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Method
The process

The AI-VFX process From quote to delivery.

Plan the jump, pack both parachutes. AI takes a shot most of the way, fast and cheap; VFX is the reliable route, ready behind it from day one. Every emergency case is planned before it happens.

  • Lower cost
  • Higher quality
  • More efficiency
  • Lower risk

The five stops

Pick a stop to read it.The five stops, in order.

The level of every shot is set three times:assumed at the quoteconfirmed after post-vizfinal at the AI deadlineThe scale

Stop 1: Quote

A level per shot

What happens
We read the script or the shot list and put a level on every shot, as an assumption. We write the guidance for the shoot: what to capture so AI and VFX work well and cost less.
Who
VFX supervisor and AI lead.
You get
A quote per shot, the on-set guidance, and the contingency plan: the route, time and cost if a shot has to go the VFX way.
Decided here
The level of every shot, assumed. The emergency route and its timing, before the jump.

Stop 2: On set

Capture, don’t rebuild

What happens
Supervision on set is part of the method, remote where a set visit isn’t justified. We gather what the artists will need: references, measurements, clean plates, light and lens data.
Who
VFX supervisor.
You get
Shots ready to work on from day one. Nobody invents anything from scratch, which saves a great deal of VFX work, even with AI.
Decided here
What is captured now, so it never has to be rebuilt later.

Stop 3: Post-viz

The whole film, fast

What happens
As soon as the footage comes in, we iterate fast with AI and show the director and the production a first version of the VFX for the whole film.
Who
The AI team, with the VFX supervisor.
You get
A first version of the entire film, early. Its feedback is gold: the slow, expensive work starts only where it is needed.
Decided here
The level of every shot, confirmed. AI or hybrid only where the director is happy and we judge it achievable; the rest goes to VFX.

Stop 4: Production

VFX where needed, AI finishes

What happens
VFX only where the post-viz says so. The AI team serves the VFX team with elements and finishes the AI shots from the post-viz material. AI and VFX artists iterate together, shot by shot, keeping every sequence consistent.
Who
The VFX and AI teams, with one District Manager as your single point of contact.
You get
Finished VFX shots, AI shots closing in on final, and a second assessment with time contingency.
Decided here
The AI deadline: the date by which each AI shot must be final, with enough time left for the VFX route.

Stop 5: Deadline & delivery

Land, or open the parachute

What happens
At the AI deadline every AI shot either lands or doesn’t. A shot that isn’t there is cut loose and the VFX parachute opens: the route, time and cost were fixed at the quote.
Who
The supervisor, with the director and the production.
You get
Delivery on time, at the quality agreed, with no surprise in the budget.
Decided here
The final route of every shot.

Optional, when they pay for themselves

  • Before the shoot

    Pre-vis

    AI pre-vis of the key sequences before anyone shoots. The plan is tested on screen, not on set, and the quote gets more precise.

  • For specific sequences

    Virtual production

    An LED volume for the sequences that suit it: the background is final in camera, at high quality, with far less VFX afterwards.

Why there is an AI deadline

Control costs differently with AI and with VFX.

AI and VFX earn control at different rates. Where the two routes meet depends on one thing: how much control the shot needs.

Control gained against effort spent: AI and VFXAI rises fast and flattens below full control. VFX rises in a straight line to full control. A dashed line marks the control the shot needs, with a dot where each route reaches it.Effort & costvery lowvery highControlvery highvery lowwhere AI stopsAIVFX

A shape, not a measurement.

On this shot

AI gets there first: a mostly-AI shot.

The more control a shot needs, the higher its level on the scale.

  • AIThe main parachute

    • Fast to a first picture.
    • Cheap for most of the way.
    • The last stretch is uncertain: it may never arrive, or cost more than VFX.

  • VFXThe emergency parachute

    • Slower, and linear: every bit of control costs about the same.
    • Opens reliably, in a known time.
    • Packed at the quote, before the jump.

AI gets most of the way almost at once. After that, every extra bit of control costs more than the last, and the final stretch can cost more than doing the shot in VFX from the start. VFX climbs in a straight line: slower, but it always arrives.

Gerardo Schiavone, founder
Ready to jump?

Send us the script. You'll get a level per shot, and both parachutes packed.

Share the script, the shot list or the edit on WhatsApp. You'll get a quote per shot, the guidance for the shoot, and the contingency plan, before anyone spends on the expensive part.

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