Digital tools exist for creating practically every type of artistic, creative, or communicative digital artifact, including pictures, music, video, and computer animation. This project explores a combined AI-HCI approach to participatory intelligent agents that help amateurs create digital moving image media, such as machinima.

Due to the allure of cheap, quick, and easy movie making, and the accessibility of high-fidelity graphics through video games technologies, digital filmmaking with rendered assets has grown into a mainstream form of creative expression and sharing. While tools exist that are cheap, readily available, and easily acquired, machinima production has a high threshold of entry for amateurs. Consequently, the creative engagement of artists and the quality of many digital cinematic films remain questionable and suggests a widening gap between expert and amateur film. This gap is only partially a result of technology. Digital cinematic filmmaking also requires the highly specialized skills of cinematography and storytelling required to create mainstream cinematic film.

Supported by: NSF Creative IT grant