Bringing People to
Life in CGI Video
Bringing People to Life in CGI Video
Adding Purpose
Take a CG-only room set. Add people. Add a gentle camera move. Suddenly the scene feels alive.
AI is what makes this practical now. We used to place people with traditional techniques. It worked, but it was slow and fiddly. With AI we can populate a still in minutes and the blend looks natural. Skin tones sit right. Contact shadows sit right. It looks like it was always there.
Here is the real value. Moving people let you show what the space is for, not just what it looks like. A kitchen reads as breakfast in motion. A lobby reads as arrivals and greetings. A student common room reads as study, chat, and flow. Purpose comes across in seconds, which was not really viable for us at a sensible price point before. Now it is.
Our typical flow is simple. Start with a finished CGI still. Use a people placement tool like NanoBanana 2.5 to add lifelike characters. Try two or three versions to get the right mix of poses and density. Then bring that image into a motion tool. We are using Runway a lot at the moment. Generate a short camera move. Think of a 7 to 10 second glide. That is a dynamic still.
Quality control happens in the edit. AI is convincing until a tiny quirk sneaks in on a frame. On a slow move through a busy scene you might see an odd hand or a face that breaks for a beat. We trim to the golden five or six seconds that are flawless. The result is a tight, believable clip with people who feel present in the space.
The flexibility is a bonus. From one base image we can create multiple cuts for different markets and audiences with different demographic make ups. We guide the AI with simple prompts. Rough headcount. What they are doing. Dress code. Broad age range. A light steer on overall mix. It stays close to the intent and looks authentic.
Why this is exciting. You can repurpose existing imagery, produce short video quickly, and keep brand consistency while tuning representation for the brief. Costs stay sensible. Turnaround is fast. Most of all, the environment feels human and purposeful.