International
NFTS board set to have chairman in Simon Shaps
MUMBAI: Former director of television of ITV, Simon Shaps has been appointed as chairman of the National Film and Television School (NFTS) board. He replaces Michael Kuhn, who steps down after two terms.
The school has also announced that media financier Stephen Louis will succeed Peter Bazalgette as deputy chairman.
The new appointments take effect from 8 December.
Shaps, who was also recently appointed as chairman of documentary distributor MercuryMedia, held a variety of roles at ITV, the UK‘s largest commercial broadcaster, over a 20 year career.
As director of television, he was responsible for developing and commissioning shows across all genres, including Britain‘s Got Talent and Loose Women. He currently has a portfolio of roles with a number of media-related businesses, including advertiser-led programming companies Brand Apart.
Kuhn and Bazalgette joined the NFTS board in 2003 and served two terms each. During the tenure, the school committed to remaining at its Beaconfield site paving the way for the launch of new courses and the construction of a new building.
Said NFTS director Nic Powell, “Under their leadership, they stabilised funding, built its first news teaching building for more than 30 years, modernised its courses and added much-needed new ones.
“More importantly, they re-established the NFTS as one of the world‘s leading film schools producing multi award-wining graduates and work. The industry and school owe them a debt of gratitude.”
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.
