[Report] Why Did Microsoft Bring AI to the Busan Film Festival?

Asia Film Festival's First Booth... Directors and Producers Visit
Exploring AI Utilization to 'Reduce Labor Costs'

Microsoft setting up a booth at the Busan International Film Festival Asia Contents & Film Market
Photo by Lee Iseul

Scenario writing, location scouting, budget analysis, actor work analysis, and promotional interview preparation. These are tasks in content production such as movies and dramas that can be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) programs. They perform functions of production staff like writers and directors, and even replace promotional team duties at actor entertainment companies. Due to these advantages, AI has recently emerged as a means to reduce labor costs in the video industry. Riding this trend, the American IT company Microsoft made its debut at the 29th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), held from the 2nd to the 11th, marking the first time an Asian film festival hosted such participation.

Microsoft has set up a booth at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 2 in Haeundae-gu, Busan, where the Busan Film Festival’s Asia Contents & Film Market is held, promoting its AI program called 'Copilot.' They also established a lounge at BIFF Hill in the Busan Cinema Center, the festival’s hub, launching a large-scale marketing campaign. Since Microsoft was previously distant from the Korean video industry, the unusual booth attracted continuous visits from film industry professionals.

On the first day the Microsoft booth opened, the 5th, I visited the site. From morning, the booth was packed with film directors and producers eager to explore the applicability of AI programs in content production. Representatives from Microsoft’s US Office and legal staff were present, holding a series of meetings with domestic video industry stakeholders. Given that generative AI was the hottest topic in the video industry recently, visitors’ reactions were enthusiastic.

A Microsoft representative explained, "At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, we held forums and other events to visually confirm the global film industry’s need for AI. Because the response at Cannes was positive, we sought to enter another international film festival," adding, "Our intention is to introduce what AI programs are to Asian video industry stakeholders." They continued, "At Cannes, there was a sense of fear about AI programs, but the Korean stakeholders we met in Busan asked many specific questions about how AI can actually be used, including detailed production processes and applicability."

Microsoft employees in the United States are demonstrating Copilot at the Busan International Film Festival Asia Contents & Film Market booth.
Photo by Lee Iseul

Microsoft Cafe Lounge set up at the Busan Cinema Center BIFF Hill Lounge during the Busan International Film Festival
Photo by Lee Iseul

I personally tried Microsoft’s AI program 'Copilot' at their booth. It was helpful across various content production tasks such as scenario writing and shooting preparation. It provided useful outputs for specific requests like 'Write a marketing synopsis that makes the financial officer want to invest,' 'Create 10 loglines,' 'Where is the highest cost in the budget?' and 'Which actor received the most money?' It also compared and analyzed different subjects based on vast online data.

A Microsoft representative said, "Rather than AI taking jobs away, it acts as an 'assistant' that shares tasks and increases efficiency." As the name 'Copilot' suggests, it can be used as a co-pilot. The 'Copilot' program is available for individuals at $20 per month (about 26,900 KRW) and for companies (business accounts) at $30 per month (about 40,000 KRW).

Microsoft’s entry into the Busan Film Festival, the largest film festival and business market in Asia, was because they viewed BIFF as a stepping stone for domestic market penetration. Microsoft plans to collaborate with KT to develop a Korean-style AI. They will jointly develop AI models optimized for the Korean cultural industry using OpenAI’s foundation model GPT-4o and Microsoft’s self-developed small language model (SLM) 'Pae.'

Meanwhile, the Busan Film Festival held a conference introducing ways to integrate AI technology with the film industry. Microsoft discussed the influence and future of AI technology in the content industry centered on 'Copilot.' Additionally, a representative from Stability AI, which provides generative AI programs like 'Stable Diffusion,' participated to explore how AI technology is applied throughout content production.