Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos sees generative artificial intelligence tools expanding creativity during the making of movies and TV series and not just being a cost-cutting option for studios.

“We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” Sarandos told financial analysts on Thursday after his company delivered its second quarter financial results.

“So this is real people doing real work with better tools. Our creators are already seeing the benefits in production through pre-visualization and shot planning work, and certainly visual effects,” he added.

And not just on bigger budget projects. Sarandos pointed to El Eternauta (The Eternaut), an Argentine sci-fi series that follows survivors of a sudden and devastating toxic snowfall and which made use of virtual production and AI-powered visual effects tools.

In the first-ever generative AI footage to stream as part of a Netflix original series or film, Sarandos said Netflix and Argentinian VFX artists collaborated to show a building collapsing in Buenos Aires.

“Using AI-powered tools, they were able to achieve an amazing result with remarkable speed and, in fact, that VFX sequence was completed ten times faster than it could have been completed with traditional VFX tools and work flows,” he recounted. And using AI tools enabled the use of VFX in a six-part series made entirely by an Argentine cast and crew and with a budget lower than is typical for big budget Hollywood productions.

“The creators were thrilled with the result. We were thrilled with the result, and more importantly the audience was thrilled with the result. So I think these tools are helping creators expand the possibilities of storytelling on screen, and that is endlessly exciting,” Sarandos told analysts.

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