Neill Blomkamp Releases AI-Generated Short 'Nightborne'
Director Neill Blomkamp, known for 'District 9' and 'Gran Turismo', released a short sci-fi horror film titled 'NIGHTBORNE' on YouTube on July 20. The 13-minute film was produced entirely with generative AI, using Seedance 2.0 to generate every frame based on prompts directed by Blomkamp. It is the first release from the newly established AI film studio Barley Studios. The footage is structured as a documentary, told through interviews, recovered program footage, and the recorded video of a scientist who escaped a classified defense program that sends fallen soldiers back to the battlefield. The characters use the faces and voices of 32 real people filmed under portrait rights contracts, and the concept art was created by human artists. 'NIGHTBORNE' is based on the world of the sci-fi novel 'Echopraxia' by Peter Watts. Blomkamp stated on his X account that he has been experimenting with AI for a couple of years and now wants to tackle a full feature in this format, calling this short a '13-minute test start.'