Director and AI innovator Paul Trillo’s new short film “Thank You For Not Answering” explores the faded and deteriorated memories of a man leaving a voicemail for an ex-lover, reflecting on the life they had and the life they could have had. Made entirely with Runway’s Gen-2 generative video technology, we see the subjective reality AI can create, as if it too is recalling a memory of a memory.  

The idea behind “Thank You For Not Answering” originally spawned out of a previous idea Trillo had for a short film prior to the rise of AI tools. With the advent of Runway’s Gen-2, he saw AI as a compelling way to reconstruct someone's memory of the world – a creative choice rooted in the process of AI itself. He then wrote the voice over script and generated the audio using AI speech software Eleven Labs.  

With this piece, Trillo takes advantage of the aesthetic limitations of AI as the surreal and often uncanny nature would be difficult to recreate with cameras or traditional animation. These otherworldly attributes lend themselves to dreams, memories, and alternate realities.

SPW Credits

Written and Directed by Paul Trillo.

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