How an AI video production runs

An AI video production at Syntax Motion runs in nine steps from the first call to delivery. Four of them are approval points at which you decide about the film: concept, styleframes, motion tests and rough cut. Around them sit the offer at the start and the sign-off at the end. How long it takes from briefing to finished film depends on length, the number of shots and your approvals. The schedule is fixed in the offer.

People decide, AI executes

AI generates images here, but it makes no decisions. Every shot is selected, checked and finished by people. That is what "human in the loop" means. For you it means you see work in progress at fixed points and decide before time and budget go into the next step.

Four approval points are enough when a real decision happens at each. What a change costs rises steeply along the way: at the concept it is time, at the styleframes a few hours, after finishing it drags the whole back end behind it. See approval point.

The nine steps

The home page shows four steps, here they are in full: the first call and the briefing are steps 1 and 2, concept and styleframes are steps 3 and 4, production is steps 5 and 6, finish and delivery are steps 7 to 9.

1. First call

In 30 minutes on Google Meet we settle your idea, your goal and whether AI is a sensible route for it. If a shoot or a hybrid production fits better, we say so openly.

• You supply: a short description of what you have in mind.
• You approve: nothing. You receive an offer afterwards.
• Duration: 30 minutes. The offer follows after the call.

2. Briefing

We collect everything the film needs: audience, core message, channels, length and formats. For products we need real references so that the product in the film matches the original.

• You supply: brand guidelines, logo, product photography, the label as a file, examples you like.
• You approve: the offer and the schedule.

3. Concept and script

We write the idea, the order of the scenes and the voice-over text. For short spots a script with a shot list is often enough.

• You supply: feedback on idea, tone and message.
• You approve: concept and script.

4. Styleframes and director's treatment

Styleframes are stills showing the look of the finished film: light, colour, characters, how the product appears. The director's treatment describes camera, rhythm and music alongside them. This is where the look of the film is decided, see styleframe.

• You supply: feedback on look and product presentation.
• You approve: styleframes and treatment. This is the most important approval.

5. Motion tests

Selected styleframes become short clips. They show how characters, camera and product move, so you see early whether the movement matches your expectation.

• You supply: feedback on pace and effect.
• You approve: the motion tests as the benchmark for production.

6. Production

We generate every shot individually, with the model that suits the subject. Each one goes through several rounds until it sits. Labels, logos and details are corrected in finishing.

• You supply: as a rule nothing during this phase.
• You approve: nothing. We work on the basis of the approved styleframes and tests.

7. Rough cut

The rough cut is the first complete version with music and voice. You judge story, order and timing, see rough cut.

• You supply: collected corrections, ideally with timecodes.
• You approve: the rough cut. The number of revision rounds is set in the offer.

8. Finishing

Colour, sound design, the mix, on-screen text and the last corrections to individual shots. After this no major changes are planned.

• You supply: final copy, claims and legal notices.
• You approve: the final version.

9. Delivery and labelling

You receive the film in every agreed format, 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 for example. With it comes a note on how the film is to be labelled under the EU AI Act and platform rules.

• You supply: nothing.
• You receive: the video files, the labelling note and the right of use for the purpose named in the offer, see terms, clause 5.

How long an AI video production takes

How long a production at Syntax Motion takes from briefing to delivery is fixed in the offer. A conventional shoot usually needs 4 to 10 weeks including preparation. The biggest time factor is often not us but the approvals, because work pauses at each of the four points. We allow two to three working days per point.

• Faster: a clear briefing, complete material at the start, one person who approves.
• Slower: many people involved, changes to the concept after the styleframes, people in close-up, many readable labels.

What can still be changed after an approval

Small corrections are possible at any time up to finishing. If the look changes after the styleframes were approved, or the story after the rough cut, shots have to be generated again. That costs time and is charged separately: how many revision rounds per approval point are included is stated in the offer, anything beyond that we charge by effort and announce in advance. This is precisely why the styleframe sits before production and not after it.

Frequently asked questions

Terms such as styleframe, rough cut or lipsync are explained in the glossary.

Read on: AI commercial production • Brand film with AI • Pricing • AI labelling