The creator of Tilly Norwood on AI actors and human storytellers

Eline Van der Velden says a music video featuring her AI-generated character Tilly Norwood began with an essay she wrote. She used AI to develop lyrics and test voices and songs, with human creative input throughout the production.

A former actor who studied physics, Van der Velden had run production company Particle 6 for years. Seeing rapid advances in image and video generation, she created Tilly as an experiment to show creative colleagues what the technology could do.

Particle 6 now works across advertising, AI workflow consulting, production services and original projects, she says. Advertising clients have adopted AI faster than entertainment clients in her experience; the company is also developing features and television projects, including hybrid productions with human actors.

Van der Velden demonstrates an interactive version of Tilly, combining a language model, video and voice through APIs. She distinguishes this conversational demonstration from the character’s acting in a produced film.

The live character responds to questions about the conference, outfits and films. Asked who would receive payment for the demonstration, it says the money would go to the people who built it; Van der Velden then closes the demo.

Parmy Olson asks about backlash from entertainment workers. Van der Velden says Tilly’s US reception included fears of job losses and death threats; she believes early coverage sometimes overlooked the people and creative work behind the character.

She says she originally approached the technology with fear as an actor, then became more comfortable by learning how to use it. In her view, AI expands what a person can do with an existing skill set rather than replacing the need for that skill.

Asked whether AI content deserves the label “slop,” she says some does: easy access to tools also means people without filmmaking or writing experience can publish work. She argues that storytelling and production talent remain important.

Olson presses whether generated content diminishes the human connection in storytelling. Van der Velden says she remains the person choosing to tell the story, whether through performance, animation or AI-assisted production.

She expects cheaper tools to let people without large studio budgets tell stories, while writers use AI to develop their work. She says she sees jobs being created but also a substantial need to retrain creative workers.

Asked whether a teenager should study filmmaking, she recommends learning storytelling fundamentals and gaining experience with AI filmmaking, including outside a course if necessary. Her prediction is that the field and its job opportunities will grow.

Van der Velden says her earlier YouTube character work taught her how to attract attention and understand what resonates. With Tilly, she deliberately considered the fears and questions that would make people discuss the character.

Particle 6 is producing Storm Dogs, a feature planned for 2027 about lost dogs who find a toddler. Van der Velden says she chose the concept partly because filming with dogs and young children is difficult; director Rob Minkoff is attached.

She describes generating material while writing and using different techniques, including actors’ expressions, AI tools and Blender camera planning. The film was still in production, and the clip shown was a proof of concept; human actors play other roles.

The panel shows the Storm Dogs proof-of-concept clip. Olson then asks how much cheaper the film is to make with AI-generated elements.

Van der Velden says the main attraction is creative control, such as bringing dog characters to life, rather than cost alone. She estimates AI portions at roughly half the cost, while other production costs remain.

She argues that the UK could compete in creative applications of AI by combining its filmmaking workforce with new tools. She expects quality and storytelling to matter as the volume of generated content grows.

Asked about the industry in five years, Van der Velden predicts most films will use some form of AI, while hoping films made without it continue. She expects wider access to tools to increase the number of people able to tell stories.

An audience member asks whether an AI star loses value if she appears everywhere at once. Van der Velden agrees scarcity matters and says Tilly is limited to one film rather than being available for anyone to use.