I. Introduction
Not way back, synthetic intelligence (“AI”) was an idea delivered to life by human actors – whether or not by means of Scarlett Johansson’s voice in Her (2013) or as Alicia Vikander’s eerie humanoid presence in Ex Machina (2014). At the moment, the roles have reversed: it’s AI that’s creating on-screen performances that seem convincingly human.
From de-aging and re-aging to posthumous digital replicas and totally artificial background performers, generative AI provides the leisure trade new inventive prospects and probably cost-saving efficiencies in (publish)manufacturing. For display screen and voice actors and actresses (collectively “performers”), AI can come to the rescue when sickness or unexpected circumstances stop them from finishing a venture – probably avoiding a full recasting. But fears in regards to the erosion of their inventive management, and finally their livelihoods, clearly prevail.
These considerations fueled the four-month strike by the U.S. actors’ union SAG-AFTRA in 2023, when AI turned a key subject within the negotiations over the renewal of its settlement with the manufacturing firms’ affiliation AMPTP. In December 2023, the brand new contract (“SAG-AFTRA Settlement”) was ratified, introducing detailed provisions governing AI in movie and tv manufacturing.[1] In February 2025, the German federal actors’ union BFFS and the general public sector commerce union ver.di reached an settlement with the producers’ alliance (Produktionsallianz) on using generative AI in movie manufacturing (“BFFS Settlement”), efficient March 1. Whereas this settlement was reached with out the high-profile strikes seen in Hollywood, it represents an equally vital milestone for the movie trade.
This two-part article examines the BFFS Settlement and compares its key provisions to the SAG-AFTRA Settlement, highlighting similarities and variations in making certain performers’ participation and management over using AI. One factor is obvious from the outset: each agreements share the identical primary strategy to AI – not banning it, however utilizing it responsibly is the way forward for filmmaking.
II. Statutory Safety vs. Trade Agreements
Underneath German ancillary copyright safety, any recording of a efficiency and its copyright-relevant use (e.g., replica, communication to the general public), requires the performer’s consent and applicable remuneration.[2] This, and the ethical rights safety towards gross distortions, is rooted in worldwide copyright regulation and applies equally to makes use of involving generative AI. The German structure embeds a normal proper of persona, which, along with particular regulation, provides performers extra management over their picture and likeness.[3] Unauthorized and any defamatory use of a performer’s likeness, picture, or different persona traits equivalent to voice, type or mannerism is prohibited. If such makes use of should not lined in solid agreements, studios and producers could face legal responsibility for copyright infringement and violation of persona and knowledge safety rights.
Given this robust authorized safety of performers towards AI-driven modifications and imitations of their performances and likeness, the BFFS Settlement capabilities primarily as a framework for standardized implementation. In distinction, performers within the U.S. function in a authorized panorama with no robust federal safety, which is why collective bargaining agreements are essential to establishing satisfactory protections and making certain a stage taking part in area between performers and studios.
III. Regulated AI Use Circumstances
The BFFS Settlement addresses generative AI, however not all purposes of the expertise which may technically qualify as such fall inside its scope. Just like the SAG-AFTRA Settlement, “standard AI expertise purposes” already utilized by movie producers are excluded, equivalent to CGI and audiovisual results, but additionally the recreation and alteration of voices and pictures. The settlement focuses on regulating new manufacturing capabilities enabled by AI, quite than making use of to all doable makes use of of generative AI. 4 particular use circumstances of generative AI are acknowledged:
- Digital modifications: Modifications and alterations of the picture or efficiency (visible and/or acoustic) made with generative AI.
- Digital reproduction: AI reproduction of a performer’s voice or picture that gives the look that the recreation is the performer herself and is used to nearly place the performer in scenes filmed with out her participation.
- Partial digital embodiments: Modifications and alterations of solely components of the picture or the (visible and/or acoustic) efficiency made with generative AI to switch particular person physique components such because the face to different individuals (e.g., stunt or nude doubles) or to exchange the efficiency with AI-generated components (e.g., virtuoso piano-playing palms). This course of creates human-human or human-AI hybrid characters.
- Synthetic performers: Digital “beings” created with generative AI by mixing recordings of a number of performers into a brand new entity that’s now not recognizable as a specific identifiable individual, however is meant to, or does, give the impression of being a pure individual. The SAG-AFTRA Settlement refers to “artificial performers” on this context.
The SAG-AFTRA Settlement covers digital alterations and digital reproduction, however not partial digital embodiment. This distinction could also be as a result of robust statutory safety in Germany, which may be damaged right down to particular person options of the performer. The SAG-AFTRA Settlement does, nevertheless, supply a restricted safety of bodily traits with regards to artificial performers. Regardless that artificial performers are outlined as finally not recognizable as a specific individual, producers should receive consent to make use of a performer’s title and key facial options (eyes, nostril, ears and/or mouth) in AI prompts to generate an artificial performer with a recognizable principal facial function. The settlement over the use is left to the events. This stays the one specific reference to the enter stage of AI. The BFFS Settlement additionally mentions this solely as an afterthought to the definition of digital movement seize (the capturing a performer’s facial and/or physique actions to create a recording of a mannequin for digital reproduction or partial digital embodiments), noting that digital knowledge generated there “will also be fed right into a generative AI course of if essential”.
IV. Compensation for AI Substitute and Consent
Normally, a charge have to be particularly agreed upon for the performer’s consent (see V.) to make use of the digital reproduction or digital partial embodiment. Each agreements base this on “fictitious capturing days”, the times that might have been required for the manufacturing if the performer had personally acted as a substitute of the AI-replacement. The BFFS Settlement requires goal standards such because the size of such a scene with human involvement as estimated in good religion by the producer (“stopped script size”), however retains this underneath evaluate, as producers favor a “screentime strategy” primarily based on the digital reproduction’s precise visibility and audibility within the remaining product.
Since AI replacements are to be compensated like an personal efficiency, a separate charge needn’t be agreed upon if (i) the performer is already compensated for the manufacturing and using the digital reproduction or digital partial embodiment doesn’t considerably exceed the scope of the performer’s contractually agreed-upon participation, or (ii) the AI alternative is utilized in a scene during which the performer seems anyway, for which the BFFS Settlement acknowledges the exceptions of double and extra roles. Work for digital movement seize or making a digital reproduction counts as capturing days and have to be compensated accordingly.
Remuneration for fictitious capturing days is to be primarily based on the overall movie employees collective settlement, which the BFFS Settlement’s events have additionally lately revised. Because of the outstanding function of residuals within the Hollywood leisure trade and their important function in making certain truthful compensation for ongoing movie exploitation, SAG-AFTRA secured that the residuals for AI-replaced performances match these for human performances.
Half 2 of this publish will discover consent necessities and autopsy AI-modified performances.
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[1] Since then, SAG-AFTRA has concluded different AI-specific agreements, for instance with a AI voice expertise firm.
[2] Sect. 73, 77, 78, 79(2a), 32 German Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz, UrhG).
[3] Artwork. 2(1), Artwork. 1(1) German Structure (Grundgesetz); Sect. 22 Artwork Copyright Act (Kunsturhebergesetz, KUG).
