AI学员风采|姜戌想: 从古至今,AI照亮彼此

Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Xu Xiang, director of "A Thousand Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," a sophomore majoring in graphic design. I remember stepping into Beijing Film Academy for the first time as an applicant, never expecting that I would return to campus this time as a creator.

By the end of 2025, No. 4 Xitucheng Road was filled with the chill of winter, the cold wind biting through the air. Yet it was here that I met a group of companions who fought side by side, and in my heart, warmth began to grow.

At first, I simply wanted to follow the trend of the times and learn how AI could be applied in art. Indeed, within just ten days, I not only gained a deep understanding of AI but also comprehensively explored its applications from multiple perspectives—director, screenwriter, performer, and even market. During this period, I underwent a thorough immersion in AI. By day, I absorbed valuable insights from instructors on topics such as dynamic full-creation, how to vividly express characters' emotions in videos, and techniques for seamless post-production editing. In the evenings, while reviewing the day's lessons with my peers, I actively identified issues in our videos and worked diligently to improve them.

For the first time, I attempted to create a short film featuring characters about "past and present lives". But the moment the images appeared, I fell silent - those images were exquisite yet soulless, smooth but lacking substance.

第一次短片的失败

The failure of the first short film

Thanks to the guidance of all the teachers, I began to look back. The teacher led me to a master from the Qing Dynasty - Shen Quan. His depictions of birds and beasts are precise in form and elegant in spirit, with rich colors and refined style. There is a sense of respect for life throughout his paintings - every movement of the feathers, every interconnection of the branches, all embody profound cultural roots. Standing on the shoulders of giants, I chose not to let the AI generate randomly, but to have it learn from Shen Quan. Using the language of meticulous flower-and-bird paintings, I will retell the story of that past and present.

沈铨原作

The original work by Shen Quan

The second time, under the guidance of the teachers, I repeatedly adjusted and transformed Shen Quan's composition rules, line characteristics, and color atmosphere into a picture that AI could understand. It was a long process of trial and error. I compared the generated images with Shen Quan's original works over and over again, as an apprentice would copy ancient paintings. In a certain shot, the tail feathers of the crane were too stiff, so I went back to the parameters' gaps and gradually adjusted the sense of movement in the picture layer by layer; in another part, the blurring of the petals lost its layers, so I returned to the original picture and repeatedly pondered the balance of light and heavy in the gradation of shading. After more than ten iterations, finally, there was one frame of the picture that made the teacher nod - at that moment, I understood that the AI began to learn to breathe.

推翻第一个剧本，重新开始第二个剧本

Overwrite the first script and start the second one from scratch

This time, the scene is different.

第二个剧本其中的一个多次修改的分镜头

One of the shot breakdowns in the second script has been revised multiple times.

The images generated by AI now begin to bear the spirit of Shen Quan - being rigorous yet full of vitality, meticulous yet full of charm. The narrative of past and present is wrapped up in the brushwork style of meticulous flower-and-bird paintings, and thus gains a depth that transcends time and space. The feathers of the crane are clearly defined, and the light and shadow of the flowers are gradually diffused layer by layer. Finally, the picture has a life of its own.

On the final day of the exhibition, we all appreciated and learned from each other. Ten days, though not extremely long nor extremely short, were the most memorable and cherished ten days for me. During the day, the teachers not only taught us professional knowledge but also provided individual explanations. At night, the classroom was brightly lit until the early hours of the morning, and the classmates encouraged and communicated with each other.

一些小片段

Some short segments

Technology and tradition are never one replacing the other; they illuminate each other. AI gives me efficiency and possibilities, Shen Quan gives me depth and standards, and the teachers give me direction and faith. The profound and extensive nature of Chinese culture has thus been reawakened and seen again, between the iterative algorithms and the contemplation of the ancients.