African animators enthusiastic about AI: a flood of new stories

African animators enthusiastic about AI: a flood of new stories

digital technologies have led to the acceptance of hand -drawn animation, but they still need numerous creative minds and technicians who are involved in the process. However, many in the animation sector fear that artificial intelligence (AI) could further reduce human influence.

creative possibilities by AI in Africa

In Africa, animation professionals see AI as a means of developing new creative opportunities and realizing their projects with greater ease. Stuart Forrest, CEO of the BAFTA and Emmy-winning triggerfish animation Studios based in South Africa, is one of them. "Africa has a very unique position on a global level," he told CNN. "Of the 1.4 billion people who live on the continent, very few are active in the animation industry."

Given the limited number of professional animator: Forrest is convinced that the integration of AI for the first time offers some creative people the opportunity to realize their projects - "This is really exciting for the continent."

opportunities for African narrators: inside

also Ebele Okoye, an award -winning Nigerian filmmaker and lovingly referred to as the "mother of African animation", recognizes numerous advantages. "We now have the opportunity to tell our stories without having to wait for someone to give us $ 20 million," she said during the Cannes Film Festival in May, where she led a master class about AI in the animation in the Afriques Pavilion.

The animation sector Africa was in a report from 2023 on $ 13.3 billion estimated, but historically there was a lack of financing for African animation projects, Forrest continued. "There is a general rule that African stories do not generate income. The African stories that are actually produced are so low that they do not generate any income. So it is a self -fulfilling prophecy," he said.

The effects of AI on the animation sector

soon, he predicts, a feature film that has cost $ 10 to 20 million could only cost $ 50,000 with AI and only need two or three creative people. "We will see a flood of new stories that have never been heard before, from countries in which nobody wanted to invest before," he added. "After all, the field between Hollywood and Kinshasa (in the Democratic Republic of Congo) is leveled in relation to the quality of storytelling."

The effects on the labor market

But there are many open questions, especially for the effect of AI on the job market. "You will strengthen the people who work for you," said Okoye. "You will not replace them, but facilitate their work." However, this presupposes that you have a job at all. AI already takes on many ordinary, repetitive tasks that are usually done by employees at the entry level.

Masilakhe Njomane, a junior research fellow at the South African Cultural Observatory and co -author of a current report argued about the effects of AI on the creative industries in South Africa: " You no longer have the same access as you have it now. ”

ethical and legal debates about Ki

Apart from the effects on the jobs, there are many concerns about the integration of AI - especially generative AI - into the creative industries that relate to ethics and law. There is an ongoing ambiguity of where and how some AI companies acquire the data records used to train their algorithms. AI companies are available dozens of complaints , which are largely based on copyright infringement. Last month Midjourney sued because the generative AI company has been claimed trained on their intellectual property and pictures generated in violation of copyright.

The way to a fair AI use

A creative who has no copyright on her work has only limited opportunities to make money with it. Okoye is of the opinion that African animator: For this reason and for other reasons, avoid web browser -based generative KIs and instead use Ki in a localized workflow.

okoye uses the software comfyui in which she fed in different poses. "You can train a AI model based on your character, so that as soon as you connect this model with your local workflow, you can say exactly what you want from your character and he implements it," she said. "You get exactly what you gave - and it's your intellectual property."

The future of African animation

In a time when the African animation is booming, animator need all tools that you can get because Studios try to reproduce the success of series such as "Iwájú" and "Iyanu" - Nigerian projects that are streamed on Disney+ and HBO Max. Despite the continuing ethical challenges, Okoye remains optimistic, but is also aware of the concerns that people have. "How beautiful is it to become someone from a lawsuit who trains AI models?" She said. "What a great time to be alive."