NEW YORK, May 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hollywood is beginning to recast artificial intelligence from being the lead character in movies to becoming the leading technology driving the industry. Producers and directors alike are discovering the power of a new kind of AI assistant: IBM Watson, the cognitive computing system that is enhancing the work of the human imagination and giving artists, filmmakers, and other creative minds the tools to uncover new ways of thinking and problem-solving.

Imagine the ultimate "super-assistant" on the set to help make hundreds of decisions and take care of mundane tasks that free you up to concentrate on making the picture a box office success. IBM Watson can do this by pushing the boundaries of what producers and directors can create on the silver screen. It can analyze volumes of data -- think photos, online content, scripts, video -- and then recognize, inform and project from the patterns it identifies.

To help propel this innovation, IBM (NYSE: IBM) has collaborated with the Tribeca Film Festival to launch the "Storytellers with Watson" competition, which encourages artists from across the industry to submit ideas on how they would use Watson to enhance their digital storytelling -- from film and video, to web content, gaming, augmented reality and virtual reality.

We're eager to see how media and entertainment luminaries are going to use Watson to elevate their storytelling to deliver more action-packed trailers, scarier horror flicks, funnier comedies, and more heart-wrenching dramas. To get the creative ideas flowing, here are several ways Watson can become the best tool for movie production:

    --  Knowing just what an audience wants. Last year music producer Alex da
        Kid teamed up with Watson to tap into the collective mood of the entire
        planet to create a single song that reflected all those emotions. (Watch
        the case here.) When crafting a screenplay, writers can add Watson to
        their team to get an idea of how they should approach certain themes
        that best resonate with audiences.
    --  Re-thinking and simplifying pre-production planning. A lot of work goes
        into getting a movie prepped for production. Besides people who spend
        countless hours a day scouting out potential filming locations,
        directors must sit through casting calls and face shots. Watson can
        process images and help inform producers on which backdrops might be
        best for each scene. Pre-production tasks are vital to the success of a
        movie; Watson can help production teams distill everything into a
        game-plan using expertise at scale.
    --  Rapid-fire editing. No longer will the director have to constantly shout
        "cut!" from his or her director's chair. With Watson, the cameras can
        keep "rolling" (they're digital, so not really) without missing a single
        recorded scene. Nothing is left on the cutting room floor because Watson
        can scan through all of the content and help identify which scenes are
        the best to use in a film. Watson understands the essence of the story
        -- and can help inform how content is organized to tell a story.
    --  Ditching written scripts in favor of real-time dialogues. Virtual
        reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology will make movies
        evermore interactive. With Watson, directors will be able to take the
        same kind of conversational technology that powers customer service
        chatbots and transform it into voice-based interactions that can
        complement both VR and AR.
    --  Understanding your fan-base. Once the director says "that's a wrap," the
        entire movie production is only halfway done. Arguably the hardest part
        is the distribution and marketing of the film. Watson is a pro at
        analyzing a fan base to create a marketing strategy that promotes a film
        more effectively. Want to know in an instant which movie trailer elicits
        the most favorable emotions from your fan base? Watson can use tone and
        sentiment analysis to analyze the optimal trailer.

If you visit a movie set in the near future, you might experience first-hand how Watson is becoming the ultimate assistant for media and entertainment professionals. What's more is the way in which it's being applied ... which could be your very own idea.

We invite you to visit the "Storytellers with Watson" online contest hub and tell us: How would you use Watson to improve digital storytelling?

About IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing
Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world in a way more similar to humans: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.

As part of IBM's strategy to accelerate the growth of cognitive computing, Watson is open to the world, allowing a growing community of developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to easily tap into the most advanced and diverse cognitive computing platform available today. Watson solutions are being built, used and deployed in more than 45 countries and across 20 different industries.

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/watson. Join the conversation at #ibmwatson.

Media Contact:
Nancy Ngo
IBM Media Relations
917-421-8820
Nngo@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

SOURCE: IBM