In the latest episode of Denoised, hosts Addy Ghani and Joey Daoud explore significant developments at Netflix, examine Runway's foray into stylized animation, and discuss a new way to control ComfyUI with a gamepad.

Netflix Expands Discovery Tools with AI Search and Vertical Feed

Netflix continues to refine how users discover content with two significant updates to their mobile app experience. The first is the official beta release of their AI-powered conversational search feature, which allows users to find content through natural language queries rather than specific titles or actors.

As Joey notes, "Netflix has been really good at associations with search in the past," with Addy adding that this aligns with Netflix's established machine learning capabilities. The new feature builds on Netflix's existing recommendation system, which already categorizes content into thousands of niche genres.

The more intriguing update is Netflix's move into vertical short-form content. The platform is testing a TikTok-style vertical feed featuring clips from their shows and movies. Unlike user-generated content platforms, these clips serve as a discovery mechanism for Netflix's own library.

This approach mirrors common user behavior seen across social platforms, where clips from shows and movies often circulate without proper attribution. As Joey points out, "There are a number of times that I've been on TikTok or wherever and I see a scene from a movie is playing... and you're like, oh, interesting."

Key takeaways about Netflix's updates:

• The AI search feature allows for conversational queries to help users find content that matches their mood

• The vertical feed implementation demonstrates Netflix's adaptation to modern content discovery behaviors

• These features address Netflix's ongoing challenge of surfacing relevant content from their massive library

• The updates position Netflix more competitively against YouTube in the battle for screen time

Runway Showcases Stylized Animation with 'Mars and Siv'

Runway, fresh off the success of their Gen-4 model release, has introduced a stylized animated short film called Mars and Siv through their studio arm. The noir-inspired animation demonstrates how AI tools can enhance traditional animation workflows rather than replace them.

The production process combined traditional animation techniques with AI assistance. As explained in Runway's blog post about the project, the team hand-drew storyboards, character designs, and key frames, then used Runway's tools for in-between animation—a process traditionally outsourced to animation studios.

"When I saw this, like other than a few technical things, I thought this was really effective and it really worked," notes Addy, an animation enthusiast. The aesthetic deliberately avoids the common 3D Pixar-style outputs typically associated with AI generation, instead embracing a distinctive 2D hand-drawn look.

This project demonstrates an important principle in AI-assisted creation: using the technology to enhance human creativity rather than replace it. As Addy emphasizes, "It still doesn't take away from the fact that you need a human storyteller with genuine creative ideas."

Key insights about Runway's animation:

• The project combines hand-drawn elements with AI-powered in-between frame generation

• It demonstrates a workflow that leverages AI for efficiency while maintaining creative control

• The style deliberately avoids common AI aesthetic tropes

• It suggests new possibilities for smaller animation teams to produce quality content

ComfyUI Gets Gamepad Controls for Enhanced Interaction

The final segment explores an interesting development for ComfyUI, the popular node-based AI interface that has become the standard tool for AI image generation among professionals. A developer has created a system allowing users to control character poses in ComfyUI using a standard gamepad controller.

Addy notes that ComfyUI "is this ever-pervasive tool" that's used even "within the walls of AI manufacturers... to prototype things and sometimes to deploy custom solutions." However, its interface has remained technical and not particularly user-friendly.

The gamepad integration demonstrates a more intuitive control method, allowing users to adjust character poses in real-time using familiar controls. This addresses a common criticism of AI tools—their reliance on text prompts rather than more traditional control methods familiar to creative professionals.

Joey reflects on the potential future applications: "I would love to see [this] with a camera in a 3D space... just a relatively real-time way to control an AI output with something that's more intuitive than a keyboard."

Key points about the ComfyUI controller integration:

• The implementation uses a standard gamepad to control character poses in generated images

• It represents a step toward more intuitive interfaces for AI tools

• The development comes from VRCH.ai

• It aligns with professional requests for more familiar control systems in AI tools

Conclusion

This episode of Denoised highlights how established platforms like Netflix are adapting to changing user behaviors while companies like Runway demonstrate practical applications of AI in professional creative workflows. The ComfyUI gamepad integration shows how the technical barriers to AI tools continue to lower through more intuitive interfaces.

These developments collectively underscore how the media and entertainment industry continues to evolve through thoughtful integration of new technologies rather than wholesale replacement of existing practices. As Addy notes regarding AI in animation, "It gives me a lot of courage that AI is not going to ruin everything."