International
Academy changes nomination process for best film
MUMBAI: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has added a new twist to its best picture category. In the next year‘s 84th Academy Awards, there may not be 10 movies nominated for best picture. Instead, new voting rules could result in nominations in the category ranging anywhere from five to 10 nominees.
Though two years ago, the best picture Oscar race was expanded from five to ten films, the board of governors of the Academy voted Tuesday night to introduce a new procedure which according to them would add a new element of surprise, because the number of films that make the cut won‘t be revealed until the best picture nominees are revealed at the nominations announcement on 24 January.
In order to ensure a nomination, a picture will have to collect enough first-place votes on the nomination ballots to amount to five per cent of the ballots cast.
The move is sure to throw a further complication into the awards process, since studios and awards consultants will now have to decide how hard to push for movies the chances of which may look more marginal if the field doesn‘t expand to ten.
This move could wreck a certain amount of havoc in the years to come when Oscar historians try to compare races from different years.
The Academy also adopted several other rule changes affecting the animation category and the visual effects “bake-off” and confirmed previous changes in the eligibility period in the documentary categories.
“With the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we‘ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years,” said Academy president Tom Sherak.
The 84th Academy Awards will take place on 26 February next year at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
