philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Generative “Eno” Documentary Reshapes the Film for Every Viewing

PhilNote: this entry was much discussed at this year's Sundance Festival.

• “Eno,” about the career of famed musician and visual artist Brian Eno, was created as a generative, cinematic documentary.
• Instead of a standard bio-doc, filmmaker Gary Hustwit and his collaborators have assembled a “modular” film that shuffles unpredictably between time periods and mediums to offer a composite portrait of its subject.
• The technology is developed by Hustwit’s own startup Anamorph, which they call a “generative system” rather than generative AI.

... “I like movies where you learn different things about the subject, but you, as the viewer, make the connections… I always think that’s a lot more rewarding, as a viewer. It’s a different kind of filmmaking, but it’s also a different kind of film watching.”

It helps that the first and last scenes of the 85-minute doc are always the same. Plus, there are certain scenes pinned to the same timeslot in each version, including a scene where Eno discusses generative art....

“When we premiered Eno at Sundance, all the big streaming companies loved it, but they also admitted that their systems can’t handle the tech involved… These streamers need to differentiate, and I think enabling the films and shows they’re releasing with generative technology is a way to do that,” says Hustwit. ...

“Something that the theater industry badly needs right now is a reason to get people to come in, and if there is a uniqueness about the live cinema experience, that’s one way that can be achieved,” he adds.

Screenings across 50 cities will be presented this year. The full schedule can be found here.

See the full story here: https://amplify.nabshow.com/articles/ic-generative-eno-documentary/