The Space Between Cuts That AI Still Can't Fill

Director Kim Sungsoo Presents at Asia Contents & Film Market Forum
Reveals Resumption of Production on AI Short Film "Warm Train"
"Technology Cannot Replace Imagination"

Director Kim Sung-soo, known for "Beat," "Asura" and "12.12: The Day," found that the limitation of AI filmmaking lies "between cuts." His conclusion was that even if AI can generate an endless number of images, filling the spaces between them remains a human task.

Director Kim Seongsu discusses the production of his short film “Warm Train” at the forum “New Cinematic Possibilities: Reimagining Filmmaking with Kling AI,” held at the Asia Contents & Film Market at BEXCO Exhibition Center 2 in Busan on the 11th. / Asia Contents & Film Market.

Director Kim recently assembled a team and resumed production of the short film "Warm Train," which he halted in March. As on a film set, he brought in specialists from different fields and assigned them separate roles. He discussed the experience at the Asia Contents & Film Market forum "New Cinematic Possibilities: Reimagining Filmmaking with Kling AI," held at BEXCO Exhibition Center 2 in Busan on October 11.

"Warm Train" was inspired by Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis." It depicts a bug encountering passengers on a packed subway train during the morning commute and becoming isolated amid the crowd. When Director Kim first encountered AI-generated video, he thought of it as a collaborator or replacement for visual effects (VFX). Over the year he spent making it himself, his question shifted from "How cheaply and easily can this be made?" to "How will the very way we make films change in the future?"

What surprised Director Kim most was that what he imagined could immediately appear before his eyes. In filmmaking, it takes at least one to two years to turn an idea in one's head into an image on screen. In the case of "12.12: The Day," it was four years after work on the film began before the scene was realized on set. "Warm Train" was different. In February, he asked Kling 3.0 to create the opening scene and the moment when the character transforms, and in just two days it produced footage close to the images he had envisioned.

Excited, he stayed up all night generating images, but only realized the limitations after stitching together ten impressive images. "It looked like a film, but it was far from enough. A film cannot be contained in a single shot. It exists between cuts. For example, if a man walks toward us and a woman watches him intently from a distance, a story emerges. The tension and emotion at the moment when scenes collide become a moment in a film."

Director Kim Seong-su discusses the production of his short film “Warm Train” at the forum “New Cinematic Possibilities: Reimagining Filmmaking with Kling AI” at the Asia Contents & Film Market, held at BEXCO Exhibition Center 2 in Busan on the 11th. / Asia Contents & Film Market.

In March, Director Kim stopped work because of the subway scene. Kling 3.0 could create a large bug well, but it could not properly render a scene in which the bug and numerous passengers collided and physically reacted to one another.

At the time, he thought the problem was his own lack of skill. But when he looked back in August, the technology had advanced significantly. As he decided to try again, Jang Hoon, CEO of Creative Mango, proposed collaborating with Kling. So, using the Kling 4.0 preview version he received in September, Kim revisited the scene he had abandoned. This time, the footage captured the tangible impact and weight of the moment when the bug came into contact with the passengers.

Director Kim began thinking about what kind of production system would be needed to complete the film. AI creation is generally regarded as the work of a solo artist. But Kim, who ultimately aims to make a feature-length commercial film using AI-generated video, chose to work as a team. He sought help from VFX supervisor Ryu Jaehwan and brought on four young artists selected by CEO Jang. He also brought in an animation art director, a live-action film editor and a music director.

The work is being done in a small basement room. It is currently 70% complete. Director Kim, the four artists and the supervisor discuss the acting, camera angles, lighting and movement in the footage each has generated using Kling 4.0. The process is very similar to making a feature film. "Films are made when people's imaginations and judgment come into conflict. AI has neither eliminated nor replaced that process."

The editing process, however, is slightly different. If he is dissatisfied with footage generated by AI, he can return to an earlier stage and revise it at any time. Director Kim described this as "going backward through production and then moving forward again." The rest of post-production follows the same process as for a conventional live-action film. Although the entire process could be handled with AI, he decided that feature-length productions require more manageable control.

Director Kim Seongsu talks about the making of his short film "Warm Train" at the Asia Contents & Film Market forum "New Cinematic Possibilities: Reimagining Filmmaking with Kling AI," held on the 11th at BEXCO Exhibition Center 2 in Busan. /Asia Contents & Film Market.

Director Kim said, "I don't think I'll make films the way I used to anymore." He said this was because the way he tests ideas and designs scenes had changed. But one question remains unchanged: What makes a film feel like a film?

These days, anyone can use similar tools. Director Kim emphasized that judgment makes a major difference. AI cannot decide for itself what image to create, where to place it or which scene to set it against. "At first, I wondered whether AI had come to destroy filmmaking, but now I'm not too worried. Imagination can wait for technology, but technology cannot replace imagination."

Director Kim sees AI as one of the changes that film has undergone. Just as film changed from black and white to color and from silent to sound, he predicts that one day there will be no need for the term "AI film." "Perhaps AI is a new way to make films even more cinematic. But I don't know how far this path of change will lead. Tonight, as I press the generate button, I'll keep searching for the answer."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.