Netflix has announced a significant and rare acquisition, purchasing InterPositive, an innovative start-up founded by actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck. InterPositive specializes in developing AI-powered tools specifically designed for filmmakers, with terms of the acquisition remaining undisclosed. This strategic move sees the entire 16-person InterPositive team, comprising engineers, researchers, and creatives, integrate into Netflix. Furthermore, Affleck will take on the role of a senior adviser, offering continuous guidance to the streaming giant.

While Netflix typically prefers to develop its technologies internally rather than acquiring them, the company identified InterPositive's AI tools as offering a unique advantage by keeping "filmmakers at the center of the process." Netflix intends to provide its creative partners with access to InterPositive's technology, with no immediate plans to sell it commercially. The Los Angeles-based company, which has been operating in stealth mode since its inception in 2022 by Affleck, is distinctly different from generative AI platforms like OpenAI's Sora. Affleck clarified in a video released with the acquisition announcement that InterPositive is not about "text-prompting or generating something from nothing." He emphasized, "AI, people mostly think of it as making something from nothing: ‘I’m gonna type something into a computer and it’s gonna give me a movie.’ That’s not what this is."

Instead, the InterPositive system functions by constructing an AI model based on an existing production's daily footage. This model is then integrated into the post-production workflow, empowering filmmakers with enhanced capabilities for tasks such as mixing and color grading, relighting shots, and incorporating visual effects. This acquisition comes shortly after Netflix's withdrawal from its bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and streaming businesses, a decision made after Paramount Skydance outbid them for WBD.

Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, highlighted that InterPositive’s AI technology will afford its partners "more choices, more control and more protection for their vision." Bajaria stressed Netflix's commitment to trust with artists, supporting their full creativity and ensuring they control how their films and shows are produced. She stated, "We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors and crews. Ben and his team at InterPositive are part of a long tradition in our industry of artists leading the way in how innovation is used in storytelling."

Echoing this sentiment, Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, pointed out that current generative AI video platforms often lack a filmmaker-centric perspective. Stone asserted that InterPositive’s tools are specifically engineered to assist filmmakers in producing higher-quality content, rather than merely making productions faster or cheaper. "Our approach to AI has always been focused on meaningfully serving the needs of the creative community and our members," Stone remarked, adding that the InterPositive team joins Netflix due to a shared belief that "innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them." She praised InterPositive’s technology as "purpose-built for filmmakers and showrunners to work with tools that naturally support their creative visions."

Affleck shared the origin story of InterPositive, detailing his observations in 2022 regarding the nascent rise of AI in production. He noted that existing models fell short for artists, lacking the nuance required for effective storytelling. Affleck felt a responsibility to protect human creativity and judgment, which he described as taking decades to build and requiring extensive experience. His goal was to develop tools that respected the intricacies of filmmaking, the predictable and unpredictable challenges of production, and the subtleties of lens distortion or light transformation.

To achieve this, InterPositive embarked on filming a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage, simulating a full production environment. Affleck aimed to build a workflow that mirrored the language of cinematographers and directors, ensuring consistency and control. The start-up's inaugural AI model was trained to comprehend "visual logic and editorial consistency," while simultaneously upholding cinematic rules under real-world production constraints like missing shots, background replacements, or incorrect lighting. Crucially, the system incorporated restraints to safeguard creative intent, enabling responsible exploration while keeping creative decisions firmly with the artists, ensuring the technology's benefits directly serve the story. Affleck expressed his excitement for InterPositive’s continued work with Netflix, looking forward to providing the broader creative community with access to their innovations.