In a pioneering move for the AI industry, the generative video startup Runway has partnered with Lionsgate, one of Hollywood’s largest studios, to develop custom video capabilities. Runway will train an AI model using Lionsgate’s extensive film library, giving the studio’s creative teams access to novel video generation and editing tools.
This represents the first publicly disclosed collaboration between a major Hollywood player and a generative AI company. It aims to empower Lionsgate’s directors, filmmakers and other talents with augmented creative processes. They will be able to leverage the custom model to help bring their visions to life.
Runway is also exploring opportunities to license their trained models as templates. Individual video creators could then personalize models through continued training on their own footage. This would help democratize generative video technologies.
The announcement comes amid regulatory changes around the use of AI-generated digital personas. It also follows legal issues surrounding the need for consent when training AI systems using copyrighted works. However, Runway’s tailored partnership approach with Lionsgate could help address such concerns from the outset.
As the first deal of its kind, the Lionsgate collaboration establishes Runway as a pioneer in the entertainment industry’s adoption of generative AI. It provides a template for how these powerful tools can be responsibly developed and applied and move the media world into new frontiers. Studios and filmmakers now have an opportunity to leverage emerging technologies while respecting creative and legal protections.