no regrets. While I've been keeping up with AI developments, my current focus is on enhancing my earlier, pre-AI writing projects with AI-generated images to further bring these stories to life. In addition, I've started querying people in the industry about a screenwriting project for the first time in years. I know I may not be the most accomplished screenwriter in the world, let alone in my own creative circle, but few can create worlds with intertwined stories like I can. My desire to merge seemingly unrelated stories into a larger tale was born out of necessity—dealing with a glut of ideas that might otherwise remain untold and from a love for anthology stories that started in my childhood.

We are about to enter the hot months. Soon everyone will start going on beach holidays and check out on the rest of the world. Enjoy! Don't forget the sunblock and thanks for reading.  

The Pitch

At the beginning of each of the past few years, I have been focused on trying to get writing projects ready to pitch. Two years ago, I had several projects that I was preparing to pitch before concerns for a family member took precedence and I shelved them for much of the year as I focused on doing what I could to help. Last year, I had three projects that I was preparing before the WGA strike took the wind out of my sails. 

The past few years have been frustrating as far as writing. That said, I have streamlined my approach this year. While I can always fall back and talk about several projects, my main focus has been on one TV series. It is a project a few years in the making. That extra time has actually helped mold this project into something quite unique. 

While I have not used AI to write this story, the continuous advancements of AI helped me think beyond the conventional norms of a TV series to create something I was definitely not thinking about when I first envisioned what this series could be several years ago. I, of course, cannot go into much detail here about the story or explain exactly how it is different from most TV series, but I will do my best to tell you as much as possible. 

What I can say is that if this thing gets green-lit it will change how we view TV shows. I'm not saying that because I'm some arrogant jackass who thinks too much of himself. I say that because of all the technological advancements over the past few years and the way I have shaped the story to work with those advancements. In some way, it was a total fluke the way things worked out with this story. 

First, I created a fictional location where several different stories could take place. Those who have been reading my blog for a while will know that I love to blend stories together to tell an even larger tale. Initially, I was focused just on the one story in the possible anthology. Wrote the pilot script, the series bible, and the pitch deck and even began to pitch it as this one-off story. Then I had someone take a protracted interest in another story that I wrote pre-pandemic. Did a bunch of rewrites on that before things ultimately fell through.

When I returned to this anthology series, I began work on another story inside the same universe. Wrote the pilot, the series bible, and the pitch deck. At this point, I had two separate stories set inside the same universe. The way I was describing it was in comparison to American Horror Story. 

Then came 2022, and I was preparing to pitch both of these stories separately and as a package. This was when I affectionately started to call it the Super Series because of how big the world had become. Little did I know that was only the beginning. 2022 was also the same year I had to help out someone in the family with going through their massive trading card collection and put things on hold for several months. While it was tedious work I came to understand a lot about the hobby and learned about interactive media, which would help shape the way I would go on to think about the Super Series. It was also the time I started to think about a third story in the anthology series. 

Remember, originally, these were all meant to be standalone stories, each with its own season or seasons, but all set in the same location. Then 2023 and the WGA strike threw another year to pitch into disarray. It did however give me a chance to think. One of the things I thought about during last year was a true Super Series where all three of these stories are combined into one season. 

Now I had created a bible for two of the three stories by that point and had begun work on the third when the strike hit. So, I had plotted out a season plus for each of the three stories. My challenge was to whittle it all down to the bare essentials for all three of the stories to be told in a handful of episodes instead of a full season for each. 

Here is where I had several formatting ideas. I won't go into the specifics here but I will say that I have a fondness for movies and am often frustrated when shows don't take the opportunity to do a one-hour-plus episode at times. Game of Thrones was one such show. There were times during that series when we would get a 59-minute episode or even a hair over one hour and we would all be so excited and beg for even longer episodes. And then the following week we would get a 42-minute episode and feel cheated. 

Let's just say that I took that into consideration when creating the Super Series with three stories intertwined during one season. The TV series Lost was one of my favorites. It had a pilot episode that was so long that they had to break it up into two episodes. That was on ABC so you can understand why they did not want to air a movie-length pilot episode. If it had been on a streaming service, they may still have tried to make it two episodes but they may have released them on the same day. I would have preferred a single two-hour movie event.

As last year and the WGA strike rolled on I became more and more aware of AI and the rapid advancement in technology. A writing friend of mine asked during the strike if I had any ideas for a podcast. Seeing as he had helped me write the pilot for the first story in the series, I mentioned that in the second story of the season, there were these two secondary characters who had a radio show that the main character listened to. Needless to say, there is now a fourth story in this universe and the radio show has become a podcast.  

While writing that fourth story in the series, and as the strike waged on and as the AI updates continued to flow last year, I could not help but see how a fictional podcast separate from the main televised series could be part of a transmedia experience that adds more depth and potential fan interest in the entire series universe. Again, so much of this had not been planned when I first imagined this series, but it has been wonderful to see how it has developed into something that truly is greater than the sum of its parts. 

With all four of those stories in place, I had to create a new series bible and pitch deck to reflect the scope of the Super Series I had created. So, after finishing the January re-release of Michaelmas with illustrations, I put my energy towards the pitch documents. That was when the most game-changing idea struck me. While I cannot go into too much detail, let's just say that if people want to find a series with more content that they can interact with then this series will be geared for them. 

Ever since last Spring, I have been keeping up with all of the changes in AI. Not only were the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America wanting to protect themselves from AI taking their jobs but they were preparing the world for how much things were going to change in every industry. AI is not just good at predicting the next token it can digitally clone people's voices and images. But it does not stop there, not even close. So when Apple released the Vision Pro and I saw how people were using it I started to think of other ways to augment the Super Series. 

While AI would be needed to help make some of the interactive aspects possible in this series it could not have come up with this story. No way. Could it create the plot for the next CSI spinoff? Maybe. But not a series like this. I know a lot of people are afraid of AI and some hate it with a passion. A lot of those people work in the film and TV industry and are worried AI will take their jobs. How I would incorporate AI into this series would be implemented once filming was done. With an interactive experience that would not cost any jobs, which is key for me at this point. 

This project is super ambitious, but if it clicks it will click in a way that could not only entertain the hell out of people but also bring us into a new era of storytelling. I cannot wait to share more with you. Wish me luck.