Anthony Giacchino is an Oscar and Emmy award-winning documentarian who is currently pioneering new approaches to historical storytelling at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). Through his course AI and Filmmaking: A Critical Exploration within SVA’s MFA Computer Arts program, Giacchino and his students are bringing to life a century-old New York story using cutting-edge AI tools combined with traditional filmmaking techniques.
Tell us about your course and what inspired it.
When our department head, Terrence Masson, approached me about teaching a class on AI and filmmaking, my initial reaction was “I’m probably not the right person - I really don’t know anything about AI.” Terrence surprised me with his response: “That’s perfect, because neither do most of the students. This could be a sandbox for all of you to explore these new tools together.” The notion of having a shared starting point with the students and taking on a more collaborative approach to teaching ultimately got me excited, so I said “yes!”
What project are you working on in this class, and how did you come up with the idea?
For the past 20 years, I’ve been fascinated by the story of Joe Petrosino. He was the most famous Italian in America during his time and was a legendary New York detective whose 1909 murder in Palermo remains unsolved. To the public he was seen as a symbol of hope in the fight against emerging threats like the Mafia, but his story is not just a tale of crime and law enforcement - it’s an immigration story, one that reflects the struggles and aspirations of Italian immigrants at the turn of the century.
While discussing potential projects with Terrence, it struck me: what if we approached this course as if we were filmmakers in 1909 who had been granted the extraordinary opportunity to interview Petrosino himself? The idea of fusing historical recreation with cutting-edge AI filmmaking tools felt like an intriguing way to bridge the past and the present.
How does your workflow incorporate AI tools with traditional documentary methods?
To the students’ surprise, I began the course not with technology but with history. We didn’t even touch computers for the first two weeks. I wanted the students to step into Petrosino’s world, just as a traditional documentarian would. We walked the very streets where his career unfolded and visited the sites of some of his most famous cases. We worked with original newspaper articles from the era and researched archival photos of buildings and locations tied to his work. I wanted them to have a deep understanding of his history before moving forward.
The next step was creating visual elements. We had a handful of authentic historical images that we incorporated into the film, but the biggest challenge was to convincingly recreate more of the past using Text to Image in a way that married the styles. That’s where the magic of these tools is felt the most: they allow you to quickly reimagine and visualize history in ways that weren’t possible before. Once we had our historical and generated visuals we animated them with Gen-3 Alpha to bring them to life.
The final step was editing and post-production to tie everything together: Our student VFX team layered about 120 effects including film grain, scratches, and era-specific textures to nail the authentic look of a silent film from 1909.
Throughout this project, we spent a lot of time discussing the unique opportunities and challenges this new technology brings to documentary filmmaking. While it opens up extraordinary possibilities for representing history in new ways, it also requires us, as documentarians, to remain transparent with the audience about how the material was created. So we’re not shying away from or hiding our process.
How did you land on creating a silent film?
We were inspired by the silent film format, but we realized we still needed to bring a 2024 sensibility to the presentation. Truthfully, I wanted to make a silent film from the beginning, but I was open to the students exploring other approaches. When we saw the generated footage of Petrosino presented as if it were a taken out of a film from his time, we were all blown away. The silent film format felt perfect and played to the strengths of what this technology can do for a historical story like this.
How did the students collaborate with each other?
The students divided the work based on their interests: some focused on characters, others on environments, and a few gravitated toward VFX. Once we saw where everyone’s strengths and passions were, I started assigning scenes based on the script, but the intent was to have a collaborative working environment and a sharing of ideas.
What advice would you give to filmmakers interested in using AI tools?
This film wasn’t something that could have been achieved by simply pushing a button or typing a phrase into a box. It was only possible because the students brought their skill, artistry, and understanding of traditional filmmaking to the process. There’s a common misconception that you can just type a prompt and instantly create an entire scene or film - but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
We all have cameras in our pockets now thanks to our smartphones, but that doesn’t mean we’re living on a planet of professional photographers. To me, AI filmmaking tools are similar. The people who are curious, willing to experiment, and eager to integrate it into their vision will excel in its use, and there’s no doubt that AI can accelerate creativity and open up possibilities, especially for those who might not have traditional resources or industry connections.
I’m not sure if what we created was a documentary or something new entirely, but what I do know is that this project feels like fulfilling a childhood dream: time travel. Working with these AI tools has, in some ways, made that possible for me.
