Understanding Screenwriters' Practices, Attitudes, and Future Expectations in Human-AI Co-Creation

TL;DR

This study explores screenwriters' practices, attitudes, and future expectations regarding AI collaboration, revealing key integration stages, attitudes' influence on workflows, and AI roles in shaping the future of screenwriting.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into how screenwriters currently use AI, their attitudes, and future expectations, highlighting practical integration points and AI roles in screenwriting.

Findings

Screenwriters mainly use AI in story development and dialogue.

Attitudes toward AI influence workflow practices and industry impact.

Four AI roles identified: actor, audience, expert, executor.

Abstract

With the rise of AI technologies and their growing influence in the screenwriting field, understanding the opportunities and concerns related to AI's role in screenwriting is essential for enhancing human-AI co-creation. Through semi-structured interviews with 23 screenwriters, we explored their creative practices, attitudes, and expectations in collaborating with AI for screenwriting. Based on participants' responses, we identified the key stages in which they commonly integrated AI, including story structure & plot development, screenplay text, goal & idea generation, and dialogue. Then, we examined how different attitudes toward AI integration influence screenwriters' practices across various workflow stages and their broader impact on the industry. Additionally, we categorized their expected assistance using four distinct roles of AI: actor, audience, expert, and executor. Our findings provide insights into AI's impact on screenwriting practices and offer suggestions on how AI can benefit the future of screenwriting.