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The film and entertainment industries are undergoing epochal transformations. Online streaming, high-definition imagery and artificial intelligence (AI) are not just changing business models, these technologies are also radically altering the design thinking that guides media productions.

The Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) graduates, Min Chan and Chak Yun Hei, have been playing crucial roles in this transformation. Chan, an Image Director, designs immersive costumes that help in the element of worldbuilding in productions. Chak, a Director of Innovation and Product Development, develops TV hardware and software tailored to future consumer entertainment modes and broadcasting technologies. Their experiences demonstrate how, despite the flurry of technological changes, their respective roles maintain fundamental continuity, with Chan creating beautiful designs and Chak driving industry development.

CHAK YUN HEI

Currently the Director of Innovation and Product Development at TCL Corporate Research (Hong Kong) Company Limited, Chak Yun Hei is a graduate of Architecture, Interior and Product Design Department at the HKDI. He previously worked as a Product Designer at Canon, where he won the Red Dot: Best of the Best Award in 2013 for the "X Mark II Calculator".

MIN CHAN

Min Chan is a Film Costume Designer and a graduate of the Fashion and Image Design Department at the HKDI. She has worked on numerous films, television series and advertisements, including "In Broad Daylight", "Warriors of Future" and "Shock Wave 2", as well as the series "I SWIM". She was nominated for the "Best Costume Design" award at the 60th Golden Horse Awards for her work on "In Broad Daylight".

Conscious transformation

Drawing on their experiences of technological disruption, Chan and Chak outline their immediate impact and how they proactively changed their design approaches to align with the new normal, even altering their career paths to better position themselves for the industry's future.

Chan recalls, "In the past, we had to go to libraries or specific websites with accounts to access fashion show information. Seasonal fashion information was minimal, unlike now, where you can access real-time information on Instagram. For some senior practitioners, they struggled with going online and had to rely on clipping magazines and other printed materials for work. Previously, we actively searched for information, but now there's an overload of free information with inadequate filtering, often causing one to feel overwhelmed by AI systems and algorithms and leading to aesthetic fatigue and a sense of conflict."

Today's online image resources provide designers with endless free and convenient images. However, Chan ponders the possibility of this technology replacing current art and design jobs. Chan said, "I experimented with AI to generate works in the style of the movie 'Dune' and American designer Rick Owens. It could generate an entire fashion series beautifully, which felt intimidating. But with increased iterations, the AI output became repetitive."

Based on her experience, Chan believes AI can assist film and art design departments by directly generating atmospheric visuals and colour palettes. However, AI has its limitations regarding the actual production of costumes. "Current AI technology cannot weave a sweater like humans, which is why I believe I still have a few more years of job security before AI fully replaces designers. Moreover, AI-generated character designs lack the 'human touch' and sense of life, which is evident through the lens and human actors' performances."

Reflecting on the media's online transition from the mid-2010s onwards, Chan recalls that many media outlets drastically changed their presentation methods. "Print media declined, becoming network media dominant, with significant differences in reading methods and speeds... Previously, we mainly read A4-sized printed media, where clothes could be adjusted with pins and clips during photoshoots or retouched later. But now, with a focus on film and TV, the process is like moving from 2D to 3D, where tiny details are magnified on giant screens, making even the smallest thread stand out, which is very concerning."

Silent elimination

While Chan is a film and entertainment producer, Chak is the one who brings these works to the audience. As a Director of Innovation and Product Development at TCL Corporate Research (Hong Kong) Company Limited, his products, such as mobile phones, personal computers, digital media and smart TVs, deliver movies and entertainment programmes to consumers today. He has a different perspective on the relationship between technology, design thinking and industry transformation. Chak says, "I graduated with a Product Design and Technology major. My early work focused on craftsmanship. We were among the first batch of academically trained newcomers familiar with Photoshop 4.0, AutoCAD and 3D technology. At that time, many software programmes were still imperfect, with numerous programme flaws. Simply avoiding these pitfalls to complete the work was considered excellent performance in those days."

Chak later managed the design team at Canon, winning the Red Dot: Best of the Best Award in 2013 for the "X Mark II Calculator". However, this experience, which represented the pinnacle of his career at that point, also alerted him to its coming demise. Quite a lot of electronic products were quietly disappearing from daily life, underscoring the urgency of his transformation. Chak said, "Apps have replaced radios and alarm clocks; numerous products have shifted from hardware to software. In traditional industrial design and production lines, software was often seen as a mere accessory to hardware earlier. However, from today's perspective, it is clear that software has become a far more crucial component."

Chak predicted that the outdated hardware-centric models, which were slow to adapt to user experience (UX) expectations, would eventually be phased out for the more responsive app economy. Chak says, "Now the industry emphasises interactive design and UX, which were areas I feared in the past. As a designer, the world is changing, and I need to understand changing user needs and focus on problem-solving. The product forms of the past cannot address future issues." As the product design industry changed and single-purpose gadgets like point-and-shoot cameras and electronic dictionaries disappeared, Chak proactively sought to thrive in the new environment.

"The current situation is similar to the past. Today, many people still do not fully comprehend the capabilities of AI, just as individuals in the past were sceptical about the decline of 'dumb phones' with the rise of smartphones," Chak says. He described how in the past, product designers primarily focused on craftsmanship and product specifications. However, upon joining TCL Group, he found that the scope of product design had expanded significantly. Chak had to consider UX, system design, interactive design, software engineering, interface design and product and service pricing models. This reflects a crucial trend in technological development — a shift from simple product design to intertwined product and service development schedules.

Embracing the virtual world

Both Chan and Chak note that the rise of the Internet has disrupted traditional pricing, media consumption models and consumer lifestyles, prompting changes on the production end. "On one hand, some people specialise in improving audio-visual data compression technology. For example, YouTube previously used Flash as the default player, but now advanced HTML5 compression technology allows users to access large amounts of high-definition media content more efficiently. On the other hand, some people develop broadband technologies, with the advent of 5G and 6G technology, enabling users to access data-intensive media anytime, anywhere, leading to new changes and shifts in demand," says Chak.

While software supplanted many electronics, it also radically changed many surviving products. TVs no longer broadcast one-way, they support user interfaces and software installations, which in turn has spawned a new ecosystem in the industry. As a Director of Innovation and Product Development, Chak constantly monitors international film and entertainment industry trends to seek out business opportunities amid technological changes. "Current film and media operation models are mainly divided into several types, such as YouTube's AVOD (Note 1), Netflix's SVOD (Note 2) and the continuation of traditional TV's FAST (Note 3), each with different operation models. Many institutions and apps in the US operate local TV stations through FAST, offering users customised media platforms with hundreds or thousands of channels. These economic activities are estimated to generate up to US$200 billions in revenue annually on TV alone." He explains, adding that TCL has not yet benefited from these changes and is contemplating how to enter this new industry.

Chan also felt the change in product functionality. Chan said, "Tasks previously done on computers could later be done on tablets and then on smartphones as users got used to the new forms of devices." Chak added that the key to whether technological changes will impact at ask lies in the transferability of product demand. "TV screens are so large, yet users cannot perform image editing tasks via remote control, meaning the demand cannot be transferred. Now, with the advent of AI generation technology and the introduction of intent interaction technology, AI-trained systems can interpret human intentions through subtle movements and fulfil complex commands. This will drive large-scale industry transformation. When the entire ecosystem forces you to change, you will change, won't you?"

Who leads whom?

Chak believes AI will revolutionise many industries' operational models, standards and regulations and extend far beyond its current applications. Drawing on his experience with AIgenerated video technology and AI assistant software development, he points out that AI's rapid evolution and decline in costs signal its widespread adoption in the coming future, which can potentially overturn traditional production models and businesses. "If industry practitioners fail to adapt proactively, they will be left behind, passively waiting to be overwhelmed by the disruption," Chak predicts.

Regarding how to adapt to technological advancements, Chak says, "All technology is moving towards automation. Designers should not consider themselves as 'craftsmen' in the traditional sense but rather as 'tool users', with management and decision-making capabilities becoming increasingly important. This is similar to Hong Kong's past development, no longer 'factory workers' wielding soldering irons, but production managers."

Indeed, AI generation technology is reshaping industries and elevating the importance of improving management, decision-making and innovation capabilities over simple manual operations. This transformation presents an opportunity for those willing to adapt to new realities. Perhaps these changes will give humans an unexpected chance to continue leading in design.

Note 1: AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) This model relies on advertising revenue for profit. Users can watch video content for free but must watch a designated advertisement first.

Note 2: SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) This model relies on membership fees for profit. Users agree to a subscription agreement and pay a specified monthly or annual fee to watch all videos on the platform.

Note 3: FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) This is a new form of streaming in the audiovisual field, based on advertising revenue, but does not require any monthly fees or even registration.