Everything you see and hear in our films is real. The people are real, the places are real, and the words came out of the mouths of the people saying them. We don't use generative AI to create images, footage, voices, or people.
Documentary only works if the audience can trust it. That trust is what our clients are paying for, and it's what the people in our films are lending us when they sit down in front of the camera. We don't spend it.
Where we draw the line
The line is between tools that work with what we recorded and tools that change it.
We use software to clean up audio, stabilize shaky shots, and match colour. Some of these tools use machine learning. They make real footage clearer. They don't add or remove anything that was there.
We don't generate footage, landscapes, wildlife, or archival images. We don't remove objects or people from a shot. We don't use synthetic voices for narration. We don't create people who don't exist or put words in the mouths of people who do.
The one exception
Sometimes a client watches a near-final cut and realizes a speaker used a term the organization has since moved away from, or misspoke a name or a number. Re-shooting isn't always possible. In those cases, and only at the client's explicit request, we may use AI to change a word or short phrase in that person's own voice.
This only happens on client work. It never happens in our independent documentaries. We only do it with the speaker's written consent, not just the client's, and the change has to be one the speaker would have said themselves. It's never used to change what someone meant.
Behind the scenes
We use AI for some of the work that happens before and after filming. That includes transcribing interviews, organizing footage, research, and planning. It saves time, and that time goes back into the work you see on screen.
Interviews often contain personal stories and cultural knowledge. When we transcribe them, we use services that don't train on our material, and sensitive recordings stay on our own systems. Our data sovereignty policy has more detail.
If this changes
AI tools are changing fast, and we expect to revisit this policy. If we ever change where we draw the line, we'll say so here first. Questions can go to Ben Hazel at hello@salmonberrystudios.com.
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