In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and filmmaking, the intersection of creativity and technology is producing groundbreaking results. I had the pleasure of speaking with Jud Willmont, the owner and Producer / Director at Willmountain Films, and Jacky Lin, a founding partner at Creative Fitting, to delve into their recent collaboration on an AI-generated film for the Shanghai Film Festival entitled M.A.D.

Some of the topics they covered in detail included:

• The importance of a hybrid approach in filmmaking. While AI can handle the heavy lifting of creating visual content, the essence of storytelling still relies on human creativity.
• The suggestion that AI should be treated as an artist rather than just a tool.
• The astonishing speed at which AI technology is advancing. They noted that the AI models they were using evolved even during the short three-week competition period.
• The significant challenges in using AI for film production is maintaining consistency, especially with character movements and expressions.
• As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, the unique perspectives and creative inputs from humans will continue to be what sets truly exceptional work apart.

And...

On Friday June 14th, the Global AI Film Marathon held the award ceremony in Shanghai Film Art Center. Jud and Jacky's film, M.A.D, won the Audience Award!

This is the official announcement of the winning teams in Chinese:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/N1IUAhtK6z4WQPYwEP_McQ

In this episode of the Asia Tech Podcast, Ryan Manafe, co-founder and CEO of Dagangan, shared his insights on revolutionizing rural distribution in Indonesia. Drawing from his personal experiences in Central Java, Manafe identified the significant challenges faced by rural communities in accessing daily necessities.

Some of the topics that Ryan covered in detail:

• In Indonesia, 80% of the population lives outside major cities like Jakarta. These areas represent a substantial market with unique needs, often neglected by large corporations.
• The importance of building a hub-and-spoke distribution network with micro-warehouses in villages.
• How local community leaders and religious figures play a vital role in educating villagers about new services.
• Facilitating access to the most remote markets for big brands like Coca-Cola and promoting local brands as well.
• How Dagangan isn't just about distributing goods; it's also about improving lives. For example, Dagangan partnered with a local milk company to address the issue of stunted growth in children by promoting affordable, nutritious milk in school canteens.

"So an event mesh is a data movement fabric, okay, yep, so the network, but it's the layer between the network and the applications. So if we explain it a little bit further, event broker is this technology that allows you to move data in a one to many manner, in a publish to subscribe manner. So for example, if an order is created, and we say that order event is published to the event broker, that order may have to go to the order management system. It may also go to the digital receipt system. It may also go to the loyalty system. So the same order has to go to multiple systems. And this pattern is called publish, subscribe, which is done by an event broker." - Sumeet Puri

In this episode of the Asia Tech Podcast, Sumeet Puri, Chief Technology Solutions Officer at Solace, shared deep insights on the transformative power of real-time data and event-driven architecture. He explained how advancements in network and computing capabilities have enabled industries to transition from traditional data handling to real-time data processing.

Some of the topics that Sumeet covered in detail:

• The evolution from traditional data handling to real-time data processing.
• Real-time data is no longer a luxury reserved for high-frequency trading desks. It has permeated various industries, enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency.
• The importance of event-driven architecture in facilitating real-time data movement. This architecture operates on the principle of event meshes, which are networks of event brokers that handle data in a publish-subscribe model.
• Real-time data processing democratizes access to information and services. Puri highlights initiatives like Singapore's SGQR and India's UPI as examples where real-time data movement has enabled even the smallest merchants to participate in the digital economy.
• The concept of 'Event Storming' workshops is an innovative approach to identifying and leveraging real-time data opportunities. By breaking down business processes into individual events, companies can uncover previously hidden efficiencies and opportunities.