AI-Native Studios Can Build Their Own IP, VFX Veteran Says at Busan

AI-native studios running automated pipelines can now develop original intellectual property, while traditional studios keep their edge in franchises, infrastructure, talent and distribution, VFX veteran Hong Jae Cheol said Sunday at the Busan International Film Festival.

Hong, a producer-director at Viscode who began his career at Industrial Light & Magic and worked on "Iron Man," "Transformers" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," laid out that vision at the InnoAsia AI Creators Camp, held at the festival's Asian Contents & Film Market. "We are moving from using AI to generate individual images toward using AI as part of a complete production workflow," he said.

AI is changing the production model, Hong argued, while traditional visual effects remain essential to making generated material usable on screen. He framed the future as a hybrid — a partnership between AI and human creativity — rather than a wholesale replacement of existing studios.

How does AI change the pipeline?

Hong contrasted a conventional live-action and VFX process — 3D assets, animation, rendering and compositing — with an AI-assisted approach. In the latter:

• actors perform on a controlled set;
• AI generates environments and visual elements;
• VFX artists handle tracking, integration and finishing.

He also outlined current AI applications across VFX, animation and filmmaking, including rotoscoping, cleanup, previs, character design, camera tests and environment creation.

What does AI demand of creators?

Mark Wachholz, chief creative director of Berlin-based Dreamkite Studios, approached the shift from the creative side. His AI films "The Cinema That Never Was" and "Céremony" have won top prizes at AI film festivals. He described AI co-creation as an invitation to give up some control and allow for surprise, framing the process as "exploring instead of controlling" and "finding instead of knowing." New tools require new ways of thinking, he argued, rather than simply applying old methods to new technology.

Director Ahn Jaehong of Climax Studio, who turned to AI filmmaking after arm injuries ended his work behind the camera, brought the discussion back to directing and production. He mapped a workflow running from prompts and camera information to scene context, shot lists, storyboards, character and prop sheets, locations and keyframes. The sequence reinforced a point shared by all the speakers: AI can assist across multiple stages, but filmmakers still need to shape the story, visual design and final result.

Is AI replacing filmmaking?

Hong summed up the distinction: "AI is just a tool; film is a sequence."

The discussion centered on how that tool might become part of a connected filmmaking process, with human direction and VFX expertise still determining how its images fit together. For AI-native studios like those Hong described, the near-term opportunity lies in building original IP on automated pipelines; for legacy studios, the question is how fast they fold the same tools into franchises they already own.