SPAICE

Release day: three hybrid spots for Lidl, produced together with Saltwater Films. On this project, only the lead actor was shot in camera. Everything else, from elaborate sets to effects to image details that had to be controllable down to the last frame, was built inside our hybrid 3D/AI/VFX pipeline. Our approach: we lay out the sets entirely in 3D first. That foundation lets us pre-plan camera moves before a single AI frame is generated, and then run the actual shot generation in semi-automated batches on top of it. First frames remain the biggest lift in any AI-driven production and that's where most of our craft lives. Countless refinement loops per scene until the look, the lighting, and the spatial logic all click. Once the first frames hold, the rest of the sequence follows with a fraction of the effort. Why this matters commercially: these spots are built around dense, finely tuned sets with multiple moving and disappearing elements per shot. That is exactly where a hybrid AI/VFX pipeline outscales a traditional setup. Every additional layer of complexity that would balloon a live-action or CG budget becomes another controllable variable inside the pipeline instead. More production value per Euro, without losing creative control. That is the case we are making, for where commercial production can go from here. Big thanks to the team at Saltwater Films for the strong collaboration, to M+C Saatchi Group for the creative direction, and to our partners at Lidl in Germany for being the kind of innovative client willing to push commercial production forward with us. See the full case with all three films here: https://lnkd.in/eNGXMgX3 Full Credits: Client: Lidl Agency: M+C Saatchi Group Production: Saltwater Films AI Production: SPAICE Director: Charley Stadler Co-Director: Ivo Heffner Lead Creative Technologist / VFX-Supervisor: Korbinian Weber Director of Photography: Cezary Zacharewicz Executive Producer: Marie Niemann AI Executive Producer: Max Schlett Senior Producer: Victoria Maschuw Post Producer: Moritz Carstens AI Post Producer: Peter Golovtchiner, Hakan Cirak Lead Visual AI Artist: Dylan Laakmann Creative Technologists: Michael Strasser, Michael Linschitz, Jasper Glänzer, Sophie von Kummant Compositing: Mike Robinson Retouching: Alina Ehrle Additional Creative Technologists: Niklas Hail, Sophie von Kummant, Max Borg Production Assistant: Johanna Kirsch 1st AD: Ina Sprinckstub 1st AC: Tom Zylla 2nd AC: Valentin Kühn DIT / VTR: Mario Krohnfuß Sound Operator: Rhys Anderson Gaffer: Albrecht Silberberger Best Boy Light: Christoph Naschke Electricians: Max Smeaton, Sascha Seeger Key Grip: Chris Sobisch Make-Up Artist: Janina Preininger Stylist: Saskia Schmidt Props Master: Greta Bolzoni Editor: Hannes Weishaupt Studio Manager: Sebastian Enke Talent: Michael Gugel

Content archives shouldn’t be the end of the road. We amplify them with our product AI Echo. In traditional production, years of brand assets often sit dormant on servers once a campaign ends. With AI Echo, they become the raw material for the future. Our work on the „Smart Red Dot" case is a state-of-the-art example of this framework in action. By combining existing footage with controlled generative shots, we created a fresh and brand safe visual narrative in just a few weeks. The AI Echo Logic: _Archive Integration: Instead of starting from zero, existing footage serves as the "DNA" for new, AI-generated shots. _Controlled Workflows: This is not random generation. We use brand assets within a controlled, local workflow to precisely guide the AI into defined environments, creating a surreal character that reinforces the “all eyes on smart” narrative. _Rapid Iteration and adaptation: Why shoot from scratch when you can breathe new life into existing assets? This is the ultimate efficiency play: minimal footprint, maximum aesthetic output and quick market adaptation. The Result: A seamless bridge between heritage and the future. Explore the case study: https://lnkd.in/erBf-fA4 Credits Client: Smart Agency: Optimist Inc. AI Production: Max Schlett Lead AI Artist: Andreas Clemens Compositing: Julian Drenker #SPAICE #AIEcho #SmartRedDot #ContentInnovation #CreativeTechnology #ProductionEfficiency

What if a content archive wasn’t a memory, but a production asset? For Indeed, main sponsor of Eintracht Frankfurt, we took a different production path with what we call "AI Echo": the revival and adaptation of two 2024 TVCs. We proved that a campaign’s „expiration date“ is now a choice, not a constraint. The AI Echo Logic in Action: ➤  Archive Revival: Instead of retiring the 2024 TVC, we used it as the foundation for the new season. ➤  Precision Adaptation: Replacing the kits from head to toe, we updated specific shots in a custom AI pipeline to seamlessly integrate the 2025 jerseys into the original performance. ➤  Zero Friction Production: No new sets, no travel and no additional time required from the athletes with busy schedules. The Result: A premium TVC, seamlessly transitioned into the 2025 season. This is the power of an AI Echo production and a new era of content efficiency. See the transformation here and explore more AI Echo cases: https://lnkd.in/d8DcktYC Thanks to our friends Wolffpack Vision GmbH who produced the original spots and got us on board for the upcycling job. Credits Client: Indeed Agency: Grabarz & Partner Production (original TVC): Wolffpackvision AI Production: SPAICE Creative Technologist: Andreas Clemens #SPAICE #AIEcho #Indeed #Bundesliga #ProductionEfficiency #SustainableProduction #SportsMarketing

The Great Catch for Lidl: Efficiency meets cinematic surrealism. In traditional production, concept surrealism often comes with a trade-off. Either a massive physical build or a long and expensive VFX cycle. Both eventually hit the same wall: time and budget. For this project, in collaboration with Schokolade Films, we acted as the AI Production Partner to explore how cinematic scale can be achieved faster without sacrificing craft. The challenge was lifting a supermarket out of the water in a cinematic, high-definition style. Our joint solution combined on location production with controlled generative pipelines. We worked with two core methods: 1. Full AI shots based on in-camera first frames Whenever human characters appeared only from behind, we captured real in-camera plates as a grounded starting point. These frames served as the physical anchor for fully AI-generated environments and extensions, preserving realism, continuity and legal clarity while allowing us to scale the surreal elements. 2. Hybrid production with on-set green screen For hero moments, actors were filmed on green screen while key environments were rebuilt through classical compositing pipelines. AI-generated elements were integrated within this controlled VFX workflow rather than replacing it. Behind the scenes, the system relied on three components: ➤ Custom pipelines: dedicated ComfyUI workflows ensured visual consistency across every frame while maintaining precise environmental control ➤ Integrated compositing: AI functioned as an engine within a compositing stack ➤ Generative agility: once the hero asset was built, the system allowed rapid iteration and reframing to social-first cutdowns The outcome: ➤ Over a month of traditional VFX work compressed into roughly two weeks with a small highly specialized team ➤ Higher creative optionality through rapid iteration and reframing once the hero asset was built ➤ Reusable production infrastructure that can be refined and scaled across future productions We don’t just prompt and hope for the best results. We build controlled systems that deliver. The case on our website: https://lnkd.in/dftjCKfh Client: Lidl Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Production: SCHOKOLADE film based communication Director: Florian Meimberg AI Production: Max Schlett / SPAICE Creative Technologist: Andreas Clemens Prompt Artist: Rocío García Morales and many more #SPAICE #HybridProduction #Lidl #AIVFX #CreativeTechnology

Consider this our first frame - welcome to Spaice! The hype is coming to an end. Gen AI is a structural shift in how stories are created, produced and distributed. For brands, this is no longer about experimentation. It’s about building reliable production systems that deliver volume and consistency in order to cut through the slop - without compromising creative quality. At Spaice, technology serves vision. Not the other way around. That means: real directors in the lead. Not AI influencers. Working alongside prompt artists and creative technologists. Operating production-ready pipelines that constantly evolve. With clear guidelines on what AI can do - and what it cannot. We work across four defined products: Full AI Production End-to-end AI-native films and campaigns, built entirely within generative pipelines, from concept to final delivery. Hybrid Production Traditional shoots enhanced by AI workflows, combining physical production with generative tools where they add real value. AI Echo AI-powered extensions of existing material, scalable variations and market adaptations to reliably supply always-on channels. Content Automation Automation pipelines trained on a brand’s CI, assets and visual language. Enabling controlled, high-volume content production with consistent output quality. Explore our website to learn more: https://www.spaice.studio/ Spaice is a joint venture between Max Schlett and urbanuncut GmbH Thanks to all our supporters in the brand building and founding phase Julius Krebs Linus Kirschner Dylan Laakmann Andreas Clemens Jan Berndt Florian Meimberg Daniel Lwowski Kolja Walden Sophie von Kummant Anton Rau