Drawing a line on AI, Zack Snyder lays out his filmmaking rules
Zack Snyder wades into the AI in filmmaking debate, making it clear there’s something you don’t hand over to the machines.
While rolling out his stripped-down war thriller The Last Photograph, Zack Snyder laid out his personal “rules” for AI on set: the choices the camera makes have to come from a human, and the people in front of it have to be actual, living performers. He told Variety he’s fine with using technology to tweak or clean up a shot, but not to generate the shot itself or replace actors.
“My current rules on AI are that I’m very adamant that the shots are made by a person, the framing, the composition. I don’t want AI making shots,” he said.
Snyder also acknowledged to Variety that the line between traditional CGI and AI is getting blurrier inside modern VFX pipelines, which is exactly why he draws a hard boundary at performances. Effects can alter the world around an actor, he argued, but they shouldn’t manufacture the actor. That stance tracks with the way he’s long used the frame as a storytelling tool in 300, Watchmen and his DC films.
A 20-year pursuit
The timing of Snyder’s AI line is notable because The Last Photograph is the most hands-on production he’s made in years. He not only directed but also served as cinematographer, shooting in Colombia with a pared-back approach that favored physical texture and tough locations over digital spectacle.
The project itself has been “two decades” in the making, Snyder told Variety, dating back to work that began before 300. When a small window finally opened, he chose to make this film over another script he had in play, Illusions, adapted from Richard Bach’s book. The movie came together on a 32-day shoot, which Snyder credited to a team that could move fast with limited resources.
The independent war thriller premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13.