iQIYI has opened an AI Film Studio at its Creative Center Shanghai, and filming on its first project, the internet feature film "Cop in Trouble", began on October 28, the company said. The studio combines live-action shooting inside the studio with AI post-production, according to the release, which describes the facility as China's first AI film studio.
What the studio contains
The studio measures approximately 110 square metres and is fitted for multi-camera shooting, with synchronized high-resolution video and audio recording, digital continuity logging and real-time review of footage. Material shot on set syncs automatically to NadouPro, iQIYI's AI-powered film and television production platform, where filmmakers can reach nearly 30 AI models, including Seedance 2.5 and Kling 4.0, along with hundreds of production-focused agents and skills for generating new visual elements from recorded footage.
The inaugural production
"Cop in Trouble" centres on Jian ZHANG, a low-ranking constable whose fame, riches and admiration begin to come apart as a web of lies he told to take down a notorious outlaw unravels. The release says the film shows how the studio pairs live-action performances with AI-generated environments and visual details, with the recordings serving as input and reference for the generation process through NadouPro, including character appearance, performance, composition, lighting and spatial relationships.
Executive comment and earlier work
Liang ZHU, iQIYI Vice President and Head of Intelligent Production, said an actor's performance is the core of any film or series, and that the studio allows directors to keep that performance while adjusting sets, lighting, costumes, makeup and props more flexibly. The release also states that iQIYI's Hengdian virtual studio delivered production efficiency gains of more than 30%, and says the new facility opens possibilities for emerging directors and teams with limited resources.
