When OpenAI dropped Sora in February 2024, the internet lost its mind — as if we needed another AI tool to make humans feel more useless. That AI spits out videos up to 20 seconds long at 1080p resolution, and they mostly don't look like the usual AI garbage we were making fun of a few years ago. The demos were pretty good. So good that it made possible for OpenAI reportedly courting film studios and directors. Well, except for those occasional six-fingered hands (and apparently a pinch of racism and sexism) that remind us we're not quite in the robot apocalypse... yet.
AI video generation pretty well exploded out of nowhere. Meta, Adobe, and OpenAI all pushed out text-to-video tools faster than anyone expected. Remember those janky AI videos from last year? Chris Lavigne, Head of Production at Wistia, puts it well: "Just a year ago, GenAI-powered video was seen as impractical (think 'Will Smith eating spaghetti'). Fast-forward to today, and we're seeing rapid advancements with models like Runway, Hailuo AI, Pika, and Minimax all pushing to compete with OpenAI's Sora."
We previously covered this subject analyzing everyone’s reaction to Sora’s launch, including agonizing “ ‘It’s so over I’m going to lose my job’ sentiment.“ And that panic wasn't misplaced. The Animation Guild's 2024 study warns that about 118,500 jobs in film, TV, and animation could get "disrupted" by AI in the next three years. And yeah, "disrupted" is just corporate speak for "your job is toast."
The question isn't if Sora will change things. It already has — while making OpenAI suspiciously quiet about whether they trained it on copyrighted content. The real question is what happens to all those workers (about 59% of the industry) when stakeholders can just type "make me a cool explainer video" and get something usable without paying a human.
So what's a motion designer to do? Quit and learn roofing? (At least AI can't clean the roof shingles... yet.) Or relax and celebrate because AI might handle all the boring tasks while creatives will focus on "adding human value?"
Let's figure out if creatives should be updating their CVs as we speak.
Industry Coping in Progress
When Sora dropped, motion designers had to think how to adapt fast, since big studios jumped into that AI ship quicker than anyone might think, e.g. Lionsgate, partnered with Runway to build a custom video model trained on their own film library. Why? Because nobody wants to spend millions when a computer can do it cheaper.
For this AI adoption studios are hiring "AI wranglers" to master prompt writing and output curation. It's a whole new job description born from panic.
Ronny Young, Founder of OddBeast, points out the mixed reception about using certain AIs: “There are client concerns depending on the scale of your clients. We're seeing Midjourney straight-up being banned in many cases, where larger brands are preferring Adobe Firefly."
This split response makes sense. Big brands with legal departments and reputations to protect are scared of copyright issues. They worry that some poor artist's work got into Sora's training data without permission. So they're playing it safe with tools like Adobe Firefly, which claims to train only on licensed content.
Chris Lavigne from Wistia has seen benefits in combining different AI tools: "In my experience, pairing AI tools together can better streamline and create a more successful video. For example, pairing Midjourney (the gold standard for AI-generated photos) with tools like Sora enables a more refined workflow than Sora alone. While GenAI video tools still have their constraints, they are already challenging traditional video sources. Tasks like generating stock footage or basic animations can now be easily accomplished with AI, making traditional sources like Shutterstock less viable (hence why Getty and Shutterstock just merged)."
Freelancers are coping too. A recent industry survey found 83% of creatives have already used some form of AI. Some motion designers are using AI to speed up their process. What used to take weeks now takes days. Generate a rough cut with Sora, polish it by hand, and collect the check faster. Work smarter, not harder — until the client figures out they can do it themselves.
Some parts of the industry are drawing hard lines. Many broadcasters now make vendors sign "no AI" waivers, forcing artists to swear they didn't use generative tools.
Meanwhile, boutique studios are marketing themselves as "human-made" — like they're selling organic vegetables at a farmers market. "Our motion graphics are free-range and AI-free!" It might work for now, but for how long?
Industry groups like The Animation Guild are pushing for contracts that protect artists when AI enters the picture — demanding disclosures and fair compensation (although apparently not hard enough).
So yes, the industry is coping. Some by embracing AI, others by fighting it, most by finding some middle ground where they use the tools but don't tell anyone.
How to Survive: Skills for the AI Era
What skills matter now? Well, a lot of creatives are scrambling to become AI whisperers. According to Adobe's survey of 1,000 U.S. creatives, over 80% of video and animation pros expect to use generative AI in their projects.
Ronny Young from OddBeast cuts right to the chase: "As a motion designer, you should absolutely learn how to use these tools, at least on a basic level. The people/studios who succeed in the future will utilize Sora and stand out based on taste, style and story."
"Learn how to prompt; everyone will need this skill," Young warns. "There are certain ways the AI wants to work, and you need to learn how to get the best possible outcomes while working fast. Some of our own designers are learning how to better prompt, becoming more comfortable with ComfyUI and Runway."
Translation: Learn to talk to the machine, or someone else will.
Robert Weiss, Chief Video Content Marketing at MultiVision Digital, says it's about picking your best tools: "I think it is important to adopt AI tools that will help you on the type of job you make. Example: if you write scripts, you should be paying attention to the tools that help you on this task. For me, as a video editor, I need to keep looking for the tools that help me on my day to day tasks."
But it’s not only about learning and using AI tools. The World Economic Forum, our unelected dystopian overloads, named creative thinking and resilience, along with curiosity and lifelong learning amongst the most important skills for the employers of the future.
Chris Lavigne of Wistia seems to agree: "For video creators, the key to staying relevant isn't just technical proficiency. It's storytelling, creative direction, and finding a niche where AI can't easily replace human intuition. Studios are already integrating AI tools, and those who embrace them will have a competitive edge."
He adds a dose of reality about AI's current limits: "Prompt engineering is crucial to getting an output that resembles what you have in your head. And AI still struggles with the laws of physics, different camera perspectives, unnatural human expressions, and, of course, how many fingers a human hand should have."
So what's the winning strategy? A recent guide for motion designers suggests learning complementary skills like copywriting, marketing, or basic web design. If AI can make a video but can't write a script or optimize for YouTube, well, there's your opening.
And if specializing in one narrow skill feels scary in the age of AI, maybe it should.
But there's good news too. No AI can quite nail the human touch yet. Good storytelling still comes from human experience. Understanding why an audience laughs or cries at certain moments — that's still our domain. Emotion isn't easily automated.
So, learn the AI tools, sharpen your creative thinking and all the complementary skills and you will be fine. Probably.
The Human Value Proposition: What AI Can't Replace
Sora can make videos, but can it make you feel something?
Robert Weiss puts it plainly: "When it comes to creativity, AI tools are just replicating things that were created by humans. Computers are logical, humans are not all the time... Tasks that used to take a long time to make will be simplified with AI... but people hiring you are still humans, and the result that they expect to get will need the insight of a human. Yes, human creativity is and will still be irreplaceable."
The tech has limits too. OpenAI admitted Sora struggles with physics and can't handle complex, long actions. And every once in a while when there’s an AI video that everyone is raving about it might not be 100% AI after all, like that "Air Head" short film. The makers revealed they needed human VFX artists to fix Sora's mess-ups, because AI couldn't keep the balloon-headed guy looking the same from shot to shot.
Ronny Young from OddBeast backs this up: "You certainly need a human to direct the action and story. AI can make pretty pictures, no problem, but you need to make it work for you. Hallucinations are real; AI is not perfect. Yet. AI can still be used as a tool, but the pieces that connect with people come from a place of humanity and an emotional connection."
AI also lacks taste. It'll happily create 50 versions of a scene, but someone with actual judgment needs to cherry pick the bits that don't suck. And when Marvel tried using AI for TV show credits, viewers complained it felt soulless. People know when something's off.
Chris Lavigne from Wistia sees upsides though: "While some creatives worry AI will stifle artistry, I see it as a way to break creative constraints. AI can execute ideas quickly and help teams pivot faster than ever before. What's more, certain video projects and campaigns would be financially impossible to create without AI, especially for SMBs. AI removes the need for props, a complete cast of characters, shooting locations, lighting, camera equipment, and more. It can save hundreds of thousands of dollars, reduce time spent on projects, and, maybe most importantly, allow creators to dream big. That said, AI isn't perfect and we have yet to cross the uncanny valley."
The Future of Human-AI Collaboration
Where is all this headed? Well, collaboration seems to be the name of the game for now — not replacement.
Chris Lavigne from Wistia has a bold prediction: "Today, prompt engineering is worth its weight in gold, but in the next 3-5 years, prompting AI tools like Sora in the right sequence will become less important. GenAI-powered video models will become more self-aware and able to improve to the point where any company can create a stellar video campaign with even the most basic of prompts. If AI-generated videos are impressive now, just wait for what's coming next."
What does that mean for jobs? According to Goldman Sachs, AI could automate about 26% of tasks in arts, entertainment and media. But that doesn't equal 26% fewer humans. It means humans will have to be doing different things.
New job titles are popping up: we're seeing roles like "machine learning video editor" and "prompt designer" — jobs that didn't exist a year ago. Some studios will hire people to train and maintain their own in-house AI models with their unique style. That's what the Lionsgate-Runway partnership hints at.
There's money to be made in AI collaboration too. Adobe's survey found 58% of creative pros would be interested in licensing their artistic style to train AI models. That's right — you might sell your "look" the way musicians sell sample packs.
But Ronny Young from OddBeast has a different take on the timeline: "After the barrage of garbage content that brands will jump on soon (years 1–3), people will get tired of seeing mediocre and shitty content. Years 3–5 will see a resurgence of authenticity."
And he might be right. When everyone has access to the same tools, making the same glossy corporate videos, the human touch becomes rare — and hopefully more valuable.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics still projects 4% growth for animation and effects jobs through 2033, since more screens need more content, even with AI doing some of the boring tasks. The workflow of the future might look like a constant back-and-forth: you sketch a few key frames, Sora animates the in-betweens, you write a narrative, and AI suggests camera angles. You direct, AI executes. Let the robots handle the routine, while humans focus on story, emotion, and meaning. So at the end it's less "AI vs human" and more "AI + human."
Fingers crossed.
