No, the robots aren’t writing the scripts just yet… they’re just helping build the set.

This week on The Third Reel, we sit down with multi-award-winning filmmaker Toby Hyder, who’s quietly (and very cleverly) using AI not to replace storytelling - but to enhance it. Think less “AI takes over Hollywood” and more “AI carries the heavy bags while the humans make the art.”

Toby breaks down how he writes and directs his films in the traditional sense - working with real actors, real performances, and actual human emotion - before using his custom-built motion capture rig to drop those performances into richly realised, AI-assisted worlds. It’s filmmaking that feels both cutting-edge and reassuringly… human.

We dig into his multi award-winning short Bones of Yew, exploring how historical accuracy, performance capture, and AI rendering all come together to create something that looks massive in scale without losing its soul.

Along the way, we chat:

🎬 Whether AI is best suited as a tool for indie filmmakers rather than a Hollywood takeover artist

🎬 How tech can support creativity without stepping on its toes

🎬 And why the future of cinema might be less about replacement… and more about collaboration

It’s a fascinating look at where filmmaking is heading - where the heart stays human, and the pixels just help it beat louder.

Apologies on some of the sound issues heard during this episode, we did our best to clean it up.

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 - Toby's Background

00:17:02 - AI in Film

00:41:02 - Bones of Yew Deep Dive

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