The Script Race: Testing Multiple Creative Concepts with AI Animatics

AI animatic script testing lets brands compare 3–4 creative concepts side by side before committing to production. In a typical script race, a single creative agency develops several routes for a campaign, and the brand needs to know which one will land with consumers. Rather than relying on internal opinions or gut instinct, each concept is turned into a high-fidelity AI animatic and put through structured testing, both internally and with the target audience.

Each concept may also have multiple variations. These might explore differences in tone, colour grade, casting or environment, meaning a single script race can generate 8–12 distinct animatics across 3–4 base routes. The result is a dataset, not a debate.

How It Works

We begin with a broad project meeting to align on the overall concepts, timelines and deliverables. From there, we build a production schedule that maps to each stakeholder feedback round.

Pre-production typically starts with storyboards, either rough sketch or photorealistic, depending on the brief. We also produce keyframes: still images from the animatic showing important elements such as talent options, colour direction and environment. Where casting is central to the concept, we provide an AI Casting Sheet, a selection tool that allows fine-tuning of on-screen talent before production begins.

Once pre-production is signed off for each script, we move into AI animatic production. This stage takes 1–3 days per film depending on complexity. After V1 delivery, we include 2 rounds of revisions as standard.

For high-speed turnarounds, we may skip the storyboard stage entirely, producing one or two keyframes before going straight into video production. In these cases, turnaround can be as short as 2 days. Because Myth Labs operates as a creative AI production agency as well as a testing service, our partners trust us with the bulk of the creative direction in these scenarios. This is particularly useful when a testing deadline is 48 hours away and broadcast-quality animatics are still required.

What Brands Get

Testing multiple routes means decisions are based on consumer response, not personal taste. On past projects, we have seen brands enter a script race confident in one concept, only for the data to point clearly in a different direction. By testing with high-fidelity AI animatics that closely approximate the finished film, brands can narrow a broad idea into a tightly optimised execution before a single frame is shot.