The APA launched an awareness push in the film production arena in May this year – see the PAN post – they are now ready with the guidelines which you can read here.
PAN reader Steve Bergson, a UK based documentary researcher and member of the Gen AI Best Practices Committee at the APA, sent us a few words with his thoughts on the guidelines: ‘The publication of the APA Guidelines is a valiant attempt at drawing a line in the sand for archive use in documentaries. Many of the issues of authenticity and accuracy in how archive content is used are familiar arguments to anyone working in this field, but GenAI has now brought us to the threshold of an entirely new universe of possibilities, many of which are brilliant in the ways they can enhance and “modernise” archive to appeal widely to modern audiences. But as with all things AI, there is a considerable dark side where archive is consumed in a world of regenerated content which can ride roughshod over those traditional concerns about being faithful to the reality being shown. Everyone knows the dangers but in the face of quite amazing technology, it’s easy to sit on your hands and hope for the best, essentially trusting the filmmaker or content producer to be scrupulous in their use of available archive sources. This guide tries to define those dilemmas and at least, provide guide rails to keep practice as honest as possible. It might be pushing water uphill but it’s an important attempt to preserve the integrity of the business of documentary and factual filmmaking, so the effort should definitely be applauded and strongly supported.’