Subsector, 512
Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries
374,240 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $91,840 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 247 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 43%
- 29%
- 28%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 24% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 300,220 people in jobs so far, 80% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 150 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 46 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 60 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 32%
- 8%
- 12%
- 21%
- 27%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 300,220 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts145,023 (48%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself144,810 (48%)
- The conversations120,737 (40%)
- The hands-on craft113,550 (38%)
- Judgment where errors are severe27,670 (9%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization21,770 (7%)
- Running AI inside the business systems16,240 (5%)
- Signing off under your license2,650 (1%)
- Handling protected records70 (under 1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 34%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 35% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 23% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell, 9% in a structured facility. 0.32 of 3.
- Not physical 65%
- No robot shown 12%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
- In a structured facility 9%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 83% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producers and Directors | 39,270 | 44% | 36 million | $104K |
| Film and Video Editors | 13,520 | 78% | 22 million | $79K |
| General and Operations Managers | 14,700 | 45% | 14 million | $83K |
| Editors | 7,760 | 64% | 10 million | $103K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 8,020 | 59% | 9.8 million | $36K |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | 6,060 | 72% | 9.1 million | $58K |
| Audio and Video Technicians | 8,960 | 48% | 9 million | $61K |
| Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 6,130 | 50% | 6.3 million | $79K |
| Special Effects Artists and Animators | 5,980 | 50% | 6.2 million | $101K |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 4,820 | 59% | 5.9 million | $84K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services | 10,070 | 27% | 5.7 million | $42K |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | 52,830 | 5% | 5.7 million | $31K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 134 smaller jobs (58,960 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 94% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Compose and edit scripts or provide screenwriters with story outlines from which scripts can be written.Producers and Directors7.5 million hours99% of the task within reach
- Cut and edit film or tape to integrate component parts into desired sequences.Producers and Directors7.1 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.Producers and Directors4.2 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Collect and analyze data on customer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits to identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand.Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists3.9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Edit video for broadcast productions, including non-linear editing.Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film3.9 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Perform management activities, such as budgeting, scheduling, planning, and marketing.Producers and Directors3.7 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.Actors3.7 million hours30% of the task within reach
- Write and edit news stories from information collected by reporters and other sources.Producers and Directors3.4 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.Producers and Directors3 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Select plays, scripts, books, news content, or ideas to be produced.Producers and Directors2.8 million hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Inside this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 34% of the paid hours in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries are within reach of AI models now and 43% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (42% to 43% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Producers and Directors (39,270 people, 44% of their time, about 36 million hours a year); Film and Video Editors (13,520 people, 78% of their time, about 22 million hours a year); and General and Operations Managers (14,700 people, 45% of their time, about 14 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Compose and edit scripts or provide screenwriters with story outlines from which scripts can be written (Producers and Directors, about 7.5 million hours a year); Cut and edit film or tape to integrate component parts into desired sequences (Producers and Directors, about 7.1 million hours a year); and Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources (Producers and Directors, about 4.2 million hours a year).
- What would people working in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries learn first?
- Among the 300,220 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are briefing a model and checking its drafts (145,023 people); reviewing work you did not do yourself (144,810 people); and the conversations (120,737 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 60% of their working time stays with people, 30% becomes checking a model's work and 9% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 94% of its people, and 80% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.