Hybrid video production
Real footage and AI in one film. Your team, your rooms and your product are filmed, while worlds, effects and camera moves are generated. Our rule of thumb: as much shooting as necessary, as much AI as possible. Shoot, AI and edit come from one place.
What hybrid video production is
Hybrid video production means part of the film is made in front of a camera and part of it in the computer. We film what has to be real: people, rooms, machines, products. We generate what cannot be filmed or would be too expensive: a hall that does not exist yet, a camera move through the product, weather, time of day or an entire world. Both are assembled into one film in the edit, with a single colour grade over everything so the seam does not show.
The difference from pure AI production is credibility. If your film is meant to show who works for you, it has to show those people and not invented ones. The difference from a conventional shoot is effort: you need no second location, no crane and no effects studio for images that can be made in post.
Hybrid production, virtual production, VFX or set extension?
Four terms that get mixed up a lot. They partly aim at the same result, but they differ in when the generated image is made and at what cost.
| Term | What it means | With us |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid production | The umbrella term: part is filmed, part is generated, and the edit turns both into one film. | what this page describes |
| Virtual production | Shooting in front of an LED wall that already shows the environment while recording. It needs a studio with an LED volume, daily rates and a larger crew. | we do not do it. We place the environment afterwards. The result is similar, the effort considerably smaller |
| VFX | Visual effects built by hand in compositing. Slower and more expensive than generated images, but controllable down to the pixel. | we use it where precision beats speed, for logos and labels for example |
| Set extension | A real set is enlarged on screen, half a hall becomes a whole one. | a special case of AI post-production, see below |
Then there is the green screen. It is not a route of its own but a tool: a green wall behind the person so the background separates cleanly. Today it often works without one, because people can be cut out of a calm room. When the green wall is worth it anyway, we say so before the shoot day and not after.
Two routes to a hybrid film
The two forms differ in when AI enters: before the shoot as part of the plan, or after the shoot on footage that already exists.
Live action with AI
Real people, rooms and products are filmed. Worlds, product scenes and transitions are generated. Both are cut into one film. Typical cases are a brand film with the real team, a recruiting video, a customer testimonial or a training video at your own machine. The shoot stays small, often half a day with a small crew, because only what has to be real is recorded.
AI post-production
Filmed material is altered with AI: swap the environment, extend the set, add visual effects, change light, weather or look. Filmed in the office, set in the factory of the future. This also works with material you already have. Old brand films, trade fair footage or usable phone videos can be lifted this way instead of being shot again.
What gets filmed and what is generated
We fix the split before the shoot, not after it. That avoids the most expensive mistake in hybrid production: a shoot day spent on images that end up being generated anyway.
| Element | Comes from the camera | Made with AI |
|---|---|---|
| People | your team, your customers, your apprentices | only background extras, and only where nobody is being portrayed |
| Places | your plant, your workshop, your shop | halls, cities, landscapes, worlds that do not exist |
| Product | the real product in hand, in use | macro, cutaways through the product, floating and exploded views |
| Camera | tripod, gimbal, simple moves | crane moves, drone flights, moves through walls and objects |
| Light and weather | whatever the shoot day gave us | change time of day, season, fog, rain, position of the sun |
| Sound | production sound, interviews, atmosphere | voice-over, sound design, language versions |
Hybrid, pure AI or a conventional shoot?
That question is not settled by the budget but by what has to be real on screen. Price comes after that.
| Conventional shoot | Hybrid | Pure AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real people | yes | yes, filmed | no, generated figures only |
| Impossible subjects | expensive effects or not at all | added with AI | standard |
| Shoot days | several, with crew and location | usually half a day to a day | none |
| Changes afterwards | often only with a reshoot | anything generated can be redone, filmed material only within the footage | regenerate single scenes |
| Cost | brand film mostly 5,000 to 20,000 € net, a 30-second spot online mostly 4,000 to 15,000 € | from 3,500 € net for the film, plus the shoot from around 950 € net a day | from 3,500 € net for the base film, social spot from 1,000 € |
| Fits when | everything has to be real and the budget is there | people should be real and the world should look larger | product, mood and imagery carry the story |
The ranges for conventional productions and the day rate for a small camera crew come from publicly listed prices of production companies in Austria and Germany, retrieved on 19.09.2026. The sources are under what a brand film costs and what a commercial costs.
Examples with a business goal
- Winning apprentices: an apprentice turns around in the workshop and stands in the building he helped to build. The workshop is filmed, the building is generated.
- Showing a hall that is still being built: management speaks in today's office, while the new site is already on screen.
- Explaining a product without cutting it open: the real product sits in a hand, and the next shot moves right into it.
- Lifting customer testimonials: the interview stays as it is, the grey meeting room becomes a fitting environment.
- Rescuing existing material: last year's footage gets one consistent look, and missing shots are generated instead of reshot.
Where AI hits its limits
When somebody speaks on camera and the lips have to match exactly, a shoot stays the safe route. We do not build generated figures meant to portray specific real people, whoever orders them. Filmed material also sets a limit: what was not recorded can only be extended so far afterwards, because perspective, light and motion have to match the existing frame. That is why we fix the split before the shoot and not in the edit.
Whether a shoot, AI or both fits is compared in detail in AI video or a traditional shoot.
Cost and labelling
A hybrid film starts at 3,500 € net for the base film. The shoot comes on top and depends on the number of locations and the length of the shoot day. A shoot day with a small camera crew runs 950 to 1,500 € net at market rates. We name the fixed price for both together in the quote, after the first call. What else moves the price is on pricing.
On labelling: since 2 August 2026 Article 50 of the AI Act requires disclosure for deepfakes, meaning convincingly real content showing real or plausibly real people, places or events. Hybrid films fall under it quickly, because real people stand in generated surroundings. Every film therefore ships with a note on how to label it. The detail is in the guide on AI labelling rules in advertising.
Process
- First call: 30 minutes on the goal and what is feasible. This is where it is decided whether anything has to be filmed at all.
- Split and concept: we put in writing which shot comes from the camera and which one is generated.
- Styleframes: you see look and light as stills before the shoot day is booked.
- Shoot: usually half a day to a day, a small crew, only the shots on the list.
- Production and assembly: generated scenes, integration into the filmed material, one colour grade over everything.
- Rough cut and delivery: a first version with music for approval, then every format with the labelling note.
The full version with every approval point is on how a production runs.
Frequently asked questions
Can you film someone in an ordinary room and place them somewhere else in the film?
Yes, that is the most common case of AI post-production. We film the person against a calm background, separate them from the room and place them in the new environment. What matters is that light and eyeline on the shoot day match the planned environment. That is why we fix the target environment in advance and not in the edit.
What does a hybrid video production cost?
From 3,500 € net for the film, plus the shoot. A shoot day with a small camera crew runs 950 to 1,500 € net at market rates, depending on the number of locations. Produced conventionally, a comparable brand film mostly sits at 5,000 to 20,000 € net. We name the fixed price in the quote after a 30-minute first call.
Can I use material I already have?
Often yes. Usable material is sharp, steady and high enough in resolution. Old brand films, trade fair footage and even phone videos can be lifted by adapting environment, light and look. We look at the material before the quote and say what carries and what should be shot again.
Who does the filming, you or we?
We film with our own small crew, in Vienna and the surrounding area. If a production company is already filming for you, we take on the AI part and the assembly only. In that case you get a list from us before the shoot, setting out what to watch for while recording so the material fits together later.
Does a hybrid film have to be labelled?
It depends on what is on screen. Article 50 of the AI Act requires disclosure when a film shows convincingly real people, places or events that did not happen that way. A generated hall with your real team in it normally falls under it. Every film ships with the matching note, so all you have to do is use it.
Read on: AI brand film • AI commercial • AI recruiting video • Video production in Vienna • Pricing
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