As Hollywood taps Into A.I., what would you build with IBM Watson? Submit your idea by May 18

- IBM has collaborated with the Tribeca Film Festival to launch the "Storytellers with Watson" competition

- Producers and directors alike are discovering the power of a new kind of AI assistant

- Watson pushes the boundaries of what producers and directors can create on the silver screen

- Ideas must be submitted by May 18

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May 06, 2017, 08:15 ET

NEW YORK, May 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hollywood is beginning to recast artificial intelligence from being the lead character in movies to becoming the leading technology driving the industry. Producers and directors alike are discovering the power of a new kind of AI assistant: IBM Watson, the cognitive computing system that is enhancing the work of the human imagination and giving artists, filmmakers, and other creative minds the tools to uncover new ways of thinking and problem-solving.

Imagine the ultimate "super-assistant" on the set to help make hundreds of decisions and take care of mundane tasks that free you up to concentrate on making the picture a box office success. IBM Watson can do this by pushing the boundaries of what producers and directors can create on the silver screen. It can analyze volumes of data — think photos, online content, scripts, video — and then recognize, inform and project from the patterns it identifies.

To help propel this innovation, IBM (NYSE: IBM) has collaborated with the Tribeca Film Festival to launch the "Storytellers with Watson" competition, which encourages artists from across the industry to submit ideas on how they would use Watson to enhance their digital storytelling — from film and video, to web content, gaming, augmented reality and virtual reality.

We're eager to see how media and entertainment luminaries are going to use Watson to elevate their storytelling to deliver more action-packed trailers, scarier horror flicks, funnier comedies, and more heart-wrenching dramas. To get the creative ideas flowing, here are several ways Watson can become the best tool for movie production:

Knowing just what an audience wants. Last year music producer Alex da Kid teamed up with Watson to tap into the collective mood of the entire planet to create a single song that reflected all those emotions. (Watch the case here.) When crafting a screenplay, writers can add Watson to their team to get an idea of how they should approach certain themes that best resonate with audiences.
Re-thinking and simplifying pre-production planning. A lot of work goes into getting a movie prepped for production. Besides people who spend countless hours a day scouting out potential filming locations, directors must sit through casting calls and face shots. Watson can process images and help inform producers on which backdrops might be best for each scene. Pre-production tasks are vital to the success of a movie; Watson can help production teams distill everything into a game-plan using expertise at scale.
Rapid-fire editing. No longer will the director have to constantly shout "cut!" from his or her director's chair. With Watson, the cameras can keep "rolling" (they're digital, so not really) without missing a single recorded scene. Nothing is left on the cutting room floor because Watson can scan through all of the content and help identify which scenes are the best to use in a film. Watson understands the essence of the story — and can help inform how content is organized to tell a story.
Ditching written scripts in favor of real-time dialogues. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology will make movies evermore interactive. With Watson, directors will be able to take the same kind of conversational technology that powers customer service chatbots and transform it into voice-based interactions that can complement both VR and AR.
Understanding your fan-base. Once the director says "that's a wrap," the entire movie production is only halfway done. Arguably the hardest part is the distribution and marketing of the film. Watson is a pro at analyzing a fan base to create a marketing strategy that promotes a film more effectively. Want to know in an instant which movie trailer elicits the most favorable emotions from your fan base? Watson can use tone and sentiment analysis to analyze the optimal trailer.

If you visit a movie set in the near future, you might experience first-hand how Watson is becoming the ultimate assistant for media and entertainment professionals. What's more is the way in which it's being applied ... which could be your very own idea.

We invite you to visit the "Storytellers with Watson" online contest hub and tell us: How would you use Watson to improve digital storytelling?

About IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing
Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world in a way more similar to humans: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.

As part of IBM's strategy to accelerate the growth of cognitive computing, Watson is open to the world, allowing a growing community of developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to easily tap into the most advanced and diverse cognitive computing platform available today. Watson solutions are being built, used and deployed in more than 45 countries and across 20 different industries.

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/watson. Join the conversation at #ibmwatson.

Media Contact:
Nancy Ngo
IBM Media Relations
917-421-8820
[email protected]

SOURCE IBM