If AI Can Cut Every Corner, What Happens to Craft?
The Seduction of Speed
AI is transforming the way films are made. Scripts can be drafted overnight, shots can be pre-visualized in seconds, edits can be assembled instantly, and entire visual sequences can be generated without a single day on set. For producers pressed by deadlines and budgets, it’s intoxicating. Every corner that once slowed production can now be cut.
But filmmaking has never just been about getting things done faster. It has been about the painstaking process — the wrestle, the waiting, the choices made under pressure. Craft is forged in those spaces. And if AI removes them, what happens to the soul of cinema?
The Value of the Struggle
Great films are often born out of obstacles. The jaws that wouldn’t work on Jaws forced Spielberg to lean into suspense. Lighting limitations shaped the haunting shadows of film noir. Budget constraints pushed indie filmmakers to invent bold new storytelling methods.
Craft comes from wrestling with limitation. It’s in the hours of rehearsals, the meticulous set builds, the risky camera moves, the painstaking edit decisions. These are not inefficiencies — they are the forge of artistry.
When AI offers to cut every corner, we risk losing the very tension that sharpens creative vision.
The Risk of Smoothness
AI thrives on efficiency and polish. It removes bumps, erases rough edges, and delivers results that “work.” But craft is often found in the rough edges — the imperfect cut that feels raw, the shadow that wasn’t planned, the improvisation that breaks the script open.
If filmmaking becomes too smooth, it risks becoming sterile. Stories may look flawless, but they’ll lack the weight of being wrestled into existence.
Why Craft Still Matters
Craft is what separates film from content. Content is fast, consumable, optimized. Film is deliberate, shaped, and endured. Craft carries meaning because it costs something — time, focus, patience, risk.
AI can generate. But only humans can craft.
Fragrant Film’s Perspective
At Fragrant Film, we believe technology should serve craft, not erase it. AI may save time, but time saved should never come at the cost of depth. We don’t exist to crank out perfect images. We exist to tell stories that last.
That means protecting the process, honoring the struggle, and refusing to cut the corners that define the art.
Looking Ahead
The future of cinema will be shaped by how we use AI. If it becomes a shortcut for everything, film risks collapsing into content. But if we use it with restraint — letting it lighten the load while preserving the space for human wrestle — craft will endure.
Because in the end, craft is what makes cinema worth watching.
