One of the issues in the ongoing actors' strike in Hollywood is the rising dominance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry and how it can replace the actors who are working as extras in films and TV shows.
We have heard a lot of stories lately that studios are starting to rely on AI technology to digitally create actors for the background instead of hiring real-life people to act as extras in crowded scenes.
While it is common nowadays for productions to use technology to enhance the work of the actors whether it's de-aging or removing features in their faces, it is becoming more concerning since they might rely on them too much that they no longer hire actors and put them out of their job.
This is an ongoing concern that the actors guild hopefully will get addressed in their negotiations with the studios as this could endanger the future of all working actors in the industry.
Disney Digitally Scanned the Background Actors in WandaVision
In a report from NPR detailing the AI issue in the actors' strike, Alexandria Rubalcaba, who worked as a background actor in WandaVision, revealed that Disney digitally scanned them without any proper consent and compensation.
After working on the set for four weeks, Rubalcaba was told by the crew to come to the tractor-trailer alongside the other background actors where they stepped in front of a series of cameras on metal rigs behind glass.
"Have your hands out. Have your hands in. Look this way. Look that way. Let us see your scared face. Let us see your surprised face," she recalled her experience doing the scanning.
After the fifteen-minute scan, a digital replica of her was immediately created. However, she was never told how her likeness will be used and she will never be informed and get compensated if they use it in a future project.
She added, "What if I don't want to be on MarioVision, or SarahVision? fear that AI is eventually going to weed out background actors. They won't have any use for us anymore."
Rubalcaba noted that she did not give any permission for her digital replica to be used in any background scenes after the scanning. She was also only paid for the union rate of $187 a day.
This is certainly a disturbing situation that the actors in the series faced, particularly on the lack of consent and future compensation which is the biggest issue since it is clear that their likeness will be taken advantage of for the sake of saving money and they could be useless in the future.
It is interesting to see how this issue will be addressed in their next negotiation and, hopefully, the actors' guild will end up getting a better and fair deal that would avoid problems like this in the future.
Also Read: She-Hulk Star Tatiana Maslany Calls Out Disney CEO for Recent Strike Comments
WandaVision is available to stream on Disney+.
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