Artificial intelligence has been a subject of personal fascination for me, and I have written about it multiple times for these pages, most notably with “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI,” an homage to Dr. Strangelove’s famous subhead.
The reference to Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic chef d’oeuvre is a reminder of the extent to which this now ubiquitous technology has permeated the seventh art. As my colleague Scott McKay recently wrote:
So if and when AI begins punching through and taking over the film industry, it’s going to be more of an extension of CGI — an editing tool, a special effects generator, a way to green-screen the principal photography of a film and generate a digital set or background behind it, and so on.
That means the super-creative computer geek who spends hours making a vision into a movie with AI could very well crank out something that matches the quality of a Disney film before too long. If you’ve seen what Disney is making lately, that’s not really all that high of a bar.
AI is in many ways a double-edged sword for the film industry. On one hand, it is a powerful creative production tool. On the other hand, it is this power that incites a bizarre fusion of fantasy and fear. AI enables creative people to more efficiently cast their visions on the silver screen, but it also scares them more than a little. While the common parlance is that human intervention is essential to the creative process, some of the advanced thought bubbles from AI give us pause.
“I ingest covers, illustrations, and layouts as living artifacts … so viewers feel they’re walking through the publication’s visual memory.”
Consequently the role of artificial intelligence in filmmaking was a natural choice for my next interview with Rob Orlando, the director of Surviving the Kultursmog: R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr, and the Rise of The American Spectator.
Q&A
Cravotta: Rob, in watching the various clips of Surviving the Kultursmog: R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and the Rise of The American Spectator, it was evident to me that artificial intelligence tools were used to create some of the imagery and videography in the film. As the director, what is your process? How do you utilize AI to realize your creative vision?
Orlando: I treat AI like a smart, fast assistant — not a substitute for craft. My workflow is story-first: I script the beat, define the emotional tone, and lock the editorial spine. Then I use AI for targeted lifts — concept art to explore look, upscales and cleanups on aged footage, light motion design, and temp sound design. Every AI output passes through human judgment: I composite, color-grade, and re-time inside Premiere and After Effects until it serves the narrative. If it doesn’t move the story, it doesn’t make the cut.
Cravotta: AI is being used more and more these days to re-imagine and contemporize classic artwork. For example, we see images of Mona Lisa exiting the picture frame or Venus stepping off of the half shell. Since its 1967 founding, The American Spectator has been known for its creative artwork. How do you as a film maker use this existing portfolio of artwork as a springboard for a more immersive entertainment experience?
Orlando: The magazine’s archive is a character in the film. I ingest covers, illustrations, and layouts as living artifacts, then use AI to test transitions — page-to-parallax moves, paper-to-film morphs, or subtle depth on flat art — so viewers feel they’re walking through the publication’s visual memory. The point isn’t to replace the originals; it’s to invite the audience into them, as if the artwork breathes and time collapses around Bob Tyrrell’s story.
Cravotta: It is my understanding that today’s filmmakers are increasingly using AI to simplify the production process. In many ways, AI is analogous to a virtual production assistant. How have AI tools enabled you to automate and streamline certain production tasks so that you as the director could focus on the “big picture.”?
Orlando: Best uses include restoration, noise reduction, frame interpolation for archival, design explorations, transcripts, and quick ideation boards. Worst uses include anything that would replace a subject’s voice or memory, or that shortcuts journalistic rigor. Editorial decisions, tone, and meaning stay human.
Cravotta: We are always hearing about films that run significantly over budget or miss their original production schedule deadlines. How does AI optimize the budget and production timeline of a documentary like this?
Orlando: It compresses iteration time. I can prototype ten visual ideas in a morning, keep two, and refine one by afternoon. That saves days of back-and-forth and focuses the budget on the moments that matter — score, mix, interviews, and finishing.
Cravotta: In every industry, especially the film industry, conversations about AI make people squeamish as they fear that the technology will replace them. How do film makers who are now increasingly reliant on AI for myriad creative, technical, and production responsibilities demonstrate that the human touch is still essential to the execution of a creative vision?
Orlando: Consent, clarity, credit. We clear rights, label reconstructions as such, and avoid synthetic performances that could mislead. AI can restore or illustrate; it shouldn’t impersonate. When in doubt, I default to authenticity — real interviews, real documents, real places. Clear licenses for all source materials; document prompts and sources; keep a changelog for generated and enhanced assets; and credit artists, designers, and model sources where applicable. Transparency builds trust.
Cravotta: Today, when we watch a film, we find ourselves wondering whether the images we see on the screen were created by human talent or generated by AI. What do you tell traditionalists who worry that AI erodes the art?
Orlando: We’ve been integrating new tools since the Moviola. The question isn’t “AI or no AI?” — it’s “Does the tool serve truth and beauty?” If the answer is yes, use it with restraint and credit. If not, drop it.
Cravotta: What surprised you most using AI on Kultursmog? What do you want viewers of Surviving the Kultursmog to take away from the AI elements of the film?
Orlando: I was impressed by how quickly visual language can evolve once you free the archive from flatness. A single cover image, lightly dimensionalized and scored, can carry the weight of a chapter — provided the edit honors the story. Even though viewers may not necessarily be familiar with all the archival material, they will benefit from the way artificial intelligence has enhanced and refreshed it.
Cravotta: In other words, one picture is worth a thousand words, and an AI enhanced picture is worth a million words. Rob, once again thank you again for your fascinating insights. We are all looking forward to seeing the final cut of Surviving the Kultursmog: R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and the Rise of The American Spectator.
For more information about Kultursmog, visit https://www.kultursmogfilm.com/.
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