Thanks for stopping by the Prompt Collective Newsletter. This is where we explore the exciting and boundless possibilities of human / AI collaborations in the creative industries.
In this newsletter, we share our firsthand experiences using AI tools to hopefully inspire you to try them out for yourself. But that's not all - as a subscriber, you'll also get to know our very own creation, the Ai-dea generator! This powerful tool is designed to spark your creativity and generate innovative ideas.
Whether you're a curious creative professional, a skeptic, or simply interested in the world of AI, this newsletter is for you. So why not subscribe now and join us on this exciting journey toward a new era of content creation?
This week: Ai-daptation of Books, an Experiment by Jes Brandhøj
In the TV and film industry, basing projects on books / IPs has always been important. Last year, viewers across the globe witnessed a return to Tolkien's Middle Earth as the "Rings of Power" season one hit the Amazon Prime service. Reportedly, the purchase price of the book rights ramped up to a staggering $250 million, and then they still had to make the thing.
Movie and TV companies spend time and money scouting, reading, evaluating, and negotiating book projects and rights. Some of them are chosen due to legacy, brand equity and/or fanbase, like the example above; some are new and hyped titles; and some are books that check all the boxes for them to become a good adaptation.
Can Chat GPT aid the work of IP scouts? Let’s try and find out.
With that established let’s have ChatGPT put it to good use:
Let’s try another one:
Even though it’s sometimes tricky to get ChatGPT to have an opinion I noticed the tiny difference in the choice of words as The Corrections was merely a “good candidate“ whereas Nickel Boys is a “strong candidate.“
So, what did I learn from this exercise?
Being an IP scout is no easy task, as numerous elements must be considered when assessing a book's adaptation potential. In this regard, Chat GPT can serve as a basic fact-checker for key elements, providing a rudimentary first filter for new book releases. By prompting ChatGPT in the manner described above, one can also evaluate whether a book would be better suited as a feature film or an episodic TV series.
However, it's important to note that IP scouts are still better equipped to factor in their deep understanding of the market, broadcasters' preferences, and the individual tastes of creatives they work with. This enables them to make more informed decisions when making recommendations.
Nevertheless, ChatGPT can still be useful in performing a quick evaluation of a book's basic key elements, freeing up time for IP scouts to focus on more valuable tasks, such as spending time with authors, directors, commissioners, and producers.
I must admit that it was maybe a bit unfair of me to have ChatGPT choose between a new book like "The Nickel Boys" and an established classic like "The Grapes of Wrath." While it makes sense to choose something with a huge brand like Steinbeck's book, the film adaptation of "The Nickel Boys" was announced in 2020, and it's directed by RaMell Ross, with shooting wrapped up in December 2022.
In the future, it would be interesting to make Chat GPT more granular, focusing on specific genres and also exploring the differences between adaptations for TV and film. This and much more will be covered in a future newsletter about Ai-daptation.
Finally, if any IP scout is reading along, do you happen to know if Aaron Sorkin is interested in adapting "The Grapes of Wrath"? Perhaps an epic dust-bowl drama is just what we need these days.
A thing we loved this week
From the early days of ChatGPT users have enjoyed having conversations with it. A new product called HeyPi was launched recently by the company Inflection AI. It appears they are aiming to develop a personalized and finely tuned model tailored to each individual user and with its mindfulness vibe they have something going on. Check it out here: HeyPi
IDEAS FOR FREE!
The AI-dea Generator
We all brainstorm with ourselves and with others. Now, we can also do it with machines! Each week share ideas for tv-shows that we have generated with our amazing Ai-dea Generator.
My former boss used the "okapi" method, where we'd smash two different ideas together, much like the okapi, which seems to be a half donkey and half zebra. With the Ai-dea Generator, we can smash two words together and as we’ve already prompted it with knowledge of different genres it is ready to start brainstorming.
This week the focus is on zebras :-) The input given this week was the setting of “outer space” and the special ingredient “zebras.” Here. We. Go:
Please send us suggestions for word combinations that you want us to throw at the amazing TV Show Idea Generator and we’ll feature your word combo in a future newsletter.
Also: Reach out if you want to produce the idea, join the conversation, or the collective!
Who are we?
The founding members of the /promptcollective are Jes Brandhøj (Denmark) and Hannes Jakobsen (Germany). But we are looking for others to join! So if you are interested in discussing all things AI in the creative industries, send us an email to join@promptcollective.xyz now.
Thanks
Hannes & Jes