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Unreal Fest & Luma AI's Video to Video

Unreal Fest & Luma AI's Video to Video

Sony FX2, CineGear LA

June 04, 2025

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CineGear LA is this week. We’ve got a couple of side events we’ve been sourcing down in the events, including a demo of Magicbox’s mobile virtual production truck.

Our AI on the Lot interviews are hitting the channel - including an early chat with Luma AI’s CEO Amit Jain on their just announced video-to-video AI tool, Modify Video.

We also break down Unreal Fest and Sony’s new FX2. Let’s get into it!

Joey

What’s New With Unreal

Unreal Engine 5.6 is out, MetaHuman is fully live, and virtual production just got a major toolkit refresh. If you missed the Unreal Fest keynote, here’s the short version: Epic’s latest drop is all about speed, flexibility, and making high-end virtual filmmaking more accessible, whether you’re on a stage or in a small studio.

Unreal Engine 5.6: New virtual camera features, improved Cine Cam controls, and expanded support for in-camera VFX (ICVFX). You can now run more complex nDisplay setups with less fuss and get better color pipeline integration.
MetaHuman: No longer in Early Access. The new MetaHuman Animator lets you capture facial performance with just an iPhone or webcam, no extra hardware required. Blendshapes and mesh-to-meta workflows are now supported.
Cine Cam: Updated UI, real-time lens emulation, and easier camera rigging. You can now swap lenses and sensor formats on the fly, with accurate depth-of-field previews.
Unreal Editor for XR (beta): Build and edit scenes directly in VR, with multi-user support. Great for previs or quick layout tweaks on the stage.

Epic showcased these upgrades with a Witcher 4 tech demo running at 60 FPS on a base PS5, and a live MetaHuman performance driven by an actor backstage using just a webcam.

For a deeper dive, check out the full keynote here:

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LucidLink: More Ways to Work From Anywhere

LucidLink's latest updates bring powerful new mobile capabilities that free creative teams from desktop constraints, enabling true work-from-anywhere collaboration with browser-based access, iOS support, and enhanced Android functionality.

Browser-based access: Access and download files directly from any web browser without installing software—perfect for quick approvals or external collaboration
New iOS app: Carry your files in your pocket with secure, real-time access on iOS devices.
Enhanced Android experience: Generate and open direct links between desktop and Android seamlessly, eliminating clunky file transfers. Android now fully supports Single Sign-On (SSO) for secure, streamlined login
Coming Soon: External link sharing, web/iOS uploads, full read/write mobile access, enhanced security tools, public SDK/API, and seamless migration tools

Don't let location limit your creativity. LucidLink helps teams cut through workflow bottlenecks, simplify collaboration, and access files instantly from anywhere.

Try LucidLink free for 30 days and discover how your team can spend less time managing files and more time creating magic.

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New FX2 Adds EVF and AI Autofocus

Sony has launched the FX2, a brand-new full-frame cinema camera featuring a 33MP Exmor R sensor, AI-powered autofocus, and a tilt EVF. This isn’t a replacement for the FX3, but a new mid-tier option in Sony’s Cinema Line, positioned between the FX30 and FX3. The FX2 focuses on solo creators and small crews who want high-end imaging in a compact, modular body.

The 33MP sensor enables 7K oversampling for full-frame 4K and offers a Super 35 crop mode for 4K up to 60p—useful if you need extra reach or want to match APS-C glass without losing resolution1.
AI-driven autofocus and auto-framing track subjects (people, animals, vehicles) and keep them centered, reducing the need for a dedicated operator on gimbal or tripod setups1.
The new Dynamic Active stabilization mode, plus standard IBIS, means you can shoot handheld with more confidence, especially for run-and-gun or documentary work1.
The FX2 finally brings a 3.68m-dot OLED EVF to the compact Cinema Line, addressing a major request from FX3 users who needed an external monitor for critical focus or bright conditions1.
Dual card slots (SD and CFexpress Type A), up to 16 user LUTs, four-channel audio via XLR handle, and 4K live streaming round out a feature set aimed at flexible, fast-paced workflows1.

At $2,699 body-only, the FX2 is a direct play for creators who want more megapixels and AI features without moving up to the FX6 or Venice lines.

Luma AI just announced Modify Video, their own take on video-to-video. Last week at AI on the Lot, we spoke with CEO Amit Jain about this new feature (they were still calling it Video Performances), how his team is developing AI models that perceive and operate in the physical world, and the major partnership with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN initiative to scale generative video production.

Stories, projects, and links that caught our attention from around the web:

🧠 Writers using AI tools like ChatGPT are forgetting to delete their prompts, and those prompts are ending up in the final book.

🆕 DaVinci Resolve 20 is officially out of beta—over 100 new features, including AI tools like IntelliScript and Multicam SmartSwitch, are now in the stable release.

📉 Disney is cutting several hundred roles across film and TV marketing, publicity, casting, development, and finance, mostly in LA.

🧠 Lyonne says the AI backlash to Uncanny Valley came from people not reading the details—her studio’s model uses only licensed data and is mostly being used for background details. "That's crazy talk, but God bless!"

Let's break down AI on the Lot—spotlighting the industry's split between workflow-enhancing tools and fully synthetic generation, the rise of SAG-approved AI films, the blurring line between real and AI-made content, and what it all means for the future of creative work.

Read the show notes or watch the full episode.

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