AI video starts with a script

A photograph of a spa hall has one quality advertising would happily change: it stands still. In June 2026 we published examples for Ensana Hotels on our production website, with the original spa photographs playing beside short videos created from them with AI.

The examples show clearly what generative tools add to advertising production. They show just as clearly what they do not: preparation still starts with a script and the question of what the viewer should understand.

What we actually showed

Two photo-and-video pairs. In the first, the view moves slowly into an ornate hall with arches, a painted ceiling and laid tables; the clip runs for about eight seconds. In the second, water ripples gently in an indoor spa pool framed by columns and arches, for about ten seconds. Both videos are silent and loop on the website beside the photograph they came from.

The movement is restrained, which makes sense for a hotel. The hall and the pool are places guests will actually visit. Animation should add atmosphere, not remodel them.

The script comes before generation

A concept needs a story, a rhythm and well-chosen source material. With hotels it matters to distinguish an atmospheric visualisation from a faithful depiction of a real place.

An artificially created detail must not change, unchecked, what a brand promises its customers.

That is why we consider crop space, the direction of movement and shot length as soon as we choose a photograph. A short spot for a phone and a video for a large screen need a different pace and composition.

What AI does and what the production team does

AI can speed up part of the work or make possible an image that would otherwise need a different production route, such as bringing movement to a photograph the client already has. The rest is the production team’s craft:

• Shot direction: where the view should move from and to.

• Choosing results: not every generated variant is usable.

• Continuity and editing: a shot that looks good alone must also work beside the others.

• Sound and formats: separate versions for the website, social media or a large screen.

• Rights and accuracy: responsibility for the source material and for what the video shows.

So we judge the whole sequence, not just the best single image. AI does not take responsibility for the brand, the rights to the material or the final quality.

Before you commission an AI video

A few things are worth settling before the first shot exists:

1. What should viewers know or do once they have watched it?

2. Where will the video run, and in which aspect ratio?

3. Which photographs do you have, and may you use them this way?

4. What must not change in the shot?

5. Who signs off the result on behalf of the brand?

Filming, photography, animation and AI can form a single film. Sometimes the right starting point is real footage, sometimes an animated photograph or a generated scene; the script, the use of the video and the available material decide. You can see the Ensana photographs and videos side by side in the Production section.