Netflix plans to automate the creation of trailers for its films and shows

Netflix has announced it is investing in technology that will automate part of the creative process for making its trailers, hoping to make editing more time-efficient and add personalisation for viewers. As CBS News reports, Netflix’s chief product officer Gregory Peters said in a teleconference that the streaming service is attempting to automate how it indexes characters and scenes in a film or TV show to save editing time, “so that our trailer creators can really focus their time and energy on the creative process”.

The company is known for developing new technologies to streamline production and personalise its content. Back in 2017 it started to personalise artwork shown to each user, tailored to their viewing habits and now a range of different trailers are made for some shows, to cater to different audiences.

Netflix also has a dedicated team building apps and services specifically for the production process – for example Nasdaq reports that in 2019 it is testing a new tool that digitises how scripts are marked up across the production team, moving away from the traditional pen and paper.

This next step for the company will see artificial intelligence involved in reducing time spent on the laborious element of creating multiple trailers for its hundreds of shows, and dedicate its editors to curating and fine tuning the final cut.