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April 28, 2025
Munich-based Leonine Studios, known for productions like "The Lives of Others," "The School of Magical Animals," and the Netflix series "Dark," uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various areas, from script development to administrative tasks. The company has developed its own AI platform called "LeoChat," based on a combination of different large language models and available to employees in all departments.
LeoChat offers employees a wide range of applications. Using pre-defined prompts or in free dialogue, they can utilize the AI for various tasks. "LeoChat is our 'Swiss Army Knife' because it's very powerful," explains Danilo Pejaković, who leads the AI strategy at Leonine. He emphasizes the importance of openness and a willingness to experiment when working with the models, as solutions often only emerge through trial and error.
The platform offers, among other things, a general chatbot for various inquiries, an internal FAQ assistant for questions like "Can I bring my dog to work?", and a "Personal Trainer" for individual AI training. A new booking agent simplifies the reservation of tickets for the company's film screenings.
In everyday office life, LeoChat assists with tasks such as writing and summarizing emails. In the creative departments, AI serves as a collaborative tool for script development. "This back and forth makes you faster and you really get to the core of the dramaturgy," explains Pejaković. He emphasizes that the system supports the writers but does not replace them.
LeoChat is available to employees both professionally and privately. To ensure data security, all data remains on the company's servers. Each department has its own AI contact person who provides support for questions and problems. Employees also receive practical training on the responsible use of AI tools to ensure that the technology is used effectively and ethically.
Leonine Studios does not measure the success of its AI tools by major breakthroughs, but by incremental improvements. "It's not so much the big, always the same use cases, but rather many small improvements that we have in mind," says Pejaković. To promote exchange and learning, the company organizes the "Prompt of the Week" series. In these informal meetings, employees present their most effective examples of using the AI tools. Regular surveys record productivity gains and time savings in the various departments.
Employee engagement plays a crucial role in the program's success. "We awaken the curiosity of our employees to build intrinsic motivation," explains Pejaković. "Creative ideas and openness to implementation are the key to success."
Although Leonine is closely following new technologies such as AI video and image generation, human creativity remains at the center. "We are convinced that the best combination is and will remain human plus technology, also because we want to create and tell stories," emphasizes Pejaković.
