Rob Bredow

So thanks for taking the time.

The opening shot of Star Wars, episode four, the original one, it broke all new grounds and really redefined that era of filmmaking.

Plus, it's just like perfectly designed.

Now, behind the scenes, you may or may not know the camera rig.

This is the Dijkstra Flex.

It's a computerized motion-control camera rig.

It was innovative.

It could be moved from stage to stage.

It enabled these new dynamic camera moves on models, on miniatures, for the very first time.

Again, redefining that era of filmmaking.

Today, we're entering a new era of technology.

But instead of being introduced to it with a spectacular opening shot of a movie, we're reading about it in the press.

And as someone who's been a visual effects artist for over 35 years, some of these headlines are pretty disappointing.

They seem to say, AI is coming, and it's coming for our jobs.

And the tools, they're getting pretty good, too.

You know, I work on movies, I should be safe for a little while, right?

It's going to take them, well, you know where this is going, Google, Meta, OpenAI, all showing sophisticated video generation systems.

These appear to be doing some of the same things we are doing right now, frame by frame, with multiple artists often working weeks at a time to make a single three- to five-second shot in movies you love.

It's going to be pretty intimidating.

And we're not the only ones who are a little concerned about the future of AI.