Keeping Characters and Products Consistent Across an AI Film

A camera records what is in front of it. A model invents what is in front of it, every time, from what it is told and shown. Anything left vague gets a new answer in each shot: a slightly different face, a coat a shade off, a window that moves to the other wall, a label that turns into nonsense. Viewers may not name what changed, but they feel that the film is not quite real.

Each character is designed once, in pictures, and approved: face, build, wardrobe for each stage of the story, and how they move and speak. Pictures hold an identity better than words do, so the approved pictures define the character in every shot.

Close-ups need extra care. A face seen small in a wide shot and large in a close-up is easy to turn into two different people, and supporting characters are where this most often happens, because they appear less and get less attention. We plan for it from the start.

A location is designed as a fixed place before the shots: where the doors and windows are, which side the sea is on, where the sun sits at that hour. Every shot in that place is built from the same design, so when the camera turns, the room behind the actor is the room we saw before. Time of day and weather are set for the scene and carried from shot to shot.

Models are poor at exact logos and lettering, and they tend to add marks nobody asked for. So we check every shot for stray marks and add your logo, packaging details and on-screen type in post from your own files. When the product has to be handled in close detail, the honest answer is sometimes to film it for real and build the world around it.

Every shot is compared with the approved cast, places and product before it is accepted, and before the next shot is made. When something has drifted, the shot is fixed or remade, and what caused it is corrected for the shots still to come. At the end, someone who did not make the film watches every cut between shots, looking for anything that changes when it should not.

• Approving the cast and world is the most important sign-off you give. Look closely. It is the cheapest moment to change anything, and it fits in a day or two.
• Send real product files, packshots and brand guidelines with the brief.
• If the campaign will run for a while, the same cast and world can carry the next films, which is quicker and cheaper than starting again.