Studio Jadu: Opening the Gates of Visual Storytelling

Recently I asked how AI will change the craft, art, and business of visual storytelling (link). Today, we’re ready to share our answer.

For decades, big studios have kept the gates of visual storytelling closed to most creators with original stories, preferring instead a steady diet of big budget reboots (maybe with updated costumes and bigger budgets), and lower and lower rewards for originality.

The result is a steady stream of presumably safe reboots and book adaptations, and shrinking creator payouts. Now, with the explosion of AI, the creator community is understandably concerned about how AI may further limit original voices, and further erode their share of the rewards.

But is creativity doomed to the statistical models of machines? At Studio Jadu we do not believe machines can replace true originality. Stories that move us to tears or laughter, stories that last the test of time across many generations - those stories come from our deepest human experiences. They are rooted in our deepest desires and fears, wants and regrets. In many ways our very mortality is at the root of our creativity. Machines can only mimic what was created in the past, or an averaged, derivative version of it.

That is why Studio Jadu workbench was designed to ensure creativity remains in the hands of human artists. Our creator workbench encourages you to sharpen your ideas, challenges you to develop interesting characters with meaningful conflicts, and pushes you to get the best version of your story out. Studio Jadu doesn’t ghost-write your story, or jump from prompt to finished film. It’s a partner. Think of a fitness coach who won’t lift the weight for you, but instead makes you work harder and sweat more. A coach is not a substitute, but it helps you lift more, better, faster.

The debate over how foundation models were trained matters - and will continue. But we also need to focus on what comes next for the business of creativity.

That is why we’re already at work building the monetization rails. Our founding DNA includes years building monetization systems at scale, including Brand Ads at TikTok, and YouTube prior to that. We’re applying our experience to ensure the best stories and the most entertaining shows receive their fair share of monetization. Our approach is simple: equitable rewards based on a revenue share model. The operative word being “revenue”. No funny accounting based on profit points that never materialize.

At Studio Jadu, we are building the future of visual storytelling where artists get to tell their stories, audiences discover new voices, and the business rewards creativity first.

Join us as we set out on this journey.