guinness - ‘Generations’ [A.i.]
Pushing the Play.
With Guinness, we wanted to push things a little further. Not to prove that AI could replace a traditional production, but to see how close we could get—and what we could learn along the way.
Rugby gave us a great testing ground. Physicality. Atmosphere. Crowds. Weather. Impact. Movement. All things that are difficult to fake and even harder to make feel authentic. And that was really the point.
Could we use these new tools to create the bones of a film, then use the same post-production instincts we bring to traditional filmmaking to push it somewhere more believable?
WHY A.I.?
The tools are changing almost weekly, and rather than wait for them to become perfect, we want to understand what they can—and can’t—do right now. Guinness gave us a chance to test that.
We experimented with creating and animating individual moments, looking for images that had the emotion and energy we wanted. Some worked. Some very clearly still felt generated. Instead of hiding that, we became interested in what happened next.
THE PROCESS
We started with story, references and a clear visual direction, then worked through a combination of AI tools to build the individual moments. From there, our post team treated the generated material more like raw footage than finished shots.
Camera shake helped introduce weight and imperfection. Speed ramps gave certain moments more impact. Editorial timing helped connect shots that didn't naturally want to live together. Color design became incredibly important in bringing images created through different processes into the same visual world. And sometimes we simply had to let a shot go. The goal became less about generating the perfect image and more about finding the right combination of tools to make the overall film feel intentional.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Does it completely escape the feeling of AI? Not yet. There are still moments where the technology shows itself. Movement can feel strange. Physics aren't always right. Faces, crowds and small details can pull you out of the moment.
But we can also see where this is headed. And more importantly, we're beginning to understand where our craft fits into it. Editing, color, sound, movement, pacing and restraint can help bridge some of the gaps between what the AI gives us and what we actually want the audience to feel.
Sometimes that means another generation. Sometimes it's a better cut, a little camera shake or a change in speed. And sometimes it's recognizing that the technology simply isn't there yet. That's the experiment. We're not trying to prove AI has arrived. We're trying to understand where it's going—and be ready when it gets there.