Artlist's week in Hollywood: what happened and why it matters

It started with a strategic billboard campaign across Los Angeles, a bold visual statement reflecting Artlist’s position in the AI production era. But establishing a true connection means showing up, opening your platform, and teaching the industry what you've built.

That’s why we hosted and took part in a week-long series of professional industry events in LA — aimed at giving creators and studios the practical tools to navigate this new era. From an intimate opening night featuring a major Hollywood project announcement to an open, powerhouse panel session at AI on the Lot, the week was focused on demystifying AI production. Through two hands-on masterclasses, we showed creators what’s possible with AI.

Between the workflow questions, the open conversations at our Brentwood ranch after-party, and countless meetings with studios, the main takeaway was that the potential of AI production — something we’ve known for a while —is now being actively embraced by the creative industry and community. The energy in these rooms was curious, practical, and highly focused, proving that leaders and major studios are firmly finding their footing in this new era.

Live demo with the CEO

We kicked off the week at nya EAST, Studio C in West Hollywood. Our Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Ira Belsky, alongside Chief Innovation Officer Joshua Davies, ran a live, unedited demo of Artlist Studio to showcase the level of high-end video production that is possible right now.

The demonstration focused on how to navigate two distinct, practical paths for creators:

• The hybrid workflow: How traditional live-action footage can be combined with AI, augmented, extended, and stylized inside a professional AI production pipeline.
• Fully generated creation: Proving that a filmmaker can step into the director's chair to control everything from casting consistent characters to establishing complex lighting ratios and camera angles completely from scratch.

“Filmmakers don't want to describe a scene in a paragraph and pray”, shares Ira Belsky. “They want to move a camera light one foot to the left and perfect character consistency across an entire sequence. We are giving precise control back to the creator.”

It was during this initial evening that we officially announced our entry into feature filmmaking as the financier and Executive Producer of Terrarium — a groundbreaking AI-hybrid horror feature currently in active production.

The Ultimate Proof of Concept: Announcing Terrarium

To prove that Artlist Studio is robust enough for the highest levels of filmmaking, we shared the defining moment of our week: officially announcing Artlist's entry into feature filmmaking as the financier and Executive Producer of Terrarium — a groundbreaking AI-hybrid horror feature currently in active production.

Terrarium stands as the ultimate model for professional, high-end AI collaboration, utilizing an elite creative team:

• Director/Writer: Primetime Emmy-winner Jason Zada (The Forest, Take This Lollipop).
• Producer: Genre titan Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious).
• Execution Pipeline: Managed by Secret Level, the elite, AI-native studio.

Crucially, Terrarium is a fully union-compliant, AI-hybrid feature film built strictly within the labor frameworks of the DGA and SAG-AFTRA. It serves as an unshakeable, safe, and ethical template for how major studios and independent producers can deploy advanced technology responsibly.

The conversations at AI on the Lot

Next, we took the main stage at AI on the Lot (May 27–28). Moderated by Dikla Bengio (Global Partnerships, Artlist), the panel — titled "Who’s in Control? Directing the New Era of Film Production with Artlist" — brought together some of the sharpest technical and creative minds in entertainment.

The lineup featured Buzz Hays (Global Market Lead Entertainment Industry, Google Cloud), Jeffrey Kember (Senior Director, Product Management AI for Media, NVIDIA), and Kevin Baillie (DGA Director and VFX Supervisor, known for his pioneering AI work on Robert Zemeckis’s Here).

The conversation pulled back the curtain on what is actually happening in the studio system. The speakers focused heavily on where AI integration, staying in creative control and studio-grade stress-testing.

The consensus from the stage was clear: while technical execution roles are shifting, true filmmakers who exercise taste and directorial intention are gaining unprecedented leverage.

Hands-on creator workshops

Following the panel, our team held a hands-on masterclass. At AI on the Lot, we packed a dedicated workshop space to the brim with dozens of filmmakers, laptops open, digging directly into Artlist Studio. 

The sessions were led by Itamar Leopold (Head of AI Content) and Sharon “Thales” Refael (Director of Creative AI) — two creatives who have collectively generated more production-grade AI video outputs than probably most people in the industry.

“We built these workshops around how we’ve been using AI for months now,” says Itamar Leopold. “Understanding what works, where to push it, where it can break, and helping creators get excited by what’s possible.”

The second session was held at The Lighthouse, where creators were guided through live environment builds, character consistency, and the best possible workflows.

Sharon Thales Refael adds: “When you watch a creator realize they can establish a complex visual world in a single workspace and iterate in seconds without breaking shot continuity, it’s so rewarding. The skill required to thrive now is pure, uncompromising creative taste.”

Building the creator community

To celebrate the week's milestones, studio executives, indie directors, AI creators, and enthusiasts gathered for a debriefing after-party at a private ranch in Brentwood, LA. 

The gathering underscored our core belief: tools mean nothing without an empowered community of masters to wield them.

Lea Griguer, who leads the influencer and global creator community at Artlist, summarized the deeper mission:

“The tools are just the starting point. My absolute favorite part of this job is bringing brilliant minds together, sparking raw collaboration, and creating a trusted space where this new era can be born. The ultimate goal is about the people, a community where leading directors and indie creators can lift each other up. At the end of the day, AI doesn't make movies; great people do. We’re building the next decade of cinema together, and there’s no group I’d rather be doing it with.”

At Artlist, our mission is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed and thrive using AI. Uniting this incredibly diverse group of creators in LA and all over the world proves that the future of film is in the best possible hands.

As the industry looks toward a rapidly evolving horizon, our message to Hollywood remains clear: The tools are ready, the legal path is cleared, and the shadows are gone. It’s time to start creating.

Watch the high-quality productions from Artlist's award-winning in-house team on Artlist TV, and head over to the Artlist AI Toolkit and Artlist Studio to start creating your next project today.