In his latest integration of AI into mainstream commercial production, director Brent Bonacorso uses generative tools to create the raw footage with compositing, clean-up, and color handled with traditional post tools.

Brent Bonacorso: “The brief from Agency EP and the client was to create a visually captivating commercial that emphasized the global reach and care-driven ethos of the airline’s cargo services — all without the use (or cost) of live animals, physical sets, or extensive travel.

“The film needed to evoke wonder, precision, and emotional warmth, all while remaining grounded in a visual language suitable for a luxury brand. With a focus on the Asian market and a tight production timeline, the creative team at Agent EP saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of generative AI filmmaking while maintaining a strong narrative and visual coherence.
 

“The film needed to evoke wonder, precision, and emotional warmth, all while remaining grounded in a visual language suitable for a luxury brand.”

 
“One of the greatest challenges was achieving photorealistic consistency across a wide variety of animals and settings using generative AI. Each frame required precise prompting, iterative refinement, and careful layering to ensure believable lighting, scale, and continuity — tasks typically taken for granted in traditional production.

“The team developed a hybrid workflow, combining AI-generated visuals with traditional VFX compositing and color work to bridge the uncanny valley. In addition, animating emotional nuance in the animals — such as a moment of eye contact or synchronized movement — demanded meticulous creative direction.

“On every shot, the AI generated good sequences of animals and backgrounds but when there was more than one animal in the shot, we would composite them because the AI didn’t handle multiple objects well. In many of the shots, the AI also created distortions in the skin or movement. For these, we would manually adjust them in After Effects or Maya.”
 
 

 
Client: Cathay Cargo

Agency: Leo Hong Kong
CCO: Christopher Lee
Global Executive Creative Director: Joao Braga
ECD: Halo Cheng
CD: Wai Wong
ACD: Fiona Chow
Senior Art Director: Wing Ho Lam
Art Director: Timmy Lee
Head of Creative Service: Pelie Kwok
Managing Partner: Dennis Yeung
Producer: Armelle Sudron

Production: LuckySparks Films Ltd
Director: Brent Bonacorso
Producer Agent EP: Christopher Vulpi
Lead AI VFX Mise en Scene: Shaun Sewter
Lead Photoshop: Carlo Sardina
Lead Compositor: Bobi Erden
ComfyUI: Leo Horodetskyi
Color: Zavi Santolaya

Music/Sound: 2am