Adapting to AI – An Interview with Columbia Film Producing Student Keito Ono

The most prominent innovation challenging the film industry today is the advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and Columbia University Creative Producing student Keito Ono is dedicating his time to building a framework to adjust to this inevitable future. Keito comes from Tokyo, Japan, with a background in psychology and tech consulting, which greatly informs his perspective while tackling this complex issue and examining how AI affects the production process and creativity.

Keito’s exposure to cinema was limited, only watching maybe five films a year growing up. However, after seeing the wide-ranging impact of AI amidst the SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, he realized there was significant work to be done for creative fields. He has since chosen a new path in the digital world as a film producer.

As a producer, Keito is focused on building sustainable ecosystems that empower directors who are genuinely committed and passionate about making films, pursuing a lifelong commitment to making filmmaking more efficient and accessible by working with passionate collaborators to support their journeys and visions. To get a sense of his background, producing philosophy, and future vision, Keito sat down for an exclusive interview:

Was there a specific moment or project during your undergraduate videography work when you realized storytelling could be transformative?

Yes, but as an undergrad, I wasn’t thinking that way. I just enjoyed making videos and working for clients. I didn’t see it as a storytelling tool until I joined a committee. It was a tech and engineering job, but when I was doing it, it was hard to communicate with people in a certain way. I began using PowerPoint, and the visual medium helped communicate information to people. That’s when I thought, what if I could make a video as a tool to tell a story? That’s when I thought of videos as a storytelling medium.

How did your background in psychology and tech consulting shape the way you now approach creative producing?

When I was in high school, I didn’t have the opportunity to pursue film studies. All I thought about back then was going to a good college, and psychology captivated me the most. Coming to film school was the most surprising thing. As a creative producer, I focus on understanding what a director wants to do. As a producer, we try to turn a director’s vision into reality. In that regard, my psychology background helps me understand an individual’s personality and tendencies in detail. Learning psychology helped me to understand and empathize with people. From another perspective, it helps me with organization. The most important thing is getting to know everyone and organizing the production.

You’ve said that witnessing the SAG-AFTRA strike and AI’s rapid rise pushed you toward filmmaking. What about that period made you reconsider your path in the digital world?

When I was working in a corporate job, I was part of discussions about AI ethics and how to apply it to corporate work – this was around the time ChatGPT blew up. I was thinking about how to ethically use AI and didn’t know at the time how much impact it could have in the real world. When I saw the news at the time, I didn’t know anything about SAG-AFTRA. Seeing the news of those protests made me realize that AI had an impact on a lot more than what we were discussing in the corporation. After coming here, I’ve studied the topic more, especially in how it’s used for writing. Coming from a tech background and seeing it in the creative fields, there’s a lot of potential, but there are also many challenges in how these areas will intersect.

How do you see technology—especially AI—impacting the future of film production, and how would you like to navigate or influence that change?

The term “AI” is vague, especially when applied to modern programs like ChatGPT. The people in our cohort who are working in the film program/industry define “AI” mostly with things like Google Gemini – helpful programs and large language models (LLM). However, AI has been a thing for well over a decade, like an Excel Sheet when you type “1 + 1” in the function, that’s also AI. That kind of AI should be utilized better for logistical optimization, which I believe is fine. The creative use of AI is something to be cautious about.

I look at the recent controversy surrounding The Brutalist (2024) and how AI was used to touch up Adrien Brody’s and Felicity Jones’ accents in certain moments, almost like a spot-healing brush. On one side, AI helps make the film higher quality by giving the accents more authenticity. Simultaneously, it is taking a little away from the true acting performance. Small things in postproduction that humans have difficulty detecting are something to think about regarding AI’s involvement, but it can be a slippery slope.

You describe your goal as “building sustainable ecosystems that empower directors.” What does that ecosystem look like to you in practice?

It’s all about how we use AI and IT (technology). Tech should be used in the right way to optimize efficiency and benefit people. Thus far, spending time in school production, I’ve noticed many people taking time with logistical work. Technology can help those areas. Another part of it is that every production works differently, which is great, but when it comes to working as a whole, certain things need to be standardized. That’s my philosophy, stemming from tech.

Coming from Japan to study filmmaking in New York, how have cultural differences influenced your understanding of storytelling or collaboration?

I don’t want to generalize, but storytelling-wise, there’s a big gap between the West and the East. Japanese people tend to make things vague, even in regular conversation – it’s related to the language structure. I feel like English is more direct, and it shows how storytelling is more constructed in a logical manner. It’s structured in a straightforward arc. In Japan, we have a different way of structuring stories, emphasizing chance and coincidence rather than logic-driven narratives.

As far as collaboration, being an international student, I notice people behave in a different way. Especially with my background in psychology, it’s fun examining people’s behavior and trying to understand why they act the way they do.

You’ve talked about wanting to make filmmaking more efficient and accessible. Can you share an example of how you’re experimenting with that idea?

I’m trying to understand each phase of film production and how I can implement logic, ideally being able to code it, so some things don’t have to be done with manual labor. Optimization is something I’m developing. I want to make an app that can help with some processes, but I haven’t designed it yet or expanded beyond a concept. Right now, the thing I’m most concerned with is talking with directors about their creative work, but the app and coding are something on the horizon.

How has studying at Columbia—working alongside filmmakers from around the world—changed the way you see your own role in the industry?

Honestly, I haven’t figured this out yet. As a Japanese student, I didn’t have opportunities to go out and work because of regulations in my country, so I’m still learning everything in school. That said, the Columbia name is prestigious when it comes to impacting filmmakers. I chose Columbia because the program is good, but also because of the potential for the name to influence the Japanese film industry in a positive way. Japanese society idealizes the Ivy League, so if I want to be a part of changing the film scene in Japan, studying here is a great way to do it. Columbia’s program is also heavily focused on producing, and the creative producing philosophies I’m learning from professors and peers are something I can bring back home.