Archive photoHybrid shot

Same crew. Half the cost.

Hekaya Hybrid
Real shoot + AI finish
Jeddah · Riyadh · Dubai

We shoot the performance for real, then build the light, the set and the world with AI. Cinema quality, at roughly half the budget of a traditional shoot.

See hybrid work

What hybrid means

Real where it counts. AI where it saves.

The team behind Yesterday After Tomorrow on Netflix and Al-Balad Rising on Shahid, using AI as a production tool, not a gimmick.

Shoot what matters

Real actors, real performances, our own cameras, lenses and lights through Galactic. Faces and acting stay untouched.

Build the rest with AI

Relighting, set extension, art department, weather, crowds, whole historical worlds. Shots that used to need a bigger crew, a bigger set or a second shoot day.

Finish like cinema

Grade, VFX, sound and every cutdown by the same team that made the film. One director owns the result end to end.

50%+lower cost on our hybrid projects so far
1 directorfrom script to final grade
Every ratio16:9, 4:5 and 9:16, Arabic and English
100M+views across our online shows

Case 01 · Saudia × Esports World Cup · AI relight

Saudia × EWC

The hangar as shot, flat under the overhead work lights — Same frame, before and afterDrag to compare

The same hangar relit with AI: dark, cinematic, light raking across the aircraft — Same frame, before and afterDrag to compare

The hangar lights could not be switched off. So we relit the whole film after the shoot.

We filmed the Esports World Cup livery reveal inside a working Saudia hangar. For safety, the overhead lights had to stay on, which flattened every shot. Instead of a reshoot or a lighting rig the size of a hangar, we kept every take and relit it with AI. The talent's acting and performance stayed exactly as shot.

ProblemOverhead work lights, no blackout allowed
Hybrid fixFull AI relight on the original takes
DeliveredInfluencer film in Arabic and English, 16:9, 4:5 and 9:16, short versions and an aircraft timelapse

Crew working on the livery under flat hangar light

The same moment relit, with warm work lights and green fill

⟷ DragAs shotRelit

The presenter as shot under flat hangar light

The same take relit as a night apron scene, performance untouched

⟷ DragAs shotRelit

The host on the apron at night, relit — Influencer film · relit

The relit hangar, wide — Timelapse · relit

Relit crew at the livery — Timelapse · relit

Raw camera frame of the livery — Raw plate

Case 02 · Toyota RAV4 · AI art department

Drift

The hiker and the RAV4 filmed in an empty studio — Same take, before and afterDrag to compare

The same take with AI-built dirt, rocks and trees around the car — Same take, before and afterDrag to compare

Shot in a studio. The dirt, rocks and trees were built after.

The art department's job was done in post. Ground, trees and set dressing were added around the live-action RAV4 and talent with AI, and VFX shots were reworked between the archived drafts and the final delivery without going back to set. The film went out as a hero film, a teaser, wide LED-screen versions and every social ratio.

Hybrid fixAI art department and VFX on studio plates
SavedLocation, set build, dressing crew and a second shoot day
DeliveredHero film, teaser, LED-screen versions, 16:9, 4:5, 9:16 and 1:1

Loading the boot for a desert trip — Hero film

Hiker and RAV4 in the built terrain — Hero film

Case 03 · Education · Full hybrid

IMC College

The student shot in an empty grey studio — Shot in a grey studio · room built with AIDrag to compare

The same take placed in a sunlit bedroom built with AI — Shot in a grey studio · room built with AIDrag to compare

A medical-school launch film, built from animatic to final through a hybrid pipeline.

The film follows the journey of the "Hakeem Physician", from a student at his desk to a doctor who sees the person, not only the disease. We locked the story as an animatic first, so the client signed off on every shot before anything was made. The actors were filmed in an empty grey studio, the college was blocked out in 3D, and AI built the rooms and the atrium around them. Then we cut it all with voice-over and original music, and subtitled them in Arabic and English.

PipelineAnimatic → grey-studio shoot + 3D layout → AI-built sets → director's cut
Delivered60-second film, 20-second cut and 6-second bumper in 16:9, 4:5 and 9:16, with subtitles

The dean filmed at his desk in an ordinary office

The same take set behind an arched window overlooking the college atrium

⟷ DragAs shotFinal

Grey 3D block-out of the college atrium seen from below

The finished atrium with a glass roof, sunlight and plants

⟷ Drag3D layoutFinal

A doctor examining a young girl with a butterfly toy — Final

A young doctor in a sunlit courtyard — Final

An elderly patient with words floating around him — Final

Case 04 · Documentary · Complete hybrid project

The Musalla Mosques

The mosque in Madinah today, filmed at night with hotels and scaffolding around it — Same location, two erasDrag to compare

The same mosque rebuilt with AI as a misty, cinematic historical scene — Same location, two erasDrag to compare

A documentary on the mosques west of Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, where the location could only show today.

We filmed the real mosques in Madinah on cinema cameras, then built the historical moments the story needed: the open expanse where the Eid and rain prayers were held, and the atmosphere of the centuries in between. Narrated, graded and subtitled in Arabic and English by the same team.

ShotReal locations in Madinah at night
BuiltHistorical scenes and atmosphere with AI
DeliveredFull documentary short with Arabic and English subtitles

Mosque courtyard arcade lit at night — Hybrid

Domed interior with light through the doorway — Hybrid

Inscription lit by a shaft of light — Hybrid

Prayer hall interior in blue light — Hybrid

Case 05 · Narrative scenes · AI post toolkit

Fixed in post

Shot once, on a real set. Everything around the actors changed afterwards.

These frames come from our own narrative work, finished in post with AI. The actors, the camera moves and the performances are the original takes. What changes is everything around them: props, screens, walls, sometimes the whole room. Each one below would normally mean a rebuild, a reshoot or a second location.

ShotReal actors on a compact set or car rig
ChangedProps, screens, characters and backgrounds
SavedArt department builds, reshoots and location moves

Prop & screen replacement

Swap what's on the table, keep the take

A man pointing at a vintage monitor with a blank grey screen — Blank monitor → live interface

The same take with an Arabic green-screen interface on the monitor — Blank monitor → live interface

A hand holding a phone with a dead black screen — Dead phone → incoming call

The same take with an Arabic incoming-call screen on the phone — Dead phone → incoming call

A woman lifting a plain orange office phone — Office phone → hero prop

The same take with a retro orange phone with valve-style dials — Office phone → hero prop

A spotlit empty rug on a cluttered table — Empty spot → watch box

The same table with a green watch box full of luxury watches — Empty spot → watch box

Prop & set enhancement

Upgrade the art department after the wrap

A printed painting in a plain thin frame on a tiled wall — Plain print → gilded oil painting

The same painting in an ornate gilded frame with richer detail — Plain print → gilded oil painting

The RAV4 in an empty studio — Empty studio → dressed set

The finished frame with set dressing, dirt and trees — Empty studio → dressed set

A tiled lobby set with an open rig ceiling — Open rig → finished ceiling

The same set with a ceiling of round lights and an arched doorway — Open rig → finished ceiling

Character enhancement

Same actor, same performance, new character

Three men in black robes seated at a green table — Regular costume → giant

The man in the middle turned into a giant filling the frame — Regular costume → giant

Background replacement & set extension

Move the scene without moving the crew

A man in a tiled room against a white wall — Tiled wall → endless office

The same take with rows of office cubicles and clones behind him — Tiled wall → endless office

A driver on a static car rig in a studio, letterboxed and flat — Studio car rig → golden-hour street, frame extended

The same take on a sunlit Jeddah street at golden hour, frame extended — Studio car rig → golden-hour street, frame extended

Traditional vs hybrid

Where the money goes

	Traditional shoot	Hekaya Hybrid
Shoot days	Every scene on the day, plus pickups	Only the performances. Fewer, shorter days
Locations & sets	Build, dress, permit, light	Shoot a clean plate, build the world in post
Lighting	Large crew and rigs, locked on the day	Can be changed after the shoot
Changes	Often means a reshoot	Most changes happen in the edit
Cutdowns	Extra cost per ratio and language	Planned from day one: 16:9, 4:5, 9:16, AR / EN
Budget	Full production cost	About half on our hybrid projects so far

Not every film should be hybrid. Dialogue-heavy drama, live sport and anything with real people's likeness stay fully shot, and we'll tell you which parts of your brief fit. AI is never used on anyone's face or voice without their consent.

How it works

Brief to delivery

01
Brief
Send the idea, timeline and budget. We reply the same week with a creative direction.
02
Hybrid breakdown
Shot by shot, we mark what's shot for real and what's built, with a costed comparison.
03
Animatic
You see the whole film before anyone is on set. Changes are cheap here.
04
Shoot
A smaller, faster shoot with our own Galactic kit and crew.
05
Build & finish
AI, VFX, grade, sound and every ratio and language, from one team.