What does it take to bring a leadership development experience to life before participants even enter the training room?
That was the challenge behind our two new AI-powered product films for Mission to Mars and Amundsen – two story- and game-based leadership development programs built around extraordinary environments, complex decisions, and immersive learning experiences.
The films recently caught the attention of marketing.hu, one of Hungary’s leading professional marketing communications magazine, which created a case study exploring the collaboration between DEVELOR and HypeLab Studio and the AI-powered production process behind the two films. The case study was shared as exclusive content with leaders in Hungary.
As part of the case study, marketing.hu also sat down with László Fazekas, Head of Global Marketing at DEVELOR, and Máté Albrecht, CEO of HypeLab Studio, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about the creative thinking, technology, collaboration, and challenges behind the project.
We are now making that interview available in English.
The conversation goes beyond the technology itself. It explores what AI can – and cannot – change in creative production, why a strong concept and precise preparation matter more than ever, and how close collaboration between client and production partner can turn ambitious ideas into reality.
Mars, the Antarctic, and AI: the story behind two new DEVELOR product films
marketing.hu: Why did you choose these two themes – both far away from everyday life, and even from everyday places on Earth – to introduce your leadership development programs?
László Fazekas: Both game-based programs take place in unique locations. In Mission to Mars, participants experience adaptive leadership in an unfamiliar, constantly changing environment. The Amundsen program, meanwhile, explores different leadership challenges through the story of a polar expedition.
Beyond the fact that both programs have been incredibly successful with our clients, particularly because of their game-based learning experience, they also lend themselves to very powerful visual worlds.
So the question came naturally: how could we bring those stories to life in our communication as well?
With the rapid development of AI, we suddenly had access to a set of tools that allowed us to do this on a completely different scale in terms of both cost and production time.
Was it clear from the beginning that you would use AI technology?
László Fazekas: Absolutely. I’m professionally very interested in emerging technologies, and my philosophy is that there is little value in simply observing them from the outside. You need to try them(when they are relevant, of course).
You need first-hand experience to really understand what they can do. Only then can you determine where they genuinely add value and how they can become an effective part of professional practice.
AI has brought enormous change to marketing communications, and visual content production is probably one of the areas where that transformation is most visible.
Does that mean making a film is significantly easier today?
Máté Albrecht: Certain things are much easier to execute. But that does not necessarily mean making a good film has become easier.
AI is an extremely powerful production tool, but you still need to know exactly what you want to create with it. If there is no clear concept, if the story has not been properly developed, if you do not know how the scenes should connect or what kind of camera movement, atmosphere, pacing, or rhythm you want, AI will not solve those questions for you.
In fact, because there are so many possibilities, it may be even easier to head in the wrong direction. You can quickly find yourself overwhelmed by the number of options available.
If almost anyone can access these AI tools today, where does an AI video studio create real added value?
Máté Albrecht: Increasingly, the value is not in the tool itself. A lot of people now have access to the same technologies.
The difference lies in what you can create with them and how you integrate them into a complete production process.
At HypeLab, we don’t approach a project as if there were one AI tool capable of solving every problem. Even within a single film, we may use several different technologies for image generation, video, audio, characters, or post-production, depending on what a particular scene requires.
The real work is making sure the result isn’t simply a collection of impressive individual AI generations, but a consistent film – with the same visual world, characters, story, rhythm, and quality throughout.
AI is putting production tools into the hands of more and more people. But I don’t think that makes expertise less important. The expertise simply shifts toward knowing how to direct and combine those tools effectively.
How is preparing an AI-powered production different from preparing a traditional project?
László Fazekas: I think the classic rule still applies: the quality of the preparation determines the quality of the entire project.
I probably go deeper into operational details than the average client. I have worked in marketing communications for more than 20 years, including ten years in leadership roles at agencies, so I have had plenty of opportunities to see and participate in these processes from both the client and agency sides.
That is why, when developing these films, I didn’t simply say, “Let’s have a scene on Mars.”
I was thinking in scenes, camera movements, narration, sound, visual style, editing, timing, and music.
Máté, from a production perspective, is it helpful when a client gets this involved in the details, or can it sometimes make the process more difficult?
Máté Albrecht: When someone goes into that level of detail and understands how all the elements connect, it is an enormous help.
Working with László was quite unique in that respect. It almost felt as if the client and the agency were sitting on the other side of the table as one person.
At a certain point, it stopped feeling like a traditional client–supplier relationship altogether. It was more as if the client had joined us as part of the production team.
In this case, that increased efficiency rather than reducing it. It is very rare to receive input from the client side that is this detailed and this thoroughly considered from a production perspective.
Does that have a measurable impact on the project?
Máté Albrecht: Absolutely.
One of the biggest time drains in production is usually not the execution itself, but misunderstanding.
If two sides interpret the same sentence differently, something gets produced, feedback comes in, and then we rethink it, regenerate it, or re-edit it. Suddenly, another entire round has been added to the process.
This is especially important when working with AI technologies. In many cases, the more you modify a particular scene or detail, the less likely you are to end up exactly where you wanted to be. The goal is to achieve the desired result as early in the process as possible.
The more precise the preparation is, the fewer of these additional rounds you need. That means shorter production times and more controllable costs, while leaving us more energy for the areas where we can create the most value: creative and technical execution.
What was the most challenging part of the project?
Máté Albrecht: Two things.
The first was consistency. Today, almost anyone can generate one visually impressive scene. But keeping the same room, the same five people, the same lighting, and even the same jacket consistent across multiple shots – that is where the real work begins.
The second challenge comes when a scene needs refining to match the client’s vision in every detail. Once you have a strong, finished scene, even the smallest change can introduce risk, because regenerating it can easily affect elements that were already working perfectly.
László Fazekas: For me, one of the hardest things was knowing when to stop – both with an individual scene and with the film as a whole.
At the end of the day, you could keep refining and adjusting AI-generated content almost indefinitely. But at some point, another change simply doesn’t add enough value to justify the extra work.
How did the international DEVELOR network respond to the films, and what comes next?
László Fazekas: We premiered the films at a multi-day international DEVELOR event a few weeks ago, and they were met with huge applause from our international network. The response was incredibly enthusiastic, and everyone is excited to see what comes next.
The video rollout has recently started, primarily to engage HR and L&D decision-makers.
We don’t expect a 90-second film to sell a complex leadership development program. That is not its job. Its job is to spark curiosity.
And we are definitely planning to take the next step with localization, using AI-powered voice cloning and translation to make the films available in the local languages of countries across our international network.
When technology expands what is creatively possible
For us, this project was never about using AI simply because AI is available.
It was about finding the right technology for an idea that would have been significantly more difficult, time-consuming, and resource-intensive to bring to life through traditional production alone.
The result is more than two product films. It is also an example of how strong creative direction, deep professional expertise, and genuine co-creation can turn new technology into meaningful communication.
And for Mission to Mars and Amundsen, the films do exactly what we wanted: they open the door to the story before the learning experience even begins.
Curious about the programs behind the films?
If the films caught your attention, take a closer look at what participants experience in the training room.
- Adaptive Leadership – Mission to Mars helps leaders practice responding to change, empowering their teams, and making decisions in uncertain situations.
- Leadership Inspired by Amundsen uses the story of a polar expedition to help participants practice leadership skills such as setting goals, delegating, and giving feedback, with the focus tailored to your team’s needs.
Visit the program pages to learn more and get in touch with us about bringing either experience to your organization.
