This AI tool can transform novels into audiovisual content
Silverside AI, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence lab, has launched an innovative tool called Hypnovels. This generative AI tool is the creation of advertising veteran PJ Pereira and Ask Jeeves co-founder Rob Wrubel. Hypnovels allows authors to convert sections of their novels into engaging audiovisual content for promotional purposes. Currently, Hypnovels is free to use but will eventually transition into a paid service due to operational expenses.
How does it work?
Hypnovels operates by letting authors upload a portion of their novel and provide details about its genre and themes. The AI tool then processes this information to create a video that adds auditory and visual depth to the text. Rather than creating a literal visual interpretation, Hypnovels crafts an abstract representation that encapsulates the essence of the novel's words, themes, and tones.
A tool to engage readers in a new way
Authors using Hypnovels input their text, answer questions about their novel, and then select from over 20 visual themes ranging from retro-futurism to noir to street art. They can also choose an AI voice for narration and one of four visual style refinement options provided by the tool. Pereira explains the motivation behind Hypnovels: "People have difficulty stopping to read a book today. There's too much stimulation. Hypnovels makes them pause, makes them pay attention."
The birth of Hypnovels
The concept for Hypnovels was conceived when Pereira sought innovative ways to market his latest novel, The Girl from Wudang. Inspired by an AI character in his book, he began experimenting with real-world technology. Pereira pondered, "If I think of my book as one giant prompt, can I use it to generate a video? I played with that idea for months."
Limitations and future prospects
Despite its innovative approach, Hypnovels does have certain limitations. The AI's text-to-video output is unique each time and doesn't allow authors to adjust specific elements in the video. This lack of control might be a source of frustration for some, especially as the AI can take hours to generate a video that lasts only a few minutes.
