Baltic Screen Media Review: Call for Papers Special Issue: "Generative AI in Audiovisual Media Production: Opportunities, Risks, and Emerging Paradigms” The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into audiovisual content production marks a transformative moment for the film, television, creative industries, and visual and performing arts. As generative AI tools become increasingly sophisticated, they open up unprecedented opportunities for creativity and media production. These tools can assist in idea creation, scriptwriting, automating media editing, visual effects, synthesising voices, audio effects, synthetic video, 3D modelling, software tools and even creating entire virtual environments, potentially reshaping traditional workflows and lowering barriers to entry for creators worldwide. However, the rise of generative AI also presents a range of challenges and risks. Concerns about intellectual property, ethical implications, authenticity, labour relations, and the erosion of human creativity loom large. Furthermore, the deployment of AI in creative industries raises questions about algorithmic bias, the commodification of culture, and the potential monopolization of generative technologies by a few dominant players. This special issue of the Baltic Screen Media Review invites scholars, practitioners, and creators to critically examine the multifaceted implications of generative AI in audiovisual content production. We aim to explore both the promises and the pitfalls of this technological revolution, fostering a nuanced dialogue that bridges theoretical analysis and industry practice. Contributors are encouraged to interrogate how generative AI reshapes artistic expression, labour dynamics, audience expectations, and cultural paradigms. The issue draws on interdisciplinary frameworks to contextualize generative AI within broader cultural, economic, and technological trends. We encourage submissions that engage with theories of digital culture, platform capitalism, media production studies, and posthumanism. By situating generative AI within these theoretical landscapes, this special issue seeks to advance a critical understanding of how these technologies mediate and transform audiovisual culture. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics: 1. Generative AI in Scriptwriting and Storytelling: How AI tools influence narrative structures, genres, and the creative process. 2. Visual Effects, Audio and World-Building: The role of AI in creating immersive environments, virtual characters, and audiovisual aesthetics. 3. Interactivity: Exploring how AI is employed in the creation of dynamic or real-time media, fostering audience-engaging audiovisual artworks, and enabling innovative interactions. This includes immersive audiovisual experiences, interactive installations, dance, theatre, and applications in virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), where AI enhances adaptability and responsiveness to audience input. 4. Algorithmic Creativity: Examining whether AI can truly "create" or merely replicate existing cultural patterns. 5. Audience Reception: How viewers perceive and engage with AI-generated content, including issues of authenticity and trust. 6. Ethics and Authorship: Challenges to traditional notions of authorship and intellectual property in AI-generated content. 7. Labor and Professional Roles: The impact of generative AI on employment, skill sets, and labour dynamics in audiovisual production. 7. Bias and Representation: The implications of algorithmic bias in AI-generated scripts, characters, and visual narratives. 8. Generative AI in Independent and Low-Budget Productions: Opportunities for democratization versus risks of homogenization. 9. Regulatory and Policy Perspectives: Legal frameworks for governing the use of generative AI in creative and media industries. 10. Cross-Cultural Perspectives: How generative AI tools are adopted and adapted in different cultural contexts. 11. Sustainability: Evaluating the environmental impact of AI-driven production pipelines. 12. Future Visions: Speculative approaches to the long-term cultural and industrial implications of AI in audiovisual media. Submission Guidelines We invite scholars, artists, practitioners, and interdisciplinary researchers to contribute original research articles, theoretical essays, industry case studies, and creative explorations. Submissions should not exceed 8000 words and must adhere to the journal’s formatting guidelines. All manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review process. - Abstract Submission (400 words) Deadline: February 28th 2025 - Full Paper Submission Deadline: May 20th 2025 - Publication Date: December 15th 2025 Please submit your abstracts and papers by email to bsmr@tlu.ee. For any inquiries, contact the editorial team at mar.canet@tlu.ee We look forward to receiving your contributions to this timely and important discussion. Guest Editors: Dirk Hoyer, Tallinn University Nuno Correia, Tallinn University Mar Canet Sola, Tallinn University The Baltic Screen Media Review is a free-to-publish open-access peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the analysis of audiovisual media and screen culture, particularly in the Baltic region and its surrounding areas. It seeks to address media transformations within broader European and global contexts, emphasizing both regional specificities and transnational connections. Published by Tallinn University's Baltic Film, Media and Arts School, the journal serves as a forum for interdisciplinary research, offering insights into film, television, new media, and related cultural phenomena. Find out more: https://sciendo.com/journal/bsmr ________________________________________________________________________ Professor of media innovation, Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM), Tallinn University Tel: +37256978885 Email: indrek.ibrus@tlu.ee Recent publications Mets, M, Karjus, A., Ibrus, I., Schich, M (2024) Automated stance detection in complex topics and small languages: The challenging case of immigration in polarizing news media. PLoS ONE 19(4): e0302380. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302380 Ibrus, I. (2024) Media Innovation Studies: An Expanding Field. In: Rohn, Ulrike; Raats, Tim; von Rimscha, Bjørn (Ed.). De Gruyter Handbook of Media Economics. De Gruyter Järvekülg, M., & Ibrus, I. (2024) Toward a decentralized copyright infrastructure as a ‘public service’: the case of Digiciti and Estonia. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1-15. doi:10.1080/10286632.2024.2318392 Zemaityte, V., Karjus, A., Rohn, U., Schich, M., & Ibrus, I. (2024). Quantifying the global film festival circuit: Networks, diversity, and public value creation. PLOS ONE, 19(3), e0297404. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0297404 Main research projects Public Value of Open Cultural Data: https://publicvalueofdata.tlu.ee/ CresCine: https://www.crescine.eu/