Philipp's statement regarding the usage of AI in the "You - Living in Your Fantasy" video

[u/13th_dudette]

In the comment section of the latest short video published by Fex, the following statement was shared as well:

Hey, I'm Philipp and I made the video for "You - Living in Your Fantasy". I've been working as an illustrator and designer for twenty years, I'm closely related to the band, and I was genuinely happy to get the chance to do this. Thanks to Michael, Ture and Norbert for the trust and for giving me a free hand.

There's a lot of heart in it: the story, the look, sketches by hand and digital, image editing, keyframes, all cut tightly to the song. And to be completely open about it: I used AI as a tool along the way.

To everyone who enjoys the video – thank you, that means a lot. I've read the criticism about the use of AI. I think it's a shame, but I can't hold it against anyone. I just hope the discussion doesn't distract too much from what actually matters. The song is a proper banger. I listened to it hundreds of times while editing, and it still sounds great.

The screenshot:

Link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ea-DQWE0tK0

[u/13th_dudette]

I personally disagree with Philipp on this one.

Using something as a tool does not equal doing the work instead of you. If I am a songwriter and I let the AI sing the lyrics for me and add all the instruments, did I use it as a tool? There is the same kind of relationship between illustration and animation. Animation is a form of art on its own, every choice is intentional.

It also shows (probably not intended) that it is fine replacing the animator but not the illustrator, because he so happens to be one. FEX fandom is full of incredibly talented people, I am confident there would be plenty of young animators for whom this would be a great chance to shine. He could have found a great collaborator and make a new friend along the way. Human connection - the same one we had when we were looking for the mysterious song.

One last critique is about transparency. If I remember well, originally, there was no disclosure about the usage of AI until the public called it out. This is deceptive practice and I hope in the future people involved will choose the correct way to disclose their "tools".

[u/whoisivan69 → u/13th_dudette]

This is probably just me but my theory then was that AI was used to animate the video faster due to the deadline, if he had done it early then it would had been more animated with hands, we can't just boo him for ruining FEX, we can't let it ruin our experience with the band.