World War 10

When timelines converge, the most fearsome armies and creatures of all time face off at Area 51.

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Inspiration

I was inspired by alternate timeline stories like in the movies Iron Sky (2012) and Watchmen (2009). They got me thinking about the possibilities of using A.I. to create fantasy stories. Since the tools will let you do just about anything you can imagine—and many things you can't—the Chroma Awards competition seemed like the perfect playground to experiment with futuristic storytelling.

What it does

World War 10 is an action fantasy spec trailer.

How we built it

I started this project as I do with all my work—with good old-fashioned pen and paper. Then I went to Canva.com and rendered upwards of 50-75 still images using their AI photo program. This was pretty much my digital storyboarding. I also used Capcut.com to help flesh out story ideas by using their video with sound creation tool. I took those photos and began writing a script around them. I then went to LTX Studio and Kling AI to turn the best of those photos into video clips. I alose used LTX Studio and Mago to create some still images, using the Canva AI images as inspiration in some cases. My voiceovers were created using MotionArray.com's AI voicing program and Eleven Labs text-to-speech. BeFunky.com's AI image manipulator worked great to help me put the finishing touches on my opening title art and the text art scenes in the trailer. Everything was edited using DaVinci Resolve 19.

Challenges we ran into

My biggest problem really was coming up with an idea. I had wanted to do a documentary but I just couldn't decide on a subject I cared enough about to work on. Having edited a few feature films and a dozen or so movie trailers—for low-budget indie filmmakers—I've developed a love for making movie trailers. So, I decided finally to go with that. Up until recently, the AI tools I've been using to supplement my video editing have been great for external establishing shots and certain types of special effects (making an actor look demonic, creating explosions, etc.) but getting an AI character to speak realistic sounding words has been pretty much nonexistant. But, LTX Studio must have made some leaps recently because I was able to get some choice soundbytes for my trailer with realistic emotion that fully lip-synced.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

It was a lot of work rendering just the right visuals and piecing them together but I think the finished product is a fun and engaging piece of art that entertains.

What we learned

I'm ever reminded when working on a new project that I am not a patient man. But, working with this emerging technology forces me to slow down and take a breath and remember that, while the AI tools may not get everything right the first time, if I keep refining my requests and adapting to the limitations of both the program and my own imagination, I can find workarounds for most of the things I want to appear on-screen.

What's next for World War 10

I think World War 10 will remain a spec trailer. I don't have any other plans for it right now. But, the more I work with AI tools, the more excited I am about the types of projects someone like me can create. After all, I'm a writer and editor of low-budget films and movie trailers who lives in Michigan ... my connections to Hollywood are about zero. But, with all the tools now at hand, I have a chance to make the kinds of things that might someday get me noticed.

Built With

  • befunky.com
  • canva
  • capcut
  • davinci
  • eleven-labs
  • kling-ai
  • ltx-studio
  • motionarray
  • resolve
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