[Author’s note: A reminder I am on vacation until the week of July 5th.

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“If you want your IP to have value, you better keep your users' thumbs busy.”

Last Thursday, I spoke with AiMation’s Tom Paton using Substack’s live video feature.

As you will see it was a fun conversation! I will do another one soon.

Available for iOS and Android

We first spoke last December after his studio released “Where The Robots Grow” on YouTube. It was the first feature-length fully animated movie made entirely with artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

We have spoken a few times since, comparing notes about how the generative marketplace is evolving. In this video, he walks me through his path from visual effects (VFX) into generative AI and how, within six months, he has pivoted away from his original ambitions for theatrical distribution of his AI-produced features.

He and his team are now focused on a Gamified Video on Demand (GVOD) app called AiMation, which is currently in Closed Beta. (NOTE: I recently wrote about the app as one example of Paid Engagement models in generative AI).

The app builds upon the micro transaction model found in services like ReelShort and Webtoon. In those models, TV series are divided into 50-100 tiny, two-minute long chapters. The viewing experience is gamified: Users may unlock new episodes by watching ads, paying per clip (“microtransactions”) or signing up for unlimited viewing.

Paton and his team at AiMation are reimagining both the supply chain and the business model for streaming content. All TV series in the app are produced using a mix of proprietary AI tools (Omnigen) and third-party platforms (including Unreal Engine, a3D computer graphics game engine).

Their business model bets that the business of culture is the business of gaming.

Recent Essays on Tom Paton & AiMation

📹 "You Pay for What Your Thumbs Touch": A…