Netflix is using AI in visual effects but its artists still make the creative decisions
Netflix’s Eyeline studio is using generative AI for visual effects, but human artists remain responsible for deciding what works on screen.
Netflix is expanding its use of generative artificial intelligence in visual effects, but the company says human artists remain central to the process.
James Rustad, global head of GenFX at Netflix's Eyeline studio, discussed the approach at the Asian Contents & Film Market in Busan. His comments offered a clearer picture of how AI is actually being incorporated into professional screen production.
AI creates possibilities
According to Rustad, generative AI can allow visual-effects teams to explore more possibilities during production. The technology can produce material quickly, giving artists more options to consider rather than simply replacing the people working on a sequence.
That distinction is important because generating an image is not the same as deciding whether it belongs in a finished production.
Artists still have to consider the story, performances, visual style and director's intentions before deciding what works.
A real production test
Netflix's Eyeline has already used this approach on Brazil '70: The Third Star, which contains more than 1,300 visual-effects shots.
More than 800 of those shots are connected to football-field sequences, with around 45 artists involved in the production.
The example shows that AI-assisted filmmaking does not necessarily mean removing human involvement. Instead, the technology can become another part of a much larger visual-effects workflow.
The bigger AI question
That does not mean concerns about jobs disappear. If AI allows some work to be completed faster, studios could eventually change the size or structure of production teams.
For now, though, Netflix's approach presents a more complicated picture than the idea that AI will simply replace visual-effects artists.
The technology can generate options, but people still have to decide which ones serve the story. As AI becomes more common across entertainment, that human judgement could become just as important as the technology itself.
