In a groundbreaking admission, director Brady Corbet reveals the use of artificial intelligence in accent alterations for his critically acclaimed film, ‘The Brutalist’.
In a recent statement, director Brady Corbet confirmed that his critically acclaimed historical drama, “The Brutalist,” utilized artificial intelligence (AI) in post-production to refine the Hungarian accents of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. The film’s production team employed innovative Respeecher technology to clean up certain vowels and letters for accuracy in the Hungarian language dialogue editing process.
The Role of AI in Post-Production
Corbet emphasized that the use of AI did not impact the authenticity of the actors’ performances, which were meticulously crafted over months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall. The director stated that the AI tool was used solely to refine specific aspects of the Hungarian dialogue, and no English language was altered.
Furthermore, Corbet confirmed that generative AI was employed to help create architectural drawings shown in the coda of the film. However, he clarified that these images were ultimately hand-drawn by artists, with those in question intentionally designed to resemble poor digital renderings of their era.
The Controversy Surrounding “The Brutalist”
The use of AI in the film’s production has sparked controversy, particularly given its potential implications for the filmmaking industry. Editor Dávid Jancsó revealed that the production team turned to Respeecher to clean up Brody and Jones’ dialog after the ADR stage did not yield the desired results. Jancsó argued that using AI simply sped up a process that could have been done manually.
The Future of Filmmaking?
While the use of AI in “The Brutalist” has raised questions about its impact on the authenticity of performances and the role of human creatives, it is undeniable that AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in the filmmaking industry. Many films have admitted to using AI in some capacity, and its benefits, such as increased efficiency and accuracy, cannot be denied.
As the use of AI continues to evolve in filmmaking, it will be interesting to see how artists and producers navigate this new landscape. Will the incorporation of AI tools become a standard practice, or will it remain a contentious issue? Only time will tell.
