Automatic is a film created by Research Arts that utilises traditional CGI, compositing and colour grading, alongside bespoke AI tools and workflows.

This film is a meditation on automation, system-building and the relationship between human agency and a system's inherent intent. The bespoke technology developed for its production pipeline was designed to reflect those same themes.

One of the motivations behind this film was to explore how emerging technologies such as AI can be integrated into the creative process without surrendering authorship or creative control. Work created by smaller teams often benefits from a shorter distance between idea and execution, a quality more commonly associated with the fine arts than filmmaking.

The result is a workflow that combines the playfulness and automation of generative AI with the control and precision of traditional CGI and filmmaking, reducing friction between idea and execution and giving small teams access to capabilities traditionally reserved for much larger productions.