As Vietnam's cinema regulator steps up scrutiny of AI-generated short films, a major television broadcaster is launching its own project, arguing that AI should serve storytelling and cultural values rather than simply drive views and profits.
Editor's note: The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has fueled an explosion of AI-generated short films across digital platforms. Many feature sensational plots, illogical storylines and attractive yet similarly expressionless characters, attracting large audiences and generating substantial revenue from advertising and paid subscriptions.
What do audiences and filmmakers think about these productions? Could AI-generated actors eventually replace human performers? And what should be done to regulate the growing market?
VietNamNet explores these questions in a special series examining the rise of AI-generated short films in Vietnam.
According to Ngo Tran Thinh, Head of the Multimedia Division at HTV News Center, AI-generated short films can offer far more value than repetitive stories about wealthy CEOs and poor young women. Illustrative photo.
On September 25, Vietnam's Cinema Department issued a directive requiring companies operating digital media platforms, intermediary services and app stores distributing films in Vietnam to urgently review the films, short films and film-distribution applications available on their systems.
Four days later, Ho Chi Minh City Radio and Television (HTV) and its television film production studio TFS held a press conference to announce Bai san, an AI-generated short-film project adapted from a novel by Colonel Nguyen Dinh Tu.
At the event, HTV representatives said they hoped the production would help "redefine AI short films in Vietnam."
VietNamNet spoke with journalist Ngo Tran Thinh, Head of the Multimedia Division at the HTV News Center, and director Pham Viet Phuoc, Director of TFS, about the current state of AI-generated short films in Vietnam.
Why did HTV and TFS announce an AI-generated short-film project just as the Cinema Department called for urgent inspections of films and short films to prevent the distribution of content that fails to meet regulatory requirements? How are you responding to the directive?
Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh: First, this project began in July, before the Cinema Department issued its directive.
After discussions with our technology partner, CapCut, and TFS, HTV's General Director decided that the AI short-film project must meet the content and quality standards expected of a cultural product.
That approach was consistent with the spirit of the regulator's directive from the outset. We did not wait for an official document to establish those standards.
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Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh (right): No filmmaking team can turn its back on technology, but what matters most is still the emotions a film evokes in its audience. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.
The screenplay we selected meets artistic quality requirements and conveys positive, humanistic messages. It also incorporates elements of Vietnamese history and culture.
These are the factors that determine the quality of the finished work, regardless of whether technology is involved.
That is why we fully support the Cinema Department's efforts to strengthen reviews and inspections of AI-generated short films, particularly their scripts.
Low-quality short dramas have been popular for more than a decade. AI has simply accelerated their proliferation, making them even harder to control.
I see AI-generated short films as an emerging genre with their own appeal and creative possibilities.
We want to help steer the genre in a more meaningful direction, and we have ambitions to develop historical productions in the future.
Vietnamese history is filled with remarkable battles led by national heroes such as Ngo Quyen and Tran Hung Dao.
Recreating those battles through conventional filmmaking would require enormous budgets. AI, however, could make these historical events more accessible to younger audiences. That is a direction we are exploring step by step.
AI-generated short films can deliver far greater value than endlessly repeating stories about wealthy CEOs and poor young women.
What strengths give HTV and TFS the confidence to say they want to "redefine AI short films in Vietnam"?
Director Pham Viet Phuoc: It is important to understand that Bai san is an official production through which HTV and TFS are seriously exploring AI-generated short filmmaking, with the goal of creating a cultural product.
When we talk about redefining the genre, we mean establishing standards for content and quality at a time when AI short films are being produced in huge quantities, often with poor production values and harmful or inappropriate content.
AI-generated short films have been shown, as I understand it, to stimulate dopamine release in the brain, potentially influencing human behavior and emotional responses.
That is why we believe a film, whatever its genre, must first and foremost be a cultural product rather than simply a technological or commercial product made to generate revenue.
A film should do more than satisfy viewers' immediate entertainment needs. It should also contribute to shaping their cultural perspectives over time.
Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh: We have chosen to work with partners that possess leading AI technologies in China, using platforms developed by ByteDance, including Seedance and CapCut.
HTV also sent me and several colleagues to television broadcasters in China, including Hunan, to learn from their experience.
We are therefore confident in our technological capabilities and can devote our attention to the quality of the content.
If you have enough money, you could spend around $3,850 on AI tokens, the units consumed when using AI services, and make a film yourself.
But what sets our production apart is that we have a director, a professional crew, properly secured rights and a quality control team.
Director Pham Viet Phuoc, Director of TFS, says AI-generated short films have been shown to stimulate dopamine release in the brain. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.
AI-generated short films are often dismissed as low-quality content for several reasons. These include copyright disputes surrounding training data, concerns about originality and artistic legitimacy, their reliance on recombining existing data, illogical visuals, continuity errors and emotionally flat storytelling. How do you address these problems?
Director Pham Viet Phuoc: Are these really problems that cannot be solved, or are they the result of choices made by filmmakers?
In my view, some producers choose to overlook quality standards for various reasons, including the pursuit of profit and pressure to meet production deadlines.
The problem is not the genre itself, but what people choose to do with it.
AI-generated short films are the result of human invention and research. Every form of creative expression has its reasons for existing.
Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh: As a strategic partner of an AI technology company, we are prepared to invest in the necessary AI tokens.
We will not cut costs by turning a blind eye to mistakes and releasing a flawed product.
Put simply, whenever we find an error, we fix it. We only release a film when we have achieved the best possible version.
For example, while working on Bai san, we discovered a single misspelled word in one scene. It took us two nights to correct that mistake.
As for the screenplay, in addition to Seedance and CapCut, our main production tools, we also use other AI agents to generate sets of prompts for the script.
Well-crafted prompts help minimize errors in individual frames.
Professional filmmakers would never willingly allow basic mistakes to appear in their finished work.
If a prompt does not produce the result we need, we rewrite it until it does.
With an HTV production, audiences can have confidence in the professional ethics of the team behind it.
By announcing an AI-generated short film as an official television production, how have you prepared for potentially mixed reactions from the public?
Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh: We have encountered public criticism before, about three years ago.
When ChatGPT had just emerged and people were beginning to discuss its implications, we were among the first to experiment with using it to write an AI-related news report for a technology program.
Every new experiment comes with risks.
With this AI short-film project, our decision to choose a fantasy story adapted from a well-known novel by a writer serving in the military was not accidental.
Director Pham Viet Phuoc: We have a team of expert advisers providing guidance on different professional and technical aspects of the production.
Our guiding principle is simple: if we can make it work properly, we release it. If we cannot, we do not.
In China, AI is said to be directly responsible for many short-drama actors losing job opportunities. Could Vietnam's film industry face a similar future?
Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh: After we announced the AI-generated film Bai san, many actors commented, half-jokingly and half-seriously, that they were worried about losing their jobs.
At this point, AI can already generate scenes involving crowds of people moving through a setting.
Of course, talented actors with distinctive personalities and strong professional skills can still feel confident about their careers.
AI is particularly useful in reducing production costs for fantasy and action films, which traditionally require expensive sets and visual effects.
However, it is far less useful for romantic dramas or films exploring relationships and social issues.
The cost of purchasing AI tokens can be several times higher than simply filming two human actors in an indoor setting. That is before accounting for the time, effort and expense involved in writing prompts.
I believe no film production team today can afford to turn its back on technology.
But ultimately, the most important thing about any film remains the emotions it evokes in its audience.
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