Earlier this year, a widely circulated 15-second AI-generated video featuring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a rooftop fight caused a stir in Hollywood. A screenwriter described the video as ‘terrifying.’ The Motion Picture Association urged ByteDance, the company behind the AI tool, to cease its ‘infringing activity.’ Despite this controversy, ByteDance, the former majority owner of TikTok, quietly continues to attract filmmakers, independent artists, and executives to its AI video generation model, Seedance.
Launched in the U.S. this spring, Seedance made its debut at a Santa Monica event linked to the Chinese government. ByteDance has since hired for 100 open positions, signed several independent filmmakers and artists, and held private discussions about financing AI films. The company hosted a lavish caviar party at Cannes and participated in panels promoting its cinematic tool at Amazon’s AI on the Lot event in Culver City.
‘Like any new technology, Hollywood ultimately has no choice but to react to market realities. And that reality is that the new crop of AI-empowered Hollywood creatives see Seedance as having the most powerful video generator in the market right now,’ said Peter Csathy of Creative Media, an entertainment and AI business advisory firm.
Joel Kuwahara, an animation producer from ‘The Simpsons,’ noted Hollywood’s quiet acceptance: ‘Within the industry, I know that a lot of studios haven’t approved Seedance, but yet with a wink and a nod, they’re allowing Seedance to be used. It’s kind of like a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ kind of a thing.’
The race to develop the leading AI video model has created fierce competition. U.S. companies like Google Veo and startups such as Runway and Luma face challenges from Chinese competitors Seedance, Kling, and Alibaba’s HappyHorse. Artificial Analysis, a company that tracks AI models, cites Seedance as the most cost-effective and high-quality option. It costs $9 per minute for video with audio, significantly less than the $24 per minute charged by Google’s Veo.
This affordability attracts independent filmmakers, such as Rupert Wainwright, who plans to use Seedance for his hybrid AI film ‘Sebastian,’ set in 3rd century Rome. Steven Schneider, producer of ‘Paranormal Activity,’ announced ‘Terrarium,’ his first hybrid AI horror production. Director Jason Zada stated the film will be entirely generated using Seedance.
Zada’s filmmaking approach involves writing, casting, prompting, and editing concurrently, allowing for script rewrites based on AI-generated ‘dailies.’ Generating 15 seconds of high-definition video costs only $5. His workflow allows decisions on what to shoot traditionally and which parts to generate synthetically. He plans to use union actors and real filming locations, blending them with AI-generated content.
Seedance builds relationships by offering indie creators, AI-native studios, and filmmakers free monthly credits and access to unreleased features. Filmmaker Kavan Cardoza, with an AI fantasy series ‘The Chronicle of Bones,’ uses Seedance extensively. His series, featuring distinct storylines and characters, has become popular on YouTube with 3 million views per episode. Cardoza finds Seedance solves the challenge of maintaining character consistency between shots.
Cardoza envisions synthetic actors offering a cost-effective alternative to high-profile stars like Brad Pitt. He has copyrighted his script and characters, aiming for major studio interest to adapt his work into a film with an existing fan base. However, this plan may face resistance from the performers’ union SAG-AFTRA, which opposes synthetic actors like Tilly Norwood.
‘The rise of Seedance comes down to [its] focus on pleasing filmmakers and making things that look filmic,’ said Stephan Vladimir Bugaj of JioStar, a joint venture between Disney and Reliance Industries. Enhanced features allow filmmakers to select and adjust specific timeline moments, improving camera direction, physics, and lighting.
The tool’s demand led Seedance to offer some major Hollywood studios $2 million for unrestricted special access. Amit Jain, CEO of Luma, believes Seedance’s Hollywood prospects are limited. Traditional studios might use Chinese models for preproduction tasks but avoid commercial risks. ‘Can you imagine Disney using the ByteDance model for the next ‘Snow White’? No way,’ Jain said.
Despite conservative budgets, AI spending by media firms is expected to grow from $2.6 billion to $12.5 billion from 2024 to 2029, according to a State of Generative AI Media report. Bugaj warns that the value and quality of Chinese models are a ‘wake-up call’ for American companies striving for market share. ‘We’re not loyal,’ said Zada. ‘Whatever is the best, we’re going to use it.’
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