The Boogieman: An AI-Infused Journey – Reimagining a Lost Short Film
While at Chapman University, David May created two successful student films. “Fetch” and "Itsy Bitsy," both featured remarkable cast and crews, and they made their mark by screening at over 100 film festivals worldwide. The future seemed promising, and aspiring filmmaker David May envisioned another project, "The Boogieman," as a horror-comedy-musical with heart. However, despite his ambition, "The Boogieman" remained incomplete, a dormant dream in the archives of his early filmmaking career.
Fast forward almost two decades, and the landscape of filmmaking has dramatically transformed, thanks to the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. As an early technology enthusiast, David May decided to rekindle his creative spark and explore the potential of AI in filmmaking. Armed with a slew of AI tools and a strong will to bring "The Boogieman" back to life, he embarked on an exciting and innovative journey.
In the spirit of modern technology, David leveraged a diverse set of AI tools that have become increasingly accessible to creators:
MidJourney: He harnessed the power of AI to generate images, assisting in visualizing his creative vision.
Kaiber, Pika Labs, and Runway ML: Video editing and enhancement were taken to the next level using AI. These tools allowed David to manipulate and transform footage in ways previously thought unimaginable.
Eleven Labs: Voice generation allowed characters who were never recorded to speak.
Topaz Video AI: Upscaled old SD 24p footage to 4K image quality.
Musicify and Aiva: Music and sound, essential components of any film, were created using AI-generated compositions. The soundtrack of "The Boogieman" received an AI-infused makeover, setting the stage for a unique audiovisual experience. The voices in the second song were all rewritten by Musicify, and Aiva created most of the underscore.
Rave AI: Created music for the Boogieman trailer.
While this amalgamation of AI tools significantly contributed to the project's progress, let’s also acknowledge the role of ChatGPT in drafting the first drafts of the blog posts (such as the one you are reading now), formatting the credits from old call sheets, and writing prompts for generating images with MidJourney. These AI tools served as creative collaborators, providing a platform for David to experiment and innovate.
With this arsenal of AI at his disposal, David rekindled his dream of completing "The Boogieman." Unfortunately, even AI wasn’t able to fix some of the more foundational issues with the film, but getting it across the finish line is a great relief. This endeavor served as both an exploration of generative AI video and a testament to the potential of AI in the creative process. As a recovering filmmaker, David's journey was not only a passionate creative undertaking but also an opportunity to learn, adapt, and embrace the evolving landscape of technology in the world of film.
In an industry that thrives on innovation and reinvention, David May's journey with AI tools is a prime example of how creativity can be reignited through technology. "The Boogieman" is proof that even past projects can be reimagined, reignited, and rejuvenated with the assistance of AI. As the project unfolds, we eagerly await the outcome, hopeful for a remarkable resurrection of this lost gem, brought back to life by the synergy of human creativity and artificial intelligence.
