Phylogeny. Creativity within the framework of the generic

Phylogeny is an experimental short film created from AI-generated video footages. The film’s core concept is the conflict between imposed social and socio-political frameworks and absolute freedom. Does the individual—as a social being operating within the confines of surveillance capitalism—fulfill their fundamental existential and social needs?

The greatest absurdity of the film is that it was created using tools that primarily and actively serve surveillance capitalism in all its negative forms and purpose. Over 3,000 video and audio assets were generated for the film, each with an average duration of 6–12 seconds. The vast majority of the material was discarded, while the usable assets underwent extensive editing using Affinity Designer and Final Cut Pro software. The film was intentionally edited in low resolution; the chopped frames and black-and-white filter were deliberately added for stylistic purposes and to achieve the intended visual aesthetic. The film's creation and post-production took five months.

This film represents both a personal passion project and a challenge, driven by the concept of experimenting with the creation of an artistic form within the highly constrained parameters of AI tools. At the same time, it re-examines criticism and raises the question of whether it is even possible to achieve an artistic form using AI.

author lvan Bjørn