On November 2nd 2026, VIA University College, together with Aarhus Series & Film Festival, hosted ’The Opening of the AI Frontier Lab’ at VIA Multiplatform Storytelling and Production at Filmbyen 25, 6th Floor, Aarhus, Denmark, to officially launch AI Frontier Lab as part of the FilmEU joint resources. The event brought together over 100 representatives from the film sector, as well as students and teachers from the relevant educational fields who took part in the official launch of the AI Frontier Lab.
The Lab and its Purpose
The AI Frontier Lab – Craft & Curation is VIA University College’s new initiative focusing on the use of AI in creative content production. The lab has newly established facilities at the film programme Multiplatform Storytelling and Production. It is designed as a state-of-the-art space where creative professionals, students, educators and researchers can explore what AI makes possible in film, advertising and other forms of storytelling. The subheading of the lab is “Craft & Curation”, and it has been given that title because knowing how to use AI tools meaningfully in creative processes demands that creators have a solid foundation as filmmakers and storytellers.
“The purpose of the lab is to create the framework for staff, students and industry professionals to experiment with AI, both individually and together, in order to strengthen their skills and thereby the competitiveness of the industry.”- Gitte Nørgaard, Dean of Storytelling, Design & Business at VIA University College.
The lab contributes to the WIRE HUB / Artistic Research Labs by creating a space where AI in audiovisual media can be examined and experimented with. It is crucial that WIRE has a designated lab that focuses on the ways AI are changing film practices and thus the future for the creative visual industry.
The Opening
The event opened with welcome and opening speeches by Gitte Nørgaard, Dean of Education at VIA University College, and Kristian Mott, AI Media Specialist. Two of Denmark’s leading practitioners in the use of AI in the production of advertising and film then presented their work.
Sally Trier, art director and AI artist, gave a talk on how AI has become part of her Creative Direction practice. She focused on creative process, structure and worldbuilding, using examples from her own work to show how she builds an idea from scratch and where AI makes a real difference.
After a short socialising break, film producer Mads Damsbo, Head of Bacon Lab, presented the hybrid AI production of the music video ‘A Perfect Storm’ for José González. The video was created with synthetic performers, virtual production and generative models. Mads shared the creative choices, the craft that remained essential, and how Bacon’s own AI Code of Conduct was tested by deadlines, model changes and real dilemmas around consent, credit and data.
The afternoon closed with networking and a presentation of the AI Frontier Lab. The event was presented by AI Frontier Lab under VIA University College - Multiplatform Storytelling and Production, and was created in collaboration with FilmEU associate member Filmby Aarhus (City of Aarhus).
The day after the opening, on the 3rd of November, Mads Damsbo, Head of Bacon Lab, held a masterclass in the AI Frontier Lab where 13 industry professionals dove into Claude Code and tried to build their own AI tools that could help solve problems in relation to film production.
On the 4th of November, the AI Frontier Lab hosted a follow-up session at the same venue for 38 festival attendees, “AI in Professional Creative Practice”, which combined creative craft with the legal reality of AI. Nikolaj Sloth Kramer of VIA University College presented AI as part of the strategic design process, and IP lawyer Nikolaj Bondo Strunk of Bech-Bruun covered copyright, liability and the EU’s rules for using AI.
Next Steps
Now that the lab is open, it will be further integrated into the VIA students’ curricula.
VIA has already established multiple activities involving external partners in the AI Frontier Lab. One of them being RE:Frame, a national upskilling initiative together with Producentforeningen and associated FilmEU member Filmby Aarhus. It will consist of various courses for professionals at the AI Frontier Lab.
This initiative will also help bridge the connection to the industry even further.
Further information
Event page: https://filmbyaarhus.dk/aarhus-series-film-festival/program/branche/aabning-af-ai-frontier-lab
Lab webpage: AI FRONTIER LAB | LinkedIn
Public contact for enquiries: jeppe.olesen@filmeu.eu
