Soul and Substance works with producers who have line of sight to every part of the production process - typically a mix of executive producers, line producers, and post-producers - to vouch that generative AI wasn’t used in any meaningful ways throughout the production. Our mission is to create total trust, with the least red tape. That’s why we’ll never ask you to share project files or upload media.

Soul and Substance certifies content for any production, including film, commercial, content, music, and more. For the most accurate, reliable verification, we work with any project with one or more producers (even if that producer is also the director. And editor.)

At this time, we’re focused on certifying on a project-by-project basis. With AI’s rapid adoption across matters of content creation, we don’t believe certifying larger entities, such as film studios or production companies, is realistic. Even the most ardent of never-AI creators will eventually adopt it into their workflows in minor ways, and if that were to happen, it would sully the certification. Individual projects, on the other hand, can safely be certified, while still letting the creators experiment in future productions.

We agree. We’re idealists, but we’re also realists. AI has already been infused in nearly every part of the creative process, often in small, banal ways that don’t influence the final output. That’s why the two most important words in our certification process are generative and output.

It’s unrealistic to believe an entire production will be completed without any AI assistance. To that end, it’s impossible to verify the amount of AI used on the front-end of the creative process. What we verify is the final creative output.

Our ultimate goal is to prevent AI from replacing creative jobs. That’s why we draw the line at generative AI, used to create net-new images, footage or audio that could be created by artists.

Certified content is still able to use AI to speed up workflows, organize content, and touch up minor elements. Some certified content may also include very minor AI, so long as no entire element (scene, shot, audio track, voice, character, etc) replaces an artist in the creative process. A good example of acceptable AI is a sky replacement in a single scene. Generating an entire scene, on the other hand, would not be deemed acceptable. The line is drawn anytime generative AI is used to create content at the expense of a human or job, whether it be a music score, a bespoke shot, or a miniature set build.

We fully appreciate that there’s very little black and white, and a whole sea of grey area. Questions? Let’s figure it out together.

The short answer is, absolutely not. In the world of content creation, there are all sorts of paths a creator can choose to bring their ideas to life, often based on a range of factors, including budget, vision, or creative control. We simply exist as a verification for creators who want to signify the hands, brains, and souls that went into creating work, and the consumers who want to seek them out. We believe this ultimately builds equity in the people and projects making work ‘the hard way.’