The Reconfiguration of Creative Logic in Film and Television Cinematography under Generative Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

This paper analyzes the transformation of the creative logic in the cinematography of movies and TV shows in the era of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). It stands as a clearly situated part of the arts of film and does not look at the subject from a computer-science perspective, but from an aesthetic theory, visual authorship, and cinematographic practice perspective. The study, which identifies 47 scholarly sources and uses analysis of four documented production cases, introduces a Three-Layer Creative Logic Model covering the phases of ideation, on-set production and post-production, to trace the changing nature, location, and basis of creative decision making in each stage as changed by GenAI. According to the findings, GenAI does not just speed up existing workflows but represents a paradigm shift towards a new role for the human artist, from creative initiator to creative curator. Three key tensions in art are identified: authorial contestation, aesthetic homogenization and professional roles and crafts becoming involved. Finally, it suggests a new theoretical approach that is suitable for an age where algorithmic systems are actively involved in the creative process of visual storytelling.