Futurist Ted Schilowitz debuts ASU film school's speaker series with glimpse into future of AI
Ted Schilowitz speaks on stage to Poitier Film School students at ASU's MIX Center, kicking off the film school's new speaker series. Photo courtesy of the Poitier Film School
What impact will AI have on the entertainment industry? Will it eliminate creative jobs, or is it another tool in the filmmaker’s toolkit?
These are questions film students are asking as the next technological revolution begins to impact their industry, and they are questions that film industry futurist and entertainment executive Ted Schilowitz tackled head-on recently at The Sidney Poitier New American Film School.
“You need to harness it, before it harnesses you,” Schilowitz said of AI on Sept. 30, when he gave Poitier Film School students a glimpse into what the future might hold in a presentation titled "AI in the Entertainment Industry: Explorations, Use Cases and Navigating Ethical and Workforce Dilemmas."
Upcoming speaker details
Beverly Wood, digital film specialist
6:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28
ASU MIX Center, Mesa
Schilowitz’s talk was the launch of The Poitier Film School’s new speaker series, each month bringing an industry professional to ASU’s Media and Immersive Experience (MIX) Center in Mesa for special programming. The focus of the fall 2024 semester is science and technology, engaging film industry professionals with specialized technological expertise and insights into the next wave of technological revolution.
Schilowitz has worked as a professional futurist for 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, helped lead creation teams for the "Alien," "Planet of the Apes" and "Predator" VR experiences, and was instrumental in bringing the "Grease" MR experience, the "Spongebob" MR experience, the "Light as a Feather" MR experience and the "Quiet Place" VR experience to life.
With wit and wisdom, Schilowitz talked through some of the most pressing technological and ethical questions regarding AI and its impact on the entertainment industry and workforce.
“It is vital that we equip our students with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. Understanding the latest developments in science and technology and knowing how to use them to their advantage is an essential part of that,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, founding director of The Poitier Film School. “Ted Schilowitz is the perfect person to kick off our speaker series and prepare our students for the unique challenges and opportunities for success that await them when they graduate into the creative workforce.”
“We have entered an age when we are married with tech.
Ted Schilowitz, film industry futurist and entertainment executive
Schilowitz, who calls himself a “technology optimist,” kicked off the first speaker series event with a fun, if hair-raising, exercise, asking everyone in the packed theater to trade smartphones with their neighbor — and to let their neighbor keep it for the duration of the evening’s two-hour event.
The room tittered with anxiety, one person shouting, “No!”
“Who’s feeling a little uncomfortable?” Schilowitz said to laughter. “The point of this exercise is that I want you to have a grasp and an understanding that what we just did is not a technology experiment but a biology experiment,” he said, adding, “We have entered an age when we are married with tech.”
Schilowitz’s interactive multimedia presentation outlined the evolution of camera, screen and VR technologies, building to a forecast of the possible technological revolutions that lie ahead with AI and how they will impact filmmakers. While Schilowitz acknowledged no one has all the answers, he encouraged students to be on the side of disruption and to be on the forefront of whatever comes next.
Schilowitz, keeping true to his identity as a “technology optimist,” ended the evening by sharing a favorite fortune he received from a fortune cookie that he now carries around in his wallet: “With time, the impossible will become possible.
October’s guest speaker is “film whisperer” Beverly Wood, one of the most sought-after innovators in color technologies who worked with acclaimed directors and DPs to achieve their unique visions and navigate the transition from film to digital. Wood began her career as a chemical engineer, working as an analytical chemist for Eastman Kodak and as executive VP at Deluxe Laboratories.
Her specialized expertise in chemistry, engineering and filmmaking led her to collaboration with some of the world’s most renowned cinematographers, including Oscar-winning DP Roger Deakins and Darius Khondji, with whom she created the striking visual style of the 1995 David Fincher masterpiece “Se7en.”
Wood speaks at the ASU MIX Center at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, in a free event open to the public.
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