International
Unseen footage of MJ’s Dangerous remains unsold
MUMBAI: Unseen footage of Michael Jackson‘s 1993 Dangerous tour that was expected to fetch 4-5 million pounds failed to sell at an auction last Saturday in Britain.
Around two hours long, the footage was shot by Jackson‘s own production crew and meant to be an intimate portrait of Jackson on tour. But the singer was unhappy with the quality and gave the only copy to his driver who was now trying to sell the footage, auction house The Fame Bureau said.
Said a spokesman of the auctioneer who specialises in pop memorabilia, “We are still talking to people, but online it did not sell.”
He was however confident that a buyer would be found, although nothing is a certainty. The auction house said that it had been forced to remove a brief clip of the video from its website before the online auction after Jackson‘s record label made a copyright claim.
The fact that a successful buyer may not be able to use the film for commercial purposes may have dampened demand given the hefty asking price, but the spokesman played down the copyright dispute. “I don‘t think that was a problem at all,” he said, adding that any serious potential buyer would be fully aware of the issue.
Items related to Jackson have skyrocketed in value since his death in 2009. The red and black leather jacket he wore for the Thriller video sold for $1.8 million in Los Angeles in June.
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.
