The latest technological advancement on everyone’s minds (and fingertips) is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Across five days of programming, FilmGate Interactive returns in its 12th year with the spotlight on AI along with a lineup of art, music, and, or course, film.
FilmGate Interactive begins Wednesday, March 18 and continues through Sunday, March 22 throughout downtown Miami and Miami Beach.
There are AI-centered panels, AI-driven Wallcasts at Soundscape Park, and AI workshops where attendees can create their own short movies or avatars using AI tools.
One such example is a performance on New World Center’s massive 7,000-square-foot projection wall in Soundscape Park — a performance by an AI anime deejay, Deathpixie in an evening of AI films. The free event is outdoors starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 20 at Soundscape Park, 400 17th St., Miami Beach.
The Wallcast event will feature films created using artificial intelligence. As part of the FilmGate segment, “Stories in Motion,” AI image generator OpenArt will show works created using their platform including Oscar-winning visual effects designer John Gaeta’s films done using his Escape.ai platform.
“People often hear the word ‘virtual’ or ‘AI’ and they have this image of one guy in a basement clicking a button,” says David Beiner, who is based in Miami and part of the team behind the AI animated deejay, Deathpixie. Beiner is also co-founder of Hume, a creative agency with a focus on AI content.
While Deathpixie is AI, it is considered a virtual music artist. Hologram technology is used for the “live” performances.
“We have a pretty amazing team of human music producers, songwriters, and visual artists who all come together to create Deathpixie,” says Beiner.
The AI deejay had a first-of-its-kind performance at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado in November. Beiner says it took 15 humans to make it happen. The Wallcast during FilmGate Interactive will be similar to the Red Rocks performance tweaked for space and time, according to Beiner.
READ MORE: New World Symphony's experimental performances bring new twists to a night at the symphony
“It’ll be a chance for everyone to experience Deathpixie,” says Beiner. “The way we like to describe the show is somewhere between a typical deejay set and a movie.”
On Saturday, March 21 at The Bass Museum of Art, Beiner will join OpenArt’s head of strategy and partnerships, Chloe Fang, on “The Rise of AI Influencers” panel, where speakers will share how they design AI influencers, along with their strategies on how AI influences are changing the digital landscape.
“FilmGate Interactive has always been about how the technology of today influences your creativity, your career, your creative output,” says Diliana Alexander, executive director and festival producer. Organized by FilmGate Miami, the local nonprofit’s goal is to support emerging filmmakers and this year’s theme is all about the fusing of different mediums to amplify creativity.
This will be the first year OpenArt participates in FilmGate Interactive. “Our vision really aligns with what FilmGate is all about,” says Fang. “Which is empowering the next generation of artists, storytellers, and filmmakers.”
According to Fang, OpenArt is “a platform for consumers to create anything, be it an AI influencer, an AI character, or a short ad or short film. And because we’re this one easy interface that has all the latest models, you don’t have to worry about the technicalities, you just focus on the creativity.”
In addition to panel discussions and workshops, Fang will screen a compilation of OpenArt-created shorts, music videos, commercials, and clips from an AI-generated TV show titled “The Bot House.”
“I think the industry is evolving and it reminds me a lot of when the movie ‘Snow White’ came out in the 1930s. It was the first full-length animated feature film and everyone was in awe of what technology was creating. It was a new animation era, a new way of storytelling.”
For three days of the festival, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, there’s a chance for everyone to participate with FilmGate’s Immersive Exhibition and Market, which includes hands-on experiences, discussions and tech demos daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 420 Lincoln Road.
Alexander says the theme for this year’s FilmGate Interactive is “Resonance.”
“In science, resonance happens when one vibration triggers another system to vibrate at the same frequency. And where that alignment occurs, the signal becomes stronger and clearer and more powerful. So, we thought the same idea applied to what we’re doing this year with film and music.”
IF YOU GO
What: FilmGate Interactive 12
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday, March 19, Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21. Events through Sunday, March 22 at various times. Download the complete schedule here.
Where: Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; CitizenM Miami World Center, 700 NE 2nd Ave., Miami; Mode Downtown Miami, 2 South Miami Ave., Miami; Soundscape Park, 500 17th St., Miami Beach; Bass Museum of Art, 2100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; Downtown Media Center, 168 SE 1st St., Miami; 420 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.
Cost: $60, opening night, some events free with RSVP. Tickets at www.filmgate.miami/fgi-12-tickets.
Information: (305) 916-6973 or filmgate.miami/fgi12
ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit news partner of WLRN, providing news on theater, dance, visual arts, music and the performing arts.
