Craft, Curiosity and Collaboration: Meet Claudia Lalau
She brings nearly two decades of experience in post-production across film, animation, and advertising to CALIBRATION. Throughout her career, she has been guided by one principle: craft matters.
COLLABORATORSAI
6/24/20263 min read
Rather than creating a fully AI-generated film, CALIBRATION embraces a hybrid approach, combining live-action cinematography with carefully integrated AI-enhanced environments and sequences. The opportunity to help shape that visual language from concept through finishing made the collaboration particularly exciting.
Serving as AI Director and advisor on the film, Lalau works closely with Serani on AI scenes, look development, and finishing workflows. Her post-production background allows her to bridge experimentation and cinematic consistency, ensuring that every frame remains in service of the story rather than the technology behind it.
Serani describes Lalau as someone with an extraordinary eye for detail and a dedication to craft that mirrors her own approach to filmmaking.
From Lalau's perspective, the feeling is mutual.
"She's honest and complementary. No ego. There's so much to learn from someone like Serani, and I'm honored to be working with her."
As part of an almost entirely female production, Lalau sees the growing number of women shaping ambitious cinematic projects as one of the most exciting developments in contemporary filmmaking.
People often imagine AI-assisted filmmaking as little more than pressing a button.
"Good AI work takes as much craft and judgment as a live-action shoot, just at a different point in the pipeline."
She believes cinema is entering a fascinating moment, where craft and access are finally beginning to meet. AI is lowering barriers and allowing storytellers who once lacked resources to bring their ideas to life.
Lalau also believes that telling stories that truly stand out has become more challenging than ever. With more voices now able to create, originality matters even more.
"The storytellers who once faced obstacles bringing their ideas to life don't have them anymore," she says.
What excites her most about the future of cinema is the convergence of quality and accessibility.
"The gatekeeping is falling."
One filmmaker she dreams of collaborating with is Tim Burton.
"For the imagination and the worlds and characters he builds. No one turns the strange and emotional into something so visually his own."
Her hope for audiences watching CALIBRATION is simple.
That they stop wondering how an image was created.
That they forget where live-action ends and technology begins.
And that they simply feel the story.
Because in the end, audiences remember stories.
Not tools.
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Born in Lebanon, Claudia Lalau studied multimedia and animation in Beirut before embarking on a career that would see her run post-production departments for television commercials, branded content and films, supervising editing, colour, VFX and sound from bidding through to final delivery.
Now based in France and running Bottomline AI, Lalau brings nearly two decades of experience in post-production across film, animation and advertising to CALIBRATION. Throughout her career, she has been guided by one principle: craft matters.
She first became interested in AI in 2024, when generative tools began reaching a level of sophistication that captured her attention. Recognising that the industry was changing, she wanted to be among the early adopters.
"The moment I could hold an AI frame to the same craft standard as a live-action one, I realised AI was here to stay and not just a passing trend," she says.
From there, Lalau immersed herself in learning, often spending nights experimenting while continuing her client work during the day. What started as curiosity quickly evolved into a new creative discipline.
Long before AI became part of her creative vocabulary, Lalau had spent years shaping stories frame by frame. For her, the magic of cinema has always been found in the moment when an image, a cut or a sound suddenly comes alive and begins to make audiences feel something.
Outside of filmmaking, she draws inspiration from travelling, discovering new cultures and, perhaps most of all, from her five-year-old twins. Motherhood, she says, has taught her patience, endurance and curiosity — qualities that continue to influence her work and creative life. Guided by a surprisingly simple philosophy, "Hakuna Matata", Lalau approaches both life and filmmaking with optimism and openness.
That same spirit eventually led her to CALIBRATION.
When Lalau connected with director Serani Hunyi, there was an immediate sense of familiarity. Both women came from traditional filmmaking backgrounds — Hunyi from production and directing, Lalau from post-production — and shared the belief that technology could help deepen emotional storytelling.
When she first picked up the CALIBRATION screenplay, she found herself unable to put it down. The story's exploration of trauma, identity and the price of emotional relief resonated deeply with her.
"On a production level, CALIBRATION treats AI as a creative language, not a shortcut. That's exactly the kind of film I want my name on," says Lalau.
What began as a conversation with Serani quickly evolved into a creative partnership built on trust, shared taste and a common cinematic language.
Claudia Lalau
Craft, Curiosity and Collaboration: Meet Claudia Lalau
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CALIBRATION is produced by Serani Studio (Prague), in association with Bottomline AI (France)
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