hybrid or ai native: which production model wins the next wave?

vertical micro film is being made in more than one way. a hybrid production brings ai tools into a familiar process: a script, a cast, a camera, a crew and an edit, with ai helping where it saves time or opens a door. an ai native production starts from the tools themselves, shaping images, performances and worlds that would be difficult to make any other way.

each approach asks something different of a creator. one leans on craft that already exists and on people working together in a room. the other asks a creator to direct a new kind of process, often with a much smaller team. neither has settled into a single method, and the choices being made now may shape how the next wave of stories reaches an audience.

this panel puts the question in front of people who make, build and study this work, and asks which model, or which combination, is most likely to carry original stories forward.

a panel is most useful when it stays close to the work. these are some of the questions we hope the conversation will explore:

where does a hybrid production still make the biggest difference, and where does an ai native approach change what is possible? what happens to performance, direction and taste when a smaller team can make more? how does a creator keep a distinct voice as tools become widely available?

and for independent creators in particular: what does each model mean for cost, for speed and for the chance to test a story with an audience before committing to a larger production?

the conversation is for writers, directors, animators and producers working in or near vertical micro film, for people building the tools behind it and for anyone thinking seriously about where it goes next.

you do not need to have made a vertical film to attend. an interest in original stories and in how they are made is enough. if you are developing a project of your own, you may also want to bring your story to vfilm.

the panel takes place on dec 08, 2026 at the tiktok office, co-hosted by seedance and vfilm.

to express interest, prepare a short note above and send it from your email app to [email protected]. a note is not a confirmed place. the start time and full address will be added to this page.

for future panels, screenings and gatherings, see all events.