Merge Point
Where the real camera meets the AI imagination in a single unbroken take
Production
- Role
- Director / Operator / AI
- Format
- Horizontal / Hybrid
- Year
- 2025
- Tools
- Sony FX6ComfyUIRunway Gen-3NukeDaVinci Resolve
The scene
Merge Point is an experimental short film that explores the boundary between physical reality and AI-generated environments. The concept: a single continuous shot that begins in a real location and gradually, imperceptibly transitions into an entirely synthetic world.
The challenge
The technical challenge was immense -- creating a seamless visual transition where the audience cannot identify the exact moment reality ends and AI begins. Camera movement, lighting, and perspective all needed to match perfectly across the boundary.
The process
Real footage was captured with precise motion tracking data. This data was fed into ComfyUI pipelines that extended the physical environment into fantastical AI-generated landscapes, pixel-matched to the original camera path. Nuke handled the compositing seam, using advanced edge blending and atmospheric effects to disguise the transition zone.
Visual approach
The real-world segment uses naturalistic lighting and a muted palette that slowly gains saturation and otherworldly qualities as the AI environment takes over. Glowing particles at the transition boundary serve as the only visual hint that something extraordinary is happening.
Selected for exhibition at the Ars Electronica festival and featured in a Creative Applications Network article on hybrid filmmaking workflows. The project has become a reference piece for filmmakers exploring AI integration into traditional production pipelines.
Edit rhythm
Research & Story
Finding the question worth asking. Subject research, visual references, location scouting.
The Shoot
Camera, light, and performance. Capturing the raw material with intention.
The Cut
Building rhythm in the timeline. Structure, pacing, and the moments between moments.
Grade & Delivery
Color science, sound design, and final output. The film finds its atmosphere.
