Denoised
VP Land
When it comes to AI and the film industry, noise is everywhere. We cut through it.Denoised is your twice-weekly deep dive into the most interesting and relevant topics in media, entertainment, and creative technology. Hosted by Addy Ghani (Media Industry Analyst) and Joey Daoud (media producer and founder of VP Land), this podcast unpacks the latest trends shaping the industry—from Generative AI, Virtual Production, Hardware & Software innovations, Cloud workflows, Filmmaking, TV, and Hollywood industry news.Each episode delivers a fast-paced, no-BS breakdown of the biggest developments, featuring insightful analysis, under-the-radar insights, and practical takeaways for filmmakers, content creators, and M&E professionals. Whether you’re pushing pixels in post, managing a production pipeline, or just trying to keep up with the future of storytelling, Denoised keeps you ahead of the curve.New episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Listen in, stay informed, and cut through the noise.Produced by VP Land. Get the free VP Land newsletter in your inbox to stay on top of the latest news and tools in creative technology: https://ntm.link/l45xWQ
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 28, 2026 • 43min
OpenAI Just Killed Sora
They dig into why OpenAI shut down Sora and the product and licensing missteps behind its failure. They unpack the abandoned Disney deal and how strategic shifts pushed resources toward enterprise coding tools. They cover Epic Games' big layoffs tied to Fortnite decline and Sony winding down Pixomondo. They also discuss Google's TurboQuant LLM compression research and Gemini's on‑the‑fly website feature.
Mar 21, 2026 • 40min
Val Kilmer's AI Return and What It Means for Film
They unpack an AI-recreated actor and what using a deceased star’s likeness means for estates, marketing, and storytelling. They debate whether AI can capture authentic performance or just trigger uncanny valley reactions. They also cover improvisers paid to generate emotional training data and the risks of flattened, aggregated datasets. Plus tech updates on AI persona chatbots, text-to-design tools, and 3D generation.
Mar 10, 2026 • 42min
We talked to the CEO of ComfyUI
ComfyUI is reshaping how studios create AI-generated content, with 50,000 downloads per day and adoption across Netflix, intelligence agencies, and major VFX houses.In this episode, Yoland Yan, CEO of ComfyUI, shares the origin story of the open-source AI workflow platform that has become an industry standard. We discuss how co-founder comfyanonymous created the tool with zero machine learning experience, why control and quality matter more than simplicity for professional creatives, and how the platform's 60,000+ nodes enable everything from marketing pipelines to classified government applications.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
Mar 6, 2026 • 32min
What Ben Affleck's AI Company InterPositive Actually Does
Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI company InterPositive, which builds custom models for film productions. We also cover Corridor Crew's open-source chroma key model that's making VFX keying significantly easier, and LTX's new desktop editor that integrates AI generation directly into the timeline.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
Mar 1, 2026 • 38min
Google's Nano Banana 2 vs. Nano Banana Pro: Which One Wins?
Google's Nano Banana 2 delivers Pro-level features at half the cost, with web search capabilities that can generate current event imagery in real-time. Addy and Joey test the model across multiple scenarios and discuss Perplexity and Claude's rapid feature additions in response to OpenClaw.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
Feb 20, 2026 • 32min
Open Source Image Models Flood In, Nuke Goes All-In on AI, Google's Lyria 3 Music Surprise
Addy and Joey break down the latest batch of open-source AI image models: FireRed's specialized editing capabilities, Recraft V4's enterprise-grade output with SVG support, and ByteDance's newest open-source offering. They also cover Foundry's acquisition of Griptape, an AI node-based platform that signals where VFX compositing is headed, and test out Google Gemini's new music generation feature Lyria 3, which creates songs from unexpected inputs like slide decks and video thumbnails.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
Feb 14, 2026 • 39min
SwitchX, Seedance 2.0, and Hollywood's IP Nightmare
They demo SwitchX’s video relighting and background replacement while preserving faces. They debate AI workflows versus LED volume production and break down cost and practical shooting tradeoffs. Seedance 2.0’s multi-asset, frame-precise video generation sparks concern about realistic celebrity likenesses. They critique an AI-generated historical series and discuss legal and ethical controls for generated outputs.
Feb 12, 2026 • 36min
Google Genie, OpenClaw & Kling 3.0
Google's Genie world generation model is now public, OpenClaw AI agents are running wild across the internet, and Kling 3.0 just merged the best features from multiple video models. Addy and Joey take a closer look.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
Jan 23, 2026 • 39min
Reference Images vs LoRAs: Which Actually Works?
Addy and Joey put two AI workflows head-to-head: training a LoRA with Z-Image versus using reference images with Nano Banana Pro to replicate film cinematography. In this episode, we test whether LoRAs are still necessary for capturing specific cinematography styles, or if reference images alone can deliver the same results. Using the VistaVision look from the film One Battle After Another as our target, we explore practical workflows for pre-production and previsualization.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
Jan 18, 2026 • 33min
Claude Cowork, PixVerse Real-Time, Apple's Creator Bundle
Claude Cowork brings AI desktop control to non-coders, while real-time AI video generation advances toward potential gaming applications. This week on Denoised, Addy and Joey break down the latest AI creative tools reshaping media workflows — from Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.2 [klein] model and Qwen's camera-angle control tech, to Apple’s new Creator Studio subscription challenging Adobe, plus why ComfyUI’s node updates matter for VFX artists building sustainable pipelines.--The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of the hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their respective employers or organizations. This show is independently produced by VP Land without the use of any outside company resources, confidential information, or affiliations.
