In this episode of Technically Creative, Orlando Wood sits down with Douglas Clarke, co-founder and CTO of the casting platform Sides, engineer, playwright and member of the Television Academy's Science and Technology executive committee, where he runs education programs for Academy members.
Doug traces his career from writing code for DVD decoder chips in Silicon Valley to architecting metadata over HDMI at THX, where he took on the idea that technology exists to preserve artistic intent. He explains how that idea shapes his own theatre, including a play about AI companionship written and staged in fifty hours, and how he uses generative AI as a sparring partner rather than a yes man.
Then Doug gives the first public look at Sides: one system for actors, representation, casting and creators, and a self-tape app that clears away the technical work so actors can focus on the performance.
Watch the conversation
Orlando and Doug explore
- How THX taught Doug that technology should preserve artistic intent, and why that still applies to generative AI
- Writing, directing and staging a play about AI companionship in fifty hours
- Using AI as an adversary to cure writer's block
- What the Television Academy's members are asking about AI, and why education has to start with the fundamentals
- Why the casting world needs better technology, and how Sides connects actors, agents, managers and casting directors
- A first look at the Sides self-tape app: a two-device teleprompter, speech recognition, gesture controls and AI readers
- Building an API so studios and casting networks can post opportunities directly
Key questions
What is Sides?
Sides is an all-in-one casting and self-tape platform co-founded by Douglas Clarke (CTO) and Gigi Wong (CEO). It connects actors, agents and managers, casting directors and creators in one system, with a self-tape app built around a separate teleprompter and camera, speech recognition that follows the script, gesture controls and a choice of in-person, remote or AI readers. Doug showed it publicly for the first time on this episode.
Why does casting technology need rebuilding?
Douglas Clarke says the platforms most of the casting world relies on have barely moved on. Even basic modern concepts like proper data structures would be a big improvement. Sides is built so every party, from actor to representative to casting director, works from the same system, and Doug plans an API so studios and casting networks can post opportunities directly.
How should artists use generative AI?
Doug uses generative AI almost as an adversary. He tells it what he wants to do and asks it to push back, which he finds cures writer's block. He believes technology should preserve the artist's intent, a philosophy he took from his years at THX, and that this still holds for AI as long as an artist is wielding the tools.
Where should creative professionals start with AI?
Start at the beginning, with how the technology actually works, rather than the hype. Doug began with a machine learning course about ten years ago. If starting feels risky, start with a low-risk task, such as asking an AI a question you already know the answer to.
Chapter markers
- [00:00] Introduction: Technology Should Serve Artistic Intent
- [03:11] Meet Douglas Clarke: The Artist Who Became an Engineer
- [09:03] Anxious Attachment: A Play About AI Companionship
- [16:57] The THX Philosophy: Preserving Artistic Intent Through Technology
- [26:34] Educating the Television Academy on AI
- [35:52] The Casting Problem: Why Actors Need a Better Platform
- [39:18] Demo: Sides Platform Overview and Actor Dashboard
- [51:10] Demo: The Self-Tape Studio with Gesture Control
- [56:26] AI Readers and Remote Collaboration Features
- [1:01:32] Opening the Aperture: More Opportunities for More Actors
- [1:05:29] Meet Gigi Wong: The CEO Behind Sides
- [1:09:16] The Heart of the Mission: Art First, Technology Second
