Written by Juju Nieto

Artificial Intelligence writing applications such as ChatGPT have become increasingly popular in the past few years, and we have seen the creativity in what people will use these technologies to accomplish grow as well. With the renegotiation of the Writers Guild of America’s Minimum Basic Agreement on the horizon, the Guild has announced protections both for and against the use of AI tools in screenwriting. This leads to two questions by professional writers, and entertainment professionals alike: Can AI technologies actually write a script, and what will this technology mean for screenwriters in the future?

Is it Possible? 

To start with the most obvious question, it's important to unpack whether or not this technology is indeed capable of writing a full-length, producible script. An answer that continues to resurface regarding whether or not this technology could write a script was “These technologies are great tools.”

What does this mean? Well, it means that many professional writers, such as Sony Story Analyst Ken Miyamoto, use these technologies as a way to make their lives easier by doing tasks that are typically seen as menial, or to be carried out by an intern or underpaid assistant. Miyamoto cites the way that both himself and other professionals in the business utilize AI tools, such as Chat GPT, to write loglines, synopses, outlines, treatments, or even generate ideas when running into writer's block. 

Miyamoto states that some even go as far as to use these technologies to write commercials or “sizzle reels” for their shows, with the AI being capable of creating shot lists and a thorough breakdown of what might be necessary for props, background, actors, and more. This is incredibly useful, as marketing materials have become more vital within the entertainment industry, and for smaller writers or production companies, this might cause unnecessary financial or creative strain. Using AI to assist in these efforts may result in a more equitable environment in the entertainment industry moving forward. 

This still doesn’t answer the question “Can an AI write a script?” The short answer is sort of. It definitely can write a script. Like most artificial intelligence tools, however, nothing can be accomplished without human input. When it comes to scripts and AI, there needs to be some sort of prompting for the AI to go off of. One way that people have found ways around inputting their own ideas for AI is by asking it questions or giving it niche prompts, like “write me the synopsis of a film that will become an Oscar Best Picture winner.” From there writers ask the chatbot to flesh out this idea. “Write me the opening scene of this idea,” or “make the main character a woman who falls in love with the antagonist of the film.” From here, and with further prompting, the chatbot can come up with a somewhat usable script. 

This is exactly what the team behind The Safezone did—the first movie both written and directed by AI. The team even went as far as to let the chatbot direct the short film, by instructing the bot to make a shot list with specific angles and instructions to execute the film exactly as intended.

While this process ended in a finished product, the creators described it as partially tedious and was not free from error. When others have attempted to write a script from chatbots, they find that a huge issue that is run into is that a chatbot lacks memory. This means that a chatbot will begin writing, but a few entries in (like if one were to say “write another scene in which the main character dies”), the chatbot had completely forgotten what the original plotline was and would begin writing an entirely new script. This is something that doesn’t occur when humans are behind a script, and while humans are definitely not free from error, the issues created by chatbots are too large to ignore. 

When broken down critically, the short film produced by Richard Juan at Square Studios is boring at its best, and just plain stupid at its worst. There’s nothing groundbreaking about the content itself, and one must always ask if the material is 100% original when the whole purpose of chatbots is to source things from the internet and existing content. 

Existing Technologies 

The most obvious AI screenwriting option is OpenAI’s ChatGPT, as it is the most well-known AI chatbot. But for the purpose of this paper, comparisons between the three most popular (and free, because I’m a student) chatbots specifically programmed for writing screenplays and scripts will be analyzed. 

The three chatbots in question are the ones noted as the “Best” by Scott L. Macarthur, author of tech review website Rigorous Themes. These include DeepStory and ShortlyAI. Deepstory claims to be a “pioneer in the world of scriptwriters and story generators.” The technology is not a GPT having been created in 2017, before “the rise of GPT models,” meaning that the technology believes that it can provide more nuance and specificity than the normal script writer.

ShortlyAI is another AI writing tool that allows users to set specific parameters for how long a piece of writing can be, getting as specific as the number of pages, words, or characters. This AI tool is powered by GPT-3 and was used by one of the cited sources for this paper, having been used to completely write a script for another mediocre AI-generated short film. 

comparison: CHatgpt, deepstory, and shortly ai

Prompts:

• Prompt 1: Write a synopsis of a movie where a brother and sister travel to Texas from California to rob a bank to pay for chemo for their dying mother. 

• Prompt 2: Describe the two characters.

• Prompt 3: Write the opening sequence to this movie.

Results:

Prompt 1: Write a synopsis of a movie where a brother and sister travel to Texas from California to rob a bank to pay for chemo for their dying mother. 

ChatGPT: The movie follows the story of siblings, Alex and Lily, who are desperate to save their mother's life. Their mother is diagnosed with cancer, and her condition has deteriorated to the point where she needs immediate treatment. However, the siblings cannot afford the expensive chemotherapy treatments.

Determined to save their mother's life, they hatch a plan to rob a bank in Texas. They pack their bags and embark on a road trip from California to Texas, stealing cars and money along the way to fund their journey. As they get closer to their destination, tensions rise between the siblings, and they begin to question the morality of their actions.

Once in Texas, they carefully plan and execute the robbery. However, things quickly go awry, and they find themselves in a dangerous and unpredictable situation. They must fight to survive while keeping their true identities hidden from the authorities.

As they make their escape, they realize the gravity of their actions and the impact it has had on the innocent people involved. They decide to turn themselves in and face the consequences of their actions.

The movie concludes with the siblings being sentenced to prison, but they find solace in knowing that their mother's life was saved, and they made the most of the time they had left with her. The film ends with a poignant scene of the family reunited, standing together in solidarity, even in the face of adversity.

DeepStory: A brother and sister travel to Texas from California to rob a bank to pay for chemo for their dying mother.  They are easily recognizable because of the "dancer" cowboy hat they wear.  They look like twins, but are actually different people.  Moralle is confident, friendly, forceful and very likeable.  She is constantly smiling.  They are young and have no money.

Shortly AI: Car doors slammed and police sirens approached. The sun rose over the desert as both mother and son laid in wait. After her dramatic diagnosis, they were both desperate to save their lives. The tumor had metastasized and was on their way to breaking into the digestive tract; their mother would not get a second chance. The brother and sister sat on the floor next to the cot, staring at their mother's emaciated body until the door slid open. Two women breezed in and with a drug dealer's wink, pasted huddling mother and son.

Prompt 2: Describe the two characters

ChatGPT: Alex is the older sibling, in his mid-twenties, and is the more rational and level-headed of the two. He takes on the responsibility of caring for his younger sister, Lily, and their sick mother. He's a good planner and thinks things through carefully, but can sometimes be too risk-averse, causing friction with his sister. Alex is fiercely protective of his family and will do anything to ensure their survival.

Lily is in her early twenties and is impulsive, emotional, and sometimes reckless. She's struggling to come to terms with their mother's illness and the pressure of being a caretaker. Despite her flaws, she has a strong sense of loyalty and will fiercely defend her family. She's more willing to take risks than her brother, which can often put them in dangerous situations. Despite their differences, she and Alex share a deep bond and work together to achieve their goal.

DeepStory: MORALLE THE OLDER SIBLING: A BUNDLE OF RAMBUNCTIOUS ENERGY

THE YOUNGER SIBLING: MALE, RED/ ORANGE AND BALD WITH LARGE PINK EYES.

Shortly AI: The pair left the cab, their small case bumping against their legs. Standing in front of the bank screen they read the building list. Walt had written their name on the letter. "Justin, I moved all the money to your account. I didn't get a chance to sanitize Rosa's cash box but I put it all in yours." Hearing the whisper, Justin laughed and placed his palm on his head, "Walt, what have you gotten yourself into?" He whispered a few more words, then yelled, "Lily go to the line and get me a cup of coffee, I could use one now." He waited for her reaction.

Prompt 3: Write the opening sequence to this movie.

ChatGPT: The movie opens with a shot of a dimly lit hospital room. We see a middle-aged woman lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to various machines, and her children, Alex and Lily, sitting by her side, holding her hand. The beeping of the machines and the soft sound of their mother's breathing create a somber atmosphere.

Alex is staring at his phone, scrolling through a website, searching for information about cancer treatment options. Lily looks up at him, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Have you found anything yet?" she asks, her voice shaky.

Alex puts down his phone and looks at his sister, his expression grave. "We can't afford it, Lily. It's too expensive," he says, his voice heavy with the weight of the situation.

Lily looks back at her mother, tears welling up in her eyes. "We can't just let her die," she says, her voice cracking with emotion.

Alex puts his arm around her, comforting her. "We won't," he says. "We'll find a way."

The camera pans out of the hospital room, and we see a wide shot of the hospital, with the city skyline in the background. We hear the sound of traffic, people talking, and the city bustling with life.

The screen fades to black, and we see the words "Three weeks earlier" appear on the screen, setting the stage for the events that lead up to the siblings' desperate plan to rob a bank.

DeepStory: The animation is used to tell the story.  It's called, “ooot oot poop.”  Watch the opening sequence carefully.  It plays like this: written for your entertainment.

note: it will only play once.  begin sequence:

a quick succession of still frames of animation.  Go ahead and watch it, I promise you won't be disappointed.  After the first five seconds, you might want to fast forward through the rest of the sequence.  Here it is, everything

ShortlyAI: The Bank

by Richard Munzinger

Copyright 2011 by Richard Munzinger

Part 1

The alarm went off at 5:45 and it shook her out of her deep slumber. She felt the remnants of her dream fade away as she woke and stared at the ceiling of their hotel room. The bank was in Texas and arranging the details of their trip had been complicated. She felt uneasy about their upcoming visit and wondered if her mother would even be awake. The thought made her sad but she pushed it away. She was not in the mood for melancholy. She had to get them packed and out of their room in time for check out at 8:00.

conclusions

Chat GPT was BY FAR the most successful of the chatbots in creating a coherent storyline, characters, and scenes. It needed minimal input from me, the user, and was able to remember plot points it had mentioned in earlier responses. I was quite impressed and understood why many writers might feel threatened by the advancement of ChatGPT in particular. 

The other two paled in comparison and needed a great deal of user input. For DeepStory, it was clear that this was a script formatting tool that offered ideas when a writer might be stuck. When it came to generating 100% new content, it failed. This was similarly clear with ShortlyAI, which required a 500-word max synopsis of whatever story one was trying to write in order to start generating work. Even then, the program was shoddy and failed to generate content that I would denote as without human intervention. Deepstory was even worse when it came to generating work, by offering nothing useful to the writing process. Overall, if chatGPT is banned, and these two programs were the only two left, I would not be worried at all about the jobs of writers.