Editor's note: Lightyear Fantasy is a descriptive English rendering of Guangnian Huanjing, and The Harvest renders the source's film title Maishou; these are not independently confirmed official English names. JadeWu's film credit, professional affiliation, client relationships and business results are retained as presented in the source interview.
Original · Unique Research · 2026-02-28
COVER STORY
The First Executive Director of The Harvest Is Using AI to Rewrite the Film and Television Industry
JadeWu, Founder of Lightyear Fantasy: In This Era, Technology Is the Least Valuable Thing
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"In this era, technology is the least valuable thing."
The person who said this is JadeWu—the first executive director of Jia Zhangke's The Harvest, deputy director of the Digital Arts Committee of the China Film Art Direction Academy, a super creator across multiple platforms, and founder of Lightyear Fantasy.
In the crowded field of AI film and television, he is carving out a place with an exceptionally lean approach.
From 3D to AI: A Trained Veteran's Pivot
JadeWu has a solid résumé: formally trained in film and animation, familiar with the entire traditional 3D-production process, deeply experienced in the gaming industry, and a former provider of vocational education in film and gaming who used Unreal Engine to develop industry talent.
But when AI arrived, he chose to pivot.
"Technology iterates too quickly; previous models and processes are no longer competitive," he said frankly in the interview. "In this era, technology is the least valuable thing."
This sounds harsh, but becomes true on reflection. When Midjourney can produce an image in 10 seconds and Sora turns video generation into typing, modeling, rendering, and compositing skills that once took three years to master are rapidly depreciating.
JadeWu's judgment was to return to the creative frontline. "Good ideas and creative content will become even scarcer."
He therefore founded Lightyear Fantasy, a personal studio dedicated to AIGC digital creative content. The name is poetic: using AI technology to build light-and-shadow narratives and virtual worlds, "a very cool feeling."
1-2 People Can Replace a Traditional Team
Lightyear Fantasy's business scope is broad: TVC, film shorts, overseas short dramas, collaboration with central state media including CCTV and People's Daily, and incubation of long-term game R&D.
But how many people do you think are on the team?
"One case is handled by one or two people, and we can run up to a dozen-plus projects simultaneously."
This is no exaggeration. JadeWu explained that team members have highly comprehensive skills and backgrounds, and "we do not expand headcount unnecessarily." Empowered by AI tools, the small team completes a volume of work that would require more than a dozen people at a traditional film and television company.
Behind this is AI's reconstruction of the content-production chain. To what extent?
"Other than business communication, which cannot yet be replaced, AI either replaces or participates in every process," he said. "Within all our own workflows, only customer communication still follows traditional methods; everything else is now covered entirely by AI."
From storyboard generation and concept design through asset production and the final film, AI acts like a thread joining a production line that once required dozens of roles.
What Is the Moat? Not Technology, but "Aesthetics" and "Connections"
When asked, "Which capability is most difficult to replicate?" JadeWu gave two answers:
Creative aesthetics and commercial resources.
"One is innate and develops slowly later; the other also requires long-term accumulation."
This reveals the truth of the AI-content-creation field: technical barriers are disappearing, but the aesthetic barrier has never fallen.
Anyone can use AI to generate an image that "looks good," but what is "truly good"? Color, composition, emotion, and narrative rhythm—these soft capabilities require years of formal training and practical refinement and are precisely what AI cannot replicate at scale.
Another moat is commercial resources. Lightyear Fantasy's client list is impressive: 4A advertising agencies, CCTV, People's Daily, and overseas social platforms. These cannot be obtained through cold email; they result from years of industry accumulation.
"We rapidly built some recognition early on, and clients also recommended us by word of mouth," JadeWu said. "Another point may be that they consider our pricing reasonable."
Behind the phrase "reasonable pricing" lies the cost advantage of lightweight operation by a small team.
A New Direction in 2026: Betting Incremental Growth on Games
Regarding commercialization, Lightyear Fantasy currently has three revenue streams: platform revenue sharing, technical services, and copyright licensing. According to JadeWu, "as long as we take it on, every project earns a healthy profit."
But that is not enough.
"Although outsourcing demand is stable, the work is exhausting and does not build our own IP assets."
In 2026, JadeWu turned his attention to games.
"We understand the game market better, and games make it easier for small and midsize teams to use content to pursue greater opportunities directly through ToC."
This is a rational choice: film and television content has short production cycles and ends upon delivery, while a game is a long-term product. Once it becomes a hit, it creates continuing cash flow and brand assets.
Of course, he also acknowledged that he is still "waiting for more complete AI automated-generation tools." This was not politeness: game development is far more complex than short video. AI can currently cover art-asset generation, but gameplay design, numerical balance, and long-term operation still require deep human involvement.
On OpenClaw: In Creative Work, "People" Remain Central
In the second half of the interview, we discussed the impact of Agent systems such as OpenClaw on content creation.
JadeWu's attitude was candid: he was watching and had not yet tried it.
But he had a clear judgment about "automated creation":
"People using automated workflows may currently be working in self-media or handling general work requiring large amounts of information search and processing—highly logical chains of work. But good artistic creation is not highly logical."
He offered an example: basic asset generation, distribution operations, and commercial settlement are suitable for Agent automation, but creative aesthetics may still need to be human-led.
This may sound conservative, but is actually clear-eyed. AI can help us produce content faster and more cheaply, but the decision about which content is worth producing remains firmly in human hands.
If You Start, You Will Have an Opportunity
JadeWu is betting that AI will not eliminate creators, but will eliminate "technical workers without creativity."
The film and television industry is undergoing a process of selection. People who merely execute processes without aesthetic judgment or commercial instinct will be replaced by AI, while "super individuals" who use technology as a tool, creativity as the core, and connections as a barrier will live better.
JadeWu is clearly among the latter. Moving from the 3D era into the AI era, he did not cling to past glory, but chose to return to the frontline.
"If you start, you will have an opportunity." This is his central judgment in choosing the AI-content field.
In this era of daily technological advances, this may be the one sentence every creator should remember most.
JadeWu, founder of Lightyear Fantasy, will attend the 2026 Unique Awards · Hangzhou AI Week to discuss the future landscape of AI content creation with more hands-on entrepreneurs.
Selected Interview Q&A
Q1: Introduce yourself and Lightyear Fantasy in one sentence. What is the name "Lightyear Fantasy" intended to convey?
A: I am JadeWu, first executive director of Jia Zhangke's The Harvest. Lightyear Fantasy is a personal studio specializing in AIGC digital creative content. The name principally expresses our use of AI technology to construct light-and-shadow narratives and virtual worlds, creating a very cool feeling. I chose the content-creation field mainly because, in an era of new technological change, only by charging to the frontline, first immersing oneself deeply, and striving to reach the top can one earn the right to consider more possibilities later.
Q2: What is your background, and what prompted you to establish Lightyear Fantasy?
A: I was formally trained in film and animation, am familiar with traditional 3D-production processes, worked in gaming for many years, and provided vocational education in film and games. Technology is iterating too quickly in the AI era. I believe previous models and processes are no longer competitive, and technology is the least valuable thing in this era. It is therefore appropriate to use AI's ability to reduce costs and improve efficiency to return to the original frontline of creative production and generation.
Q3: Compared with other AI-content teams in the market, what differentiates you?
A: As founder and core creative lead, I have formal training, have experienced traditional film and television processes, and also have a gaming background, making my experience relatively comprehensive and giving me several complementary advantages. We do not expand headcount unnecessarily. Team members have comprehensive skills and backgrounds; one case is generally handled by one or two people, and we can run up to a dozen-plus projects simultaneously, achieving a strong balance among efficiency, results, and costs.
Q4: What is your current customer profile, and why do customers choose you?
A: Current clients are principally advertisers, 4A agencies, central state media including CCTV and People's Daily, and overseas social platforms. They choose us partly because we rapidly built recognition early and gained word-of-mouth recommendations among clients. Our delivery quality and production speed have won broad recognition. Another reason may be that they consider our pricing reasonable.
Q5: What capability is most difficult to replicate in AI content creation?
A: The hardest capabilities to replicate are creative aesthetics and commercial resources. One is innate and develops slowly later; the other also requires long-term accumulation. In the AI era, technology and production are both easy to solve. The most central parts remain the core idea and dealing with people.
Q6: How does Lightyear Fantasy currently monetize, and how do you judge whether "this monetization path is healthy"?
A: The principal methods are platform revenue sharing, technical services, and copyright licensing. Our team is not large; essentially, as long as we accept the work and the price meets our quotation, every project earns a healthy profit.
Q7: Which stages has AI replaced across the entire chain from content creation to monetization?
A: Other than business communication, which cannot yet be replaced, AI either replaces or participates in every process. In all our own workflows, only communication with clients still follows traditional methods; everything else is now covered entirely by AI.
Q8: Which commercialization breakthrough matters most in 2026?
A: We place more emphasis on gaming. Today's small and midsize production teams principally undertake ToB production. Although demand is relatively stable, the work is tiring and does not build their own IP assets. Games make it easier for small and midsize teams to use content to pursue greater opportunities directly through ToC, and we will focus on this direction. Gaming still needs to wait for more complete AI automated-generation tools.
Q9: AI sharply lowers creative barriers, but monetization pressure rises with it. How should creators balance "what they want to make" with "what they can sell"?
A: At present, they are probably all making what can be sold because AI film and television remains principally ToB. Aside from participating in film festivals and competitions, individual creators find it difficult to monetize works based on personal preferences directly.
Q10: AI can generate content without limit, but the market is becoming more sensitive to "differentiation." How can this contradiction be resolved?
A: Mass production and quality currently address two ends of the market. What the market currently needs more is abundant disposable digital entertainment. Demand for high-quality content exists, but from capital's perspective, abundant disposable digital entertainment is easier to replicate and quantify. Good creators can only make the texture and quality as strong as possible within commercial requirements, without violating cost and production-cycle constraints.
Q11: Many AI creators depend on platform traffic to monetize, but changes in platform policy create major risk. How do you see this?
A: We never chase viral hits and essentially never touch derivative works based on IP traffic. We focus entirely on original commercial production, so this problem does not currently exist for us.
Q12: If creators use OpenClaw to build their own content-creation workflows, how much impact would that have on Lightyear Fantasy's commercialization?
A: Even before now, many teams built automated workflows to mass-produce comedic comics and motion comics, but fully automated, mass-produced content currently remains relatively low quality. Creative-content work, especially with long temporal sequences, still requires human selection and oversight. Automated workflows may currently be more suitable for self-media or highly logical work chains, but good artistic creation is not highly logical.
Q13: As Agent systems explode, will Lightyear Fantasy embrace an open ecosystem or build a closed moat?
A: We have always taken an open attitude toward agents. We are already using agents to assist creation through today's mainstream platforms such as the Lovart platform. As the technical environment gradually matures, we will certainly adopt them immediately.
Q14: Where do you see the best incremental opportunity over the next 12 months?
A: I personally favor AI game generation. World models will gradually mature, making game worlds and gameplay easier and simpler to implement. For the heavy-industrial gaming sector, this will be a strong window of opportunity.
Q15: If your forecast proves wrong by the end of 2026, which assumption is most likely to have been incorrect?
A: We will probably continue concentrating our efforts on a creative-content-production team based on AIGC technology, while hoping to produce an AI-gaming product this year.