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Ava DuVernay defends using AI to animate archival photos in '14th'

Director Ava DuVernay says AI was used in her documentary '14th' only to animate public-domain photos, not to fabricate people or voices, after online criticism. The film reaches Netflix on Dec. 4.

2 outlets · 2L · 0C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The Hollywood Reporter
Image: The A.V. Club

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The story, neutrally told

Left · 2Ava DuVernay has defended the use of AI in her new documentary 14th, which has drawn some criticism online, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter as the film screened at AFI Fest on Sunday. Left · 2The film uses AI to bring archival photographs to life. DuVernay said: "We didn't use it to fabricate a person or make an avatar of a person or approximate someone's voice that said something they didn't say. We actually animated some photos that are in the public domain." Left · 2She argued that AI-related technology is already built into common post-production tools such as Pro Tools, Avid and Resolve, and that filmmakers must be "really sober" about how it is used across the workflow.

Left · 1DuVernay said audiences should see the film and decide for themselves how they feel, and that feedback she has heard is that the animation brings people closer to that period of history. Left · 1According to The A.V. Club, at the film's New York Film Festival premiere earlier this month she said post-production tools gave the photos a 3D quality similar to a stereoscope. Left · 214th examines the 14th Amendment, including birthright citizenship, due process, equal protection and the bar on insurrection, and how these have been challenged. It arrives a decade after her Oscar-nominated 13th, though she does not see it as a direct follow-up.

Left · 1DuVernay said she began considering the project after hearing the current president, as a candidate, vow to end birthright citizenship, and that it grew as she saw the administration attack the amendment. Left · 1The film opens in a limited theatrical run on Nov. 27 and starts streaming on Netflix on Dec. 4. Left · 1The A.V. Club places the film in a wider debate, noting that Danny Boyle and Ben Affleck have also used or praised AI, and that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company used generative AI in 300 projects. It concludes there is still a strong case for human artistry.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left2 outlets

Framing
The Hollywood Reporter relays DuVernay's defence largely on her terms; The A.V. Club frames it within Hollywood's AI debate and adds a sceptical closing editorial note.
Emphasis
DuVernay's quotes about public-domain photos and not fabricating people; industry precedents and Netflix's AI use (A.V. Club).
Leaves out or plays down
Neither outlet details the online criticism or quotes critics.
Charged language
“good old-fashioned human artistry”“tentacles of the current administration”
For example
“the director is opening up about her decision to use AI on elements of the film.” — The Hollywood Reporter
“we’d say there’s still a strong case for making movies with good old-fashioned human artistry.” — The A.V. Club

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