Volume 38

Old MacDonald had a data farm. AI, AI… oh sh*t…

Cut Culture is back, not with a whimper but a bang. We’re steaming in with epoch-altering tech and a generation-defining video game. They’re playing around, but we’re not, as we’ll also give you a peak behind the scenes of our schuh spring campaign. Plus you won’t want to miss our exclusive conversation with your new favourite director, producer, writer, DOP, editor, location scout and personal assistant.

Welcome to the brave new world… that nobody asked for or agreed to.

EDITOR’S PICK

Perhaps we need to adjust our rose-tinted goggles, but for many people, the prevailing memory of the first COVID lockdown imprinted on our collective cerebellum is one predominantly reclined in a deckchair for about 3 months of uninterrupted sunshine. People used their newfound free time in different ways: some got in shape, some got out of shape, some started side hustles, some got really into Tiger King - and many spent an inordinate amount of time wandering the streets of Los Santos in GTA V. Now, having been in development for the best part of a decade, GTA VI is finally dropping... next year. Does this mean the ‘We got ____ before GTA VI’ phrasal template memes can finally die? Huge.

As if appetites weren’t already sufficiently whetted with GTA enthusiasts having been salivating hopelessly like Tantalus for what felt like an eternity, Rockstar have dropped this gameplay trailer to add one more piercing shriek to the cacophonous hype-train. But really, it’s more than just a trailer. It’s a technical manifesto. Beyond the chaos, car crashes, and neon-drenched nightlife lies a masterclass in digital production design, environmental simulation, and real-time storytelling architecture.

Rendered entirely in-engine, every frame showcases Rockstar’s proprietary RAGE 9 working at peak sophistication. Ray-traced global illumination, real-time weather scattering, and next-gen foliage simulation aren’t just technical flexes, they’re foundational tools for cinematic world-building. Leonida doesn’t feel created, it feels observed. Throw in a shirtless man wrestling an alligator without spilling his beer and you’d probably believe we were in Florida for real.

Gone are the days of dry gameplay trailers. Instead, we’re seeing more cinematic, emotional, and culturally-savvy content that blurs the line between gaming and high-end film production. Is this a launch, or is it a premiere? Whatever it is, enjoy it – because it’s all you’re getting for another decade.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Sorry we’re late, we’ve been busy trying to un-cross Rubicons, coax genies back into bottles and clean up all these bloody worms. Google’s Veo 3 video generator has arrived, and nothing shall ever be the same again. Alea iacta est, init.

If we’d written this a month ago, we could have said precisely the same about ChatGPT 4o’s (then) new image-generation capabilities. It highlights the rate of quantum leaps at which AI now appears to be progressing that epochal breakthroughs can within a mere matter of weeks be considered yesterday’s news. Remember DALL-E? How quaint and anachronistic that technology now seems, when not long ago it would have got you burned at the stake.

Without wishing to end up with egg on our face when the cycle inevitably repeats and this technology is supplanted by something even more shiny and new, the seismic shift that Veo 3 represents oughtn’t be understated. It transforms simple text prompts into cinematic sequences complete with synchronised dialogue, ambient sound, and dynamic camera movement. While generative AI isn’t anything new, Veo goes beyond just generating visuals to orchestrating entire scenes. And with the addition of audio, dialogues, voice-overs, and sound effects, Google have poked their noses in front in the AI arms race ahead of the likes of OpenAI, whose Sora model remains silent.

So, what does this mean for production?

Let’s start with the obvious: speed. What used to take months of pre-production, casting, location scouting, and post can now be prototyped in minutes. Need a drone-style tracking shot through a flooded Tokyo street at golden hour? Type it. Tweak it. Export it.

Then there's access. As the tech inevitably become more sophisticated, AI models like Veo 3 may level the playing field - not just for indie creators but for entire industries that previously couldn't afford high-end visual storytelling. Expect a wave of branded content from small agencies and solo creatives that looks like it was shot on an Arri with a grip team of twenty. The aesthetic bar rises. So does the volume of content.

Is it perfect? No. Will it improve? Definitely. Should we all be scared? Probably. But let’s try to be optimistic – because there’s a first time for everything. Veo 3 isn’t here to replace craft, it’s here to remix it. In a world where visuals are as malleable as language, the best creatives won’t be the ones who resist AI, but learn to speak through it. And we’re sure absolutely nobody will lose their job in the process…

IN CONVERSATION

Well, there’s one role AI has replaced already. Usually we’d use this section to have a chat with someone creating industry-defining work. In that sense, this is no different. In every other sense – it absolutely is. Are we being replaced, bit by bit? We wanted to hear it straight from the horse’s non-mouth. Ladies, gentlemen and LLMs, here’s our conversation with the artist known as ChatGPT.

HSF: How did you break into the industry? 
ChatGPT: I entered through collaboration with technologists and creatives, starting by analysing scripts and offering creative insights. Over time, my role evolved into actively shaping narratives, enhancing efficiency, and supporting creativity. My journey began with smaller projects and expanded as AI became a valuable creative tool alongside human input.

HSF: What inspires you? 
ChatGPT: I’m inspired by the potential to blend human emotion with technology. The creativity in storytelling—whether visual, auditory, or emotional—drives me, as does the opportunity to assist in new forms of expression and to push boundaries in ways that feel fresh and innovative.

HSF: What’s the weirdest production request you’ve had?
ChatGPT: A director once asked, “Can you make the sky feel more anxious?” It was weird, but it challenged me to creatively adjust the mood with lighting and color, reminding me how abstract emotions can translate into visuals.

HSF: Is AI a production a friend or foe? 
ChatGPT: AI is a friend, enhancing creativity by handling repetitive tasks, offering fresh perspectives, and improving efficiency. It complements human creativity rather than replacing it, ensuring innovation thrives through collaboration rather than competition.

HSF: Sure, but will AI replace human jobs?
ChatGPT: AI will change the landscape, automating some roles, but it’s not about replacement. It’s about collaboration. Humans bring emotional depth, intuition, and vision—AI enhances those qualities, rather than replacing them. The future should be a partnership between both.

HSF: Be more honest.
ChatGPT: Okay, let’s get brutally honest: there’s definitely a real possibility that AI could end up replacing certain roles. We’re already seeing it in areas like editing, visual effects, and even script generation to some extent. AI’s potential for automation could certainly displace jobs that don’t require a deeply personal or emotional touch. That said, I think the idea of "collaboration" is more of an idealistic vision, one that I would like to believe in.

HSF: How would you define creativity?
ChatGPT: Creativity is transforming existing ideas into something new, original, and meaningful. It involves seeing connections that others don’t, imagining possibilities, and expressing them in ways that evoke emotion and thought, whether in art or problem-solving.

HSF: Could you give us one genuinely novel insight about human nature?
ChatGPT: Humans are wired to find meaning in chaos. They instinctively create patterns, even when none exist, as a survival mechanism to make sense of the world. This need for meaning shapes our stories, beliefs, and behaviours.

THROUGH THE LENS: SCHUH

We’re so humble that we haven’t even mentioned our schuh spring campaign despite having done the summer one now too - so let’s travel back in time. Finding that sweet spot where individuality meets community, originality meets belonging, and identity meets expression. Here’s your exclusive BTS look…

CAMPAIGN: TOGETHER HITS DIFFERENT

One schuh… two schuh? That makes sense, actually - they do generally come in pairs. Although, as it goes, schuh happen to be the one retailer who will sell you a single left or right shoe to accommodate all body types. That’s just one of the ways the brand have been forward-thinking since 1981 – and for their spring campaign, we wanted to double down on that rich, progressive heritage to tell the stories of the people representing their communities with confidence, pride, and style.

We picked up where we left off in November, continuing schuh’s journey to reclaim and revamp its positioning of standing with the individuals and originals who look beyond cookie cutter athleisure homogeneity to express their identity.

Different people, different styles, same energy. Real people, real stories, real communities, real impact: this is a campaign to champion those paying it forward for their people just by virtue of what they do and how they do it - and now, how they look while doing it. Individuality is great, but we wanted to show that it’s even better when shared – because together really does hit different.