Storia is Betting Big on Hollywood’s Desire for AI Video Production

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Storia is Betting Big on Hollywood’s Desire for AI Video Production
Photo: Storia AI

Traditionally, becoming a professional video editor takes years of experience, long hours and an often maddening struggle against complicated software. As such, it’s a field with a high skill barrier to entry. In Hollywood, especially, it’s rare to become a film editor without a formal education in the field.


But that reality shows signs of shifting. Especially with the help of emerging generative AI tools that help filmmakers realize their vision in minutes rather than years.

One such tool comes from Storia AI, a remotely based startup with a footprint in Los Angeles and San Francisco that’s developing a generative AI for film and TV pre-production. Storia’s technology takes simple text prompts (for example, “show me this script in the style of Alfred Hitchcock,” and turns them into short video clips or storyboards.

The startup recently showed off its tech at work on several Academy Award-nominated films, by way of presenting what the Oscar-winning film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” would look like as a zombie horror film, or editing “The Banshees of Inisherin” in the style of a cartoon. Storia AI cofounder Mihail Eric said overall, the response was positive, noting that for some, it was the first time they’d seen such tech in action. The goal was to show off Storia’s capabilities and also educate people about the potential ways to leverage AI in video editing and pre-production, Eric said.

Eric launched the company in December 2022 with co-founder Julia Turc in December 2022 and has since raised “a couple hundred thousand” from investors including Madrona Venture Labs so far. The plan is to begin selling its AI storyboarding and editing software as a subscription, Eric said.

The idea, according to Eric, is to leverage Storia AI’s tools to help someone with “no visual sensibilities” create a fully-fledged visual work in a short time with limited skills. A longtime developer of AI, Eric studied natural language processing at Stanford and worked at Amazon as a senior machine learning scientist for its Alexa AI for two and half years before co-founding Storia. He said his goal with the company is to enable people with an artistic concept, but not the skills to realize a fully fledged film.

In addition to its video editing tool Storia AI also sells a product called StoriaBoard, which uses AI to pre-visualize movie scripts. By plugging in a script, and choosing from either a dropdown list of pre loaded films (like Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” or Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane”), the AI will create a visual representation of the script’s major beats. This looks like a typical storyboard format but will match the tone of the selected work.

“The creative process is about taking inspiration from things, using one source to inspire another idea… and using that to sort of conglomerate and form, and evolve your own vision,” Eric said. “That previsualization, the preproduction, is about fast iteration, it’s about experimentation. If you don’t have visual sensibilities, you won’t be able to draw even a single alternative [idea], but a tool like what we build enables you to very quickly try a bunch of different things.”

That said, Hollywood remains mixed on the prospect of using AI to create content. There is, of course, the valid concern that AI will replace the jobs of highly skilled editors. Though Eric said he sees tools like Storia AI’s not as job replacers but enablers. “Traditional painting of the 1500s is not something that's really done that much today,” he said “If you just imagine the natural evolution of the profession, you’re going to have to learn new tools.”

To Eric’s credit, AI is already being used to de-age celebrities like Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones.” A similar tool made by startup Metaphysic signed a partnership with the Creative Artists Agency in January. But AI can also apply to sound: Dolby’s Atmos technology uses AI to map the acoustics of a room and determine how much sound output it needs to be truly immersive for the audience. And while it’s not tailored just for film or TV production, generative image software Midjourney can be used to storyboard.

Currently, Storia AI has some clients, mainly local independent filmmakers, according to Eric. Though he did say he hopes the tool becomes more widely used by aspiring creatives in the future.

“Our goal at Storia AI is to change the landscape of how [production] is done,” Eric said. “We believe we’re uniquely able to provide [this] because of our deep experience in AI.”

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🌴🧑‍💻 Your Guide to LA Tech Week 2024

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As many of you know, LA Tech Week is right around the corner, kicking off next Monday October 14th bringing together founders, creatives, investors, and engineers for a week of immersive events, panels, and socials across the city. From blockchain and AI to biotech and design, LA Tech Week is a chance to dive into the ideas shaping today’s technology landscape.


What to Look Forward To

Insights from Visionary Leaders: Hear firsthand from industry trailblazers as they share stories, challenges, and key lessons from their experiences. Expect fresh perspectives on AI, venture capital, biotech, and the ethical questions around emerging technologies.

Interactive Panels: This week isn’t about watching from the sidelines; it’s about engaging directly with the tech community. Participate in hands-on panels discussing everything from startup scaling to ethical AI, with honest insights from those actively shaping these fields.

Networking Mixers & Social Events: Meet and connect with founders, VCs, developers, designers, and fellow techies across LA. Rooftop mixers, lunch meetups, and creative gatherings offer the perfect chance to spark ideas and collaborate.

Plan your week with the daily lineup, organized by location for easy navigation:

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

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      Light Dao

      Struck Capital, Seahorse Express

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      Sunrise Integration, Shopify

      EL SEGUNDO

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      Administratum, Valar Atomics

      HOLLYWOOD

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      Passes

      MALIBU

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      • Malibu Beachfront Investors Networking & Wine Tasting:See Details

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      Founders Running Club

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      Gen She

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      Crea, Barry's, Unsubscribe

      10:30 AM

      Plantologist

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      • Pickleball Palooza (Invite Only)

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      Office for Humanity and Circuit Works

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      5:00 PM

      KARD, What's Plots

      THE VALLEY

      7:00 AM

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      Westside Yogis

      11:00 AM

      Open App

      1:00 PM

      Ripe and Teddy's Hot House

      4:00 PM

      • Fashion Forward: How AI is Redefining the Fashion Industry: See Details

      VIAVIA, BNTO.RENT, ALMA.AI

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      11:00 AM

      BLCK UNICRN

      WEST HOLLYWOOD

      7:00 PM

      Next Sequence

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      PLAYA DEL RAY

      2:00 PM

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      SANTA MONICA

      10:00 AM

      • Women Founders, Cold Brew & Beach View, Rooftop: See Details

      Clutch Talent

      11:00 AM

      11DollarSunglasses.com, Less Litter Foundation

      12:00 PM

      Data in LA, Amplitude

      12:30 AM

      New Moon, Warner UK Innovations

      TOPANGA CANYON

      3:00 PM

      Dreamore

      VENICE

      8:00 AM

      • Surf session with founders, investors, creators: See Details

      Surfed Club, Bow Shock

      12:00 PM

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      2:00 PM

      BLCK UNICRN


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      8:00 AM

      Scrappy

      BRENTWOOD

      7:30 AM

      Seaside Ventures

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      9:00 AM

      Intersections LA

      1:30 PM

      • Showcasing Bioscience Innovation in LA County (Invite Only)

      BioscienceLA, County o LA, Larta Institute, LAEDC

      5:00 PM

      Grid110

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      ACT House, Sip & Sonder

      EL SEGUNDO

      7:00 PM

      Dirac, Inc.

      INGLEWOOD

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      USC ISI

      PACIFIC PALISADES

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      AI LA

      PLAYA VISTA

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      • Women In Gaming Lunch at Google (Invite Only)

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      4:00 PM

      Verizon, Infinity Festival

      SANTA MONICA

      11:00 AM

      SVRN Ventures

      Headline, Slow Ventures, Karat

      2:00 PM

      Glyf

      Botanical, Panoptic

      The American South Asian Network (ASAN)

      4:00 PM

      • Pizza, Wine, & Connectivity: Celebrating the Nomadic App Revolution:See Details Here

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      The American South Asian Network (ASAN)

      Dory Consulting

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      • Unlocking Capital with Angels & Advisors | No Pressure Networking + Panel:See Details Here

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      Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

      6:15 PM

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      Intersectional Ventures

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      Mantis VC, Lightspeed Venture Partners

      Medusa Ai, Marco Di Luca Event Design

      SOUTH LA

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      USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Cap Table Coalition, PledgeLA, Sisters with Ventures

      UCLA

      1:30 PM

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      Taisu Ventures, Quotient Ventures

      VENICE

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      12:00 PM

      Ripe and Teddy's Hot House

      5:30 PM

      Spire Circles

      7:00 PM

      Moss Venice, Yuzulabs, JPMorgan Chase

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      Truffle

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      BLCK UNICRN

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      A16Z GAMES

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      9:00 AM

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