The idea that generative AI has leveled the creative playing field is a comforting myth. Tools like Sora 2 don't hand out talent or vision, they merely amplify the skill and intuition of those who already understand the craft. For those fluent in the language of production, who know how to frame a shot, light a scene, and tell a story, the results can be extraordinary. For everyone else, the promise of instant creativity fades fast.
Daniel Green, Director of Training and Development at AI skills development consultancy AI Guy KC and Chapter Lead for the AI Collective Kansas City, builds AI solutions and training programs for businesses. A former Twitter developer community lead, he views the new wave of creative AI tools through the lens of real production experience.
"AI is more like a magnifying glass than a magic wand. For people who already have the skills, the right tools make their creative process sharper and their iterations faster. But it's not a panacea for those without a creative foundation," says Green. The gap between expert and novice is only going to grow wider, as unlocking the tech's full potential requires a strong creative skillset and an underlying literacy in production.
- Price of admission: Green explains that while AI can be a powerful "creation tool," it fails as a "storytelling tool" on its own, often defaulting to trite narratives. Without a grasp of technique, many users hit a wall. "If you understand the basics of framing and cinematography and speak the language of video production, tools like Sora 2 and VEO can be incredibly powerful. But if you don't, there is an invisible barrier to entry that people need to cross before they can truly unlock what these tools can do," he says.
That gap in skill challenges a popular idea in tech circles, where "taste" is often seen as the ultimate differentiator. Green argues that real expertise comes from a deep grasp of theory and technique, skills that AI cannot simply skip over. He points toward a future where that gap is narrowed through better learning design, not just better tools.
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Grit over glamour: "At the core, it's really about theory and technique. Those are the things that you learn by doing grunt work," Green says, noting that the best producers often start as gaffers or focus pullers. "They do that kind of grunt work, and they pick up these powerful ambient skills as a result."
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Built-in bootcamp: He also points to a fundamental flaw in how most current AI tools are designed. "They give everyone a blank white box with a blinking cursor and effectively wish them good luck," he notes. "I think the next frontier for creative AI is building apprenticeships effectively into the tools themselves."
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Strike a chord: Instead of a total collapse, Green expects a period of friction and adaptation. He believes the industry will likely resist and reinvent itself rather than simply crumble, and points to the actors' union as a case study. "The actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, was really the first one to think about what AI means for our work," he says. Green says that the strike’s focus on compensation for derivative work highlights a key question that creative industries are now grappling with.
If you understand the basics of framing and cinematography and speak the language of video production, tools like Sora 2 and VEO can be incredibly powerful. But if you don't, there is an invisible barrier to entry that people need to cross before they can truly unlock what these tools can do.Daniel Green - Director of Training and Development | AI Guy KCOn the other side of resistance is adoption. A growing number of major brands are using AI for hyper-personalized advertising, putting the "magnifying glass" effect to work in a commercial context. Green cites Coca-Cola's early generative video ad which taught the company how to create localized derivatives for regions that don't have a "white Christmas." That ability to personalize, he says, points toward a much bigger future.
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Your personal Super Bowl: "Imagine if every Super Bowl ad felt like it was meant for you," he says, pointing to the integration of shopping features into ChatGPT by companies like Walmart as a sign of this future. "I think that will be possible. The future is that every ad feels like it was made for you. Not just the copy, but also the visuals."
Green believes today’s video generation tools represent only the first step toward what he calls "world models," vast simulations of reality. He explains that companies like Amazon already use these systems to train warehouse robots and imagines a future where similar models could help simulate climate change progressions or design more walkable cities.
These tools, he says, will eventually give individual creators the power to achieve what once required entire studios. "You’ll be able to have someone in a city far from Hollywood or New York create something that looks and feels like a Pixar film, the kind of project that once required a studio and a seven- or eight-figure budget."