Korean AI studio warns feature film costs could exceed 35mm era
Kim Kwang-jib of Studio Meta-K warned at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei that runaway token fees could make AI filmmaking more expensive than the 35mm film era.
Token costs threaten budget limits
Kim Kwang-jib stated that token bills for a 100-minute film can currently top KRW500 million. He noted that if companies raise these costs tenfold, the price could rise to KRW5 billion. This increase would force Asian producers to question whether AI remains an efficient tool.
Hollywood budgets absorb price hikes
The studio head explained that Hollywood productions with KRW200 billion budgets can absorb such costs while still making cheap films. In contrast, typical Korean and Taiwanese features operate on budgets between KRW3 billion and KRW5 billion. A tenfold jump in fees would significantly impact these smaller productions.
Rendering frequency drives expenses
Kim described how receiving ten changes at once allows a studio to pay for only one extra render pass. However, if the same changes arrive one per day over ten days, the studio must re-render ten times. This piecemeal approach increases costs compared to the free cuts available during the digital transition from film stock.
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