Can AI Solve Clearance Rights in Post-Production?

Many of us likely recall the infamous Game of Thrones Starbucks debacle. For those who missed it: during a crucial moment of the fantasy series, a familiar paper cup wound up on a table in a realm where it certainly did not belong. While the network maintained good humor in admitting the error, the truth is that programs like Game of Thrones, which are set in different times, universes, or realities, can be challenging to execute.  

Despite the tremendous amount of time and effort invested in research and preparation, oversights can occur due to long shooting days, tired eyes, and quick turnarounds on edits. These mistakes can range from embarrassing for producers—like the Game of Thrones coffee cup—to much more severe, with some even prohibiting the legal distribution of a film or series. 

Problems in post-production 

Obtaining clearance is an essential process in post-production since production companies must obtain legal permission to use any copyrighted material appearing in a motion picture or television program. Missing something during this process can be a costly mistake, as it infringes upon intellectual property laws and typically necessitates re-editing or possibly re-shooting scenes. 

AI revolutionizing media and entertainment workflows 

AI is increasingly becoming a central force in media & entertainment workflows, relied upon for many crucial functions in the post-production process and enhancing the productivity of editors and creators.  

Image recognition tools like Wasabi AiR enable users to search for content and key moments within a scene. The true benefit goes beyond finding proverbial needles in haystacks, a tool like Wasabi AiR can help teams reinvent the way content can be analyzed across projects, Data can be extracted as a cumulative data layer at the asset or archive level to detect trends or flag prevalence of things like objects, people, brands, dialogue, and more, in a way never before possible.  

Clearing the AiR 

Leveraging AI in the clearance process is a natural fit, as it can expedite and add protections like no longer relying on the limited capabilities of the human eye. Human expertise and involvement can shift from primary execution to skilled validation roles. Using AiR as an example, we can ingest a final version of a film and visualize its data on unique timelines like spoken dialogue, faces, or brand iconography.  

This data can then be programmatically exported and cross-referenced against a script to flag anything that might be out of place. Editors and reviewers are now able to check media content for anything they didn’t expect within seconds—a process that, prior to the availability of Wasabi AiR and tools like it, —would previously take hours. 

Saving face (and money, too) 

In the earlier Game of Thrones example, a process like this should have raised concerns when "coffee cup" or "Starbucks logo" were present in the metadata but not in the script. This approach not only represents a more thorough method of review and documentation, but it’s also significantly faster and empowers clearance coordinators to perform their job more effectively. 

When considering the impact of a technology like Wasabi AiR on your workflow, you have to look at not just the time saved from a personnel perspective, but also how it might mitigate financial risk. Lawsuits and fines associated with copyright infringement and other similar issues are problematic for any content creator. Adopting the right solution could save your organization’s revenue and reputation exponentially in the long run.   

Consider how AI tools like Wasabi Air can make your post-production, rights, and clearance pipeline simpler more efficient.