AI in production · Testing and R&D
We give the tool to somebody who hasn't learned to work around it.
Kit and tools go to working crew and new entrants on the same brief, on a unit, where a failure costs an hour of a shooting day.
Who does what
The R&D is MR Helix Ltd's: the engineering company that develops the Helix gimbal and exoskeleton-supported camera rigs and provides the space and technology at Pinewood. Futures in Film CIC runs the programmes, so learners and working crew are part of every test day.
MR Helix and Futures in Film share a director. Every report says so.
How a test runs
- Scope, in writing. What's tested, on what work, who owns the material, the success criteria, and whether the report is private, anonymised or named.
- Set the task. A real production task, defined before anyone touches the tool, with the manual baseline recorded.
- Run it on the day. Crew at the grade that would use it, and new entrants on the same brief, to a schedule. Every failure is logged, including ours.
- Write it up. What we asked, what happened, where it failed, what it changed. The client may correct facts before publication, not conclusions.
How findings are graded
Every finding carries a grade, so nobody mistakes an impression for a measurement.
| Grade | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| M · Measured | An instrument, a time or a count | Time to balance and tune for a new camera build |
| O · Observed | Logged by the test lead | A re-tune needed after a lens change |
| R · Reported | Said by the operator, in a survey or interview | Perceived effort at the end of a two-hour session |
Operator comfort and fatigue are recorded as the operator's own report on a simple scale. We make no medical or injury-prevention claims, and we don't certify or endorse anything.
What gets tested
Camera support first; the same method for production tools.
- Camera support. Gimbals and exoskeleton-supported rigs carrying ALEXA-class digital bodies and 35mm cameras: balance, tuning, handover between operators, stairs, doorways and vehicle work.
- Pre-launch kit. Manufacturers bring products before release, under agreed confidentiality, to test with crews they haven't trained.
- Production tools, including AI. Script to schedule, rushes to searchable bins, dialogue repair: measured against the conventional way, with misses counted.
First reports Planned
Testing has run for years; publishing is new. The first reports, in the format above:
- Balancing a top-heavy 35mm magazine on a gimbal. An engineering note on how the centre of gravity shifts as film runs through the camera, and how the rig was set up to cope.
- Gimbal and exoskeleton: a working-day protocol. The standard session (set moves, operator handover, re-tune log, perceived effort at intervals), run on MR Helix kit with Futures in Film learners and a working operator.
- A pre-launch body-support session: what new entrants found. Published with the product anonymised, and only with the manufacturer's agreement.
Each will be dated, graded and signed off before it appears here.
Our standards
We never:
- Take a fee, an affiliate arrangement or free kit in exchange for a favourable finding.
- Publish a rating from a launch video or a spec sheet.
- Call a finding "certified", "approved" or "industry standard".
- Use anybody's face, voice or performance in a test without their written consent.
To put kit or a tool in front of a crew, see the test room.
Who owns the lab's research
The AI R&D Lab is run by MR Helix Ltd, a separate company. Its research and test results belong to MR Helix Ltd, and Futures in Film CIC uses them under licence for free education on this website. Videos in the AI channel belong to their makers and are shown from their official uploads, with credit and a link to the original. Prompts are shown only as published by their creators, marked unverified until we reproduce them.
Last reviewed 9 November 2026