We first met Nuutti Kataja — from Finland — with his entry to the Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon 50th anniversary animation competition with his video to “Speak To Me.” It seems this video was a test for him. A test in creating a style of AI animation that would set him apart from other animators using artificial intelligence programs to make music videos. It was soon after this when he debuted “Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5.” This video was so distinctive it soon became a video that inspired many other animators — to mimic his style and to just copy outright.
At TikiKiti we hear from many who have nothing but criticism for anything using AI imaging software. Most have little or know understanding how these music videos are created. What most refuse to understand is that a human makes these videos. A human directs this software. This is why we see so many different type of animations. All animators start with is vision. Just as with any other type of animation the producer has the idea of what it will look like and the story they want to tell.
When asked how long it took him to make “Welcome To The Machine” he didn’t hesitate when saying it took him 200 hours.
Breaking this down to more easily disgestable numbers: 200 hours is just over 8.33 days. But I doubt he worked 24 hours a day on this animation. (I know I’m only good for a couple of hours on the computer before I need a break.) Let’s assume Nuutti breaks his day into 8 hour segments — a normal work day. So now he would have worked 67 days on this video — or more than two months. Again, this assumes he worked straight with no breaks from his work for 67 days. Who does that!
More likely he took longer because every human needs to get up and walk away from any creative project.
For those who still do not understand how these animations made: a series of prompts are used. A prompt in software terms is an action command that instructs the software to do a certain task. After a prompt is given the software performs the task. If the end result is acceptable, they the animator moves on to the next prompt.
Or not.
Getting each image the way he sees it in his head is why it take so long to produce an animation. Nuutti says he has adopted something of a crazy approach to his prompts. When he wants something very detailed his prompts get equally as detailed. But, he adds, “…it’s not exciting anymore.” This kind of work is becoming more tedious. The problems he is now encountering is in the building the narratives. Again, with “Welcome To The Machine” the narrative was divided into four parts. Once he realized he could leave the narrative up to the AI he could concentrate on the esthetics.
He says, “…people are thinking about complicated prompts [the animation] is still a numbers games — the more you produce, the more, — I hate the word ‘content’, but it is content. The more you produce, the better it looks.” He then goes on to say how, once it starts to take shape, he had to keep on going, and adding, “…it’s work. It does’t just happen like that.” As he snaps his finger. He is hopeful in the next two to three years the software will easy enough for his mother to use.
Currently, he adds, the more difficult part is trying to get movements down. After seeing so many AI animations where characters don’t really move so much as they morph, I have to agree. This is one of the software limitations that animators have adapted to by making more abstract videos. This is also why the infinite zoom videos are still so popular.
Many have called AI animation “surreal.” This is not a word Nuutti likes to use. Mostly because of how the software tends to interpret this word. He says, “If you use it too much there’s going to be too many melting clocks and things like that.” One of his influences has been Storm Thorgerson and the graphic art group founded the Hipgnosis. This group designed many of the most iconic and influential album covers in the 1970s and later.
Much of his influence for his work comes from movie references. The Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov was a big influence when making “Welcome To The Machine.” There are also shades of the depressing Soviet cinema. In fact, growing up in the shadow of the old Soviet Union has in fact influenced his artistic direction. As part of the Finnish Naval Reserve he is always ready to go to war. This was the world he was raised in. Trust is not easily built between two contentious countries that have shared a border for several lifetimes. It is this dark vision that inspired his work on “Welcome To The Machine.”
Nuutti also understands his audience — and people in general. He knows he has to make his videos to grab the attention of people right away. He likes realism but also wants to make each video so it has its own look. Talking of all the other video he sees, he is disappointed in how alike so many other videos look. Whenever a new tool is released he looks to see how it was trained; then he steers clear of this because he knows it is this that most animators will be using. What he considers gimmicky.
Comparing the nature of new software to science-fiction he says the software seems to be trained with movies such as Blade Runner, Alien, etc. Getting away from these classic movies is an imperative because he doesn’t want his videos to look like H.R. Giger — who worked on Alien, and why he doesn’t like to use the word “surreal” because it comes with preconceived notions about what this kind of art should look like.
When asked, of his videos he made, what is his favorite, he did not hesitate to say it was Pink Floyd’s “Time” — the one he entered into the competition for was the 50th anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon.
He was embarrassed to admit how much time he spent on this video, suffice to say it was more than “Welcome To The Machine.” So, more than 200 hours!
Admitting there was a learning curve involved, he also says it looks a little outdated. But it was this video that helped him define his style. You can see elements of this production in videos that followed. Dividing the animation into different parts he says the red and black parts worked so well together, especially when the transition to the pastel part comes into play.
As with any artist who has looked at his art work for such a long time, it’s easy to see why he feels his work shows its age. But from my vantage point I see his work as standing out as something more universal and influential.
His future includes composing his own music based on a theme. He’s a big fan of Sergio Leone and has some ideas on how this will work out — both musically and visually. He does make a very important distinction here, saying he “feels” this way because this is his inspiration. The Pink Floyd videos has brought him a lot of work. Work that keeps him going. With all the views these videos have gotten him he considers it free marketing. The time he put into them is starting to pay off — literally.
As we finished our discussion we revisited the criticism that AI videos have been getting. He made one very compelling observation that many fail to grasp: that AI animation programs are just tools. “It’s like a pencil or a camera. Anybody can access it [these programs].” People no longer need a Hollywood studio to make quality animations.
Maybe this is at the heart of why many are against these types of animations. It is now very easy for anyone to make the kinds of productions that used to be something that only certain professionals had access to. Nuutti makes a comparison to back in 1851 when the camera was introduced. What would the portrait painter think. The same when Photoshop was introduced in 1991.
When technology changes so does everything that follows.
