Storyline: AIGC directors steal spotlight in China [Voice_over] Film makers in China are experimenting with AI-generated content, ushering in a new type of professional, the AIGC movie director. People like Luo Chong, who creates and directs films using only AI generated photos that are turned into moving images. Luo, who majored in drama and film directing during college, ventured into the emerging sector two years ago, and says it's the future of the industry. [Sound_bite] Luo Chong, AIGC director: "It was 2023 when I was first exposed to AIGC. Then I took online tutorials and later offline courses about the technology. When my friends and I successfully produced an AIGC video for a competition in Shanghai last year, I knew—the future was here." [Voice_over] Luo says he normally leverages two core functions of AIGC software: text-to-image and image-to-video conversions. His workflow begins by selecting a reference image and entering descriptive text prompts. The system then generates a 5-10 second video clip, in about 2-3 minutes time. [Sound_bite] Luo Chong, AIGC director: "Let's say your storyboard has 50 shots. That means you'll need 50 photos. You use AI tools to turn each photo into a longer, moving shot. Once you edit them all together, you've got a finished video." [Voice_over] With AIGC tools, Luo says, a single person can rival an entire production team. [Sound_bite] Luo Chong, AIGC director: "Before, shooting something like this required a full crew—camera, lighting, production assistants, directors, even script supervisors. All in, you're talking 15, 16 people, sometimes more. A single project could easily run you more than 50,000 U.S. dollars. Now costs can drop to a third of that." [Voice_over] As of April this year, the value of China's core AI industry had reached nearly 83 billion U.S. dollars. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]