Native Foreign Launches AI-Assisted Sci-Fi Comedy Beta Earth

Los Angeles-based studio Native Foreign is bringing its first original series, Beta Earth, to market. This science fiction comedy was created by writer producer Ryan Walls, with director Nik Kleverov's studio, Native Foreign, bringing it to market.

Credit: Native Foreign

A team of 20 people built the Beta Earth trailer. They used a hybrid workflow of traditional story craft and AI-generated animation.

The piece premiered at a recent Adobe Max event.

Kleverov has spent the past decade working in title design, advertising, and original content. His main title sequence for Narcos became a recognisable opening in the streaming era.

Kleverov later directed a Toys R Us brand film. This film used generative tools and became a discussed example of AI supporting commercial work.

Walls brings network experience from years of writing and producing on Modern Family. He also worked on other live action comedies.

Beta Earth builds on the momentum from Critterz, an animated short Kleverov made with DALL E. Critterz helped establish Native Foreign in the early wave of AI filmmaking.

Native Foreign is now producing Critterz as a feature film in London with Vertigo Films. This production operates under a dedicated entity supported by multiple partners.

Kleverov stated the schedule runs through the summer with a fluctuating crew of 20 to 30 people. He described the work as primarily AI, with non-AI elements focused on corrective work, fixing, and finishing.

AI-generated trailers are becoming common in the industry. Since OpenAI released Critterz, creatives have used cinematic AI to bypass the traditional pitch process.

Directors and writers now create 30 and 60-second trailers. Buyers often watch clips before reading scripts or listening to pitches.

Writer-director Dave Clark, now chief creative officer of Promise Studios, created entire scenes from screenplays into short sequences for pitch meetings. Many such clips are standalone experiments.

Native Foreign is utilising this method for sustained production. The company has defined schedules, a staffed pipeline, and an end goal of long-form storytelling.

The team uses AI for layout, design, and intermediate shots. Human artists complete the remaining work.

Voice actors record after animation, which is a departure from the traditional process of recording before animation. Kleverov stated, "We are using actors. We are not going to be doing AI actors."

Temporary dialogue maintains scenes until the cast is locked. The goal is to generate minutes per week, which a small studio could not typically achieve with traditional animation workflows.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Disney honcho and co-founder of Dreamworks Animation, predicted at the Bloomberg conference two years ago that animation costs would decrease significantly within five years. He estimated the cost could be 10% of the original.

The original cost was then over USD 100 million for a AAA animation production such as Illumination's Despicable Me. He added that a boutique company capable of this would be a machine for original intellectual property.

Kleverov stated, "Neither of these projects would have happened without the new tools." He added it would have been impossible for a boutique company like Native Foreign to assemble such a project previously.

Walls developed the premise and scripts for Beta Earth. Native Foreign built the trailer using storyboards, improvisational voice sessions, and AI-generated environments.

Kleverov stated approximately 20 people contributed to building the trailer. Work that previously took months was completed in weeks.

Walls commented, "The studios have embraced this technology, but a five-hundred-dollar bat can’t fix a one-dollar swing." Walls also stated that without human creativity, connection with an audience is not possible.

He expressed belief that their creative-led hybrid framework for Beta Earth, which is written, directed, voiced, and drawn by people, is essential for resonance. He added it may help prevent industry contraction.

The Beta Earth trailer premiered at Adobe Max, where 10,000 artists gave it a standing ovation. Interest from networks and producers quickly followed.

UTA represents both Kleverov and Walls. Kleverov expressed a desire to find a "really great partner."

He added that while Native Foreign could produce the entire series, he would prefer to see it on a streamer with proper support.

Kleverov continues to hire editors, animators, and performers. He emphasised that "humans are in the loop in every stage" and that "you still need really talented people."

Many contributors are based in Los Angeles. AI reduces project scale but does not diminish the need for skill.

It provides independent creators capacity to launch new worlds without traditional pipeline constraints.

Kleverov concluded by stating, "We are entering an absolute renaissance of independent storytellers. It is amazing." He highlighted that simultaneously making a movie and a series was not previously possible for Native Foreign, but now it is.

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• Native Foreign, a Los Angeles studio, launched Beta Earth, its first AI-assisted science fiction comedy series.

• The Beta Earth trailer, built by director Nik Kleverov's studio Native Foreign based on the series created by writer producer Ryan Walls, premiered at a recent Adobe Max event.

• The production uses a hybrid workflow, combining traditional storytelling with AI-generated animation for layouts, designs, and intermediate shots, with human artists completing the work.

Source: FORBES