CreateAI CEO Cheng Lu Says the AI Debate in Animation Is Over – Celebrity & Entertainment News

CreateAI CEO Cheng Lu is unequivocal about his company’s approach to AI.

“We will always respect IP, copyrights and the role of human artists,” he says. “At CreateAI, we’re not developing or training underlying models. We’re more of a user of tools and models.”

CreateAI, a digital interactive entertainment company with offices in China, U.S., and Japan, recently opened what it describes as Asia’s largest motion capture studio – a 2,000-square-meter facility within the China Film Group Digital Film Production Base in Beijing, equipped with 130 Vicon VK26 optical cameras capable of sub-millimeter accuracy. With 14-meter ceilings, the studio can accommodate large-scale action sequences involving 20 to 30 performers simultaneously, as well as scenes featuring large animals. Lu cites horse-riding sequences from the video game “Ghost of Yōtei” as an example of the kind of work the facility supports.

“Between the world-class motion capture technology and the size of our space, we’re able to put out a high-end, visually stunning product whether it’s for film, TV or video games,” Lu says.

While the hardware draws on Vicon technology already used by leading production studios and research labs globally, Lu says the more significant shift is happening in post-production data treatment. “Motion capture has many stages. One is capturing the actual data. That data isn’t useful as is. It requires post treatment that’s historically been done by hand. AI now speeds up that process.”

The Beijing studio’s location and local staffing allow it to offer that capability at a cost accessible to smaller studios, he adds. With production pipelines in some regions backlogged due to capacity constraints, AI automation tools are enabling faster asset and scene creation. “Content is not a zero sum game,” says Lu. “At the end of the day, it’s still about who can create the best content and storytelling.”

Among the next steps planned for the facility is testing of Vicon’s markerless motion capture system, which allows performers to move freely without suits and enables real-time motion visualization. “Markerless represents a major leap forward in facilitating creative freedom in mocap performance,” he says.

On Seedance 2.0 and its implications for AI-generated animation, Lu is straightforward. “We think Seedance took animation development up five notches,” he says. “The technical challenges that existed before like character consistency, quality and movement have improved.” On the broader debate, he adds: “Frankly, there’s no debate. AI-assisted production is just going to happen and is already how people think about animation workflows.”

The opening of the studio comes as China, according to Lu, surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest video game market in 2025, reaching around $50 billion in revenue – a figure consistent with industry data. Lu sees a growing cross-media trend, in which film IP becomes games and vice versa, creating both opportunity and bottlenecks, with the cost of producing high-detail digital characters remaining a significant barrier that AI will help address.

CreateAI’s two lead projects out of the Beijing studio reflect that cross-media focus. “Heroes of Jin Yong,” an AAA game built on the legendary IP of author Louis Cha, is in development alongside a production tied to “3 Body Problem,” which Netflix has adapted as a TV series.

“We want to leverage the most important Chinese IP to make digital entertainment experiences that serve a global audience,” says Lu. “From blockbuster films to immersive games, we believe the studio will redefine the future of performance capture.”