“Con l’IA non vogliamo risparmiare, ma superare i limiti che, prima del suo arrivo, erano imposti dai budget di produzione troppo alti”. Queste le parole di Andrea De Micheli, amministrare delegato Casta Diva Group, nell’annunciare la nascita di RebelOtt che si occuperà di portare IA dentro le produzioni video, qui a Milano e nel mondo. Produttore di lungo corso la cui sua società, quotata su Euronext Growth Milan, genera un valore di produzione audiovisiva pari a 138,2 milioni di euro e impiega 300 persone dislocate in varie sedi del mondo.

“Lavoriamo spesso con gli Emirati che stanno investendo miliardi di dollari nello sviluppo del’IA”. Le skill del gruppo finora si sono espresse su produzioni di fiction, come il Biopic su Franco Battiato, organizzazione di grandi eventi sportivi, aziendali e spot pubblicitari.

Dai cheeseburger volanti alla regia generativa: l’esperienza di Greg Ferro

Per dare il via a questo progetto IA Casta Diva ha cercato una figura come Greg Ferro, executive creative producer, che ha trascorso decenni nel sud este asiatico con ufficio a Bangkok, dove si è specializzato in regie che comprendono uso di prompt IA. “Prima di questo lavoro sono stato regista table-top per la pubblicità: come spiego a mio figlio, sono quello che faceva volare i cheeseburger nei video tradizionali. I limiti produttivi che affrontavamo erano tanti, oggi con IA possiamo fare partire una bibita da Marte e farla atterrare a tavola”.

Sicurezza e AI Act europeo: la tutela dei brand tra avatar e diritto d’immagine

“I miei collaboratori sono entusiasti di questa nuova avventura ma tutte le sere intorno alle ore 18.00 mi odiano”. Prego? “Si perché devono compilare dei moduli severissimi su tutto quello che hanno generato durante il giorno, soprattutto personaggi IA e avatar, per evitare che per l’AI Act europeo qualcuno non rivendichi la propria fisionomia creando problemi legali per il committente”. E visto che i committenti hanno nomi come Gruppo Eni, Ing Banca, Esselunga, il livello di sicurezza deve essere un vero must. “In Usa e in Cina non si fanno nessun problema rispetto all’impiego di modelli visivi IA”.

Digitalizzare le star sul set: come i modelli IA trasformano la produzione

In che modo aiutano le produzioni i modelli di IA? “Faccio l’esempio di famosi sportivi, calciatori, piloti, tennisti. Quando devono recitare in un video è difficilissimo averli sul set per ore ed ore e provare le scene. Così noi digitalizziamo la loro figura e li liberiamo per poi lavorare con IA sul prodotto finito” spiega Ferro. I modelli che impiegate da Sora a Muse a Gemini cancellano posti di lavoro in un settore come quello della produzione? Tutti ricordano lo sciopero di Hollywood.

L’impatto sull’occupazione: nuove professioni e la rinascita dei film nel cassetto

“Ogni innovazione all’inizio viene vissuta come nemica. Ricordo il lancio delle videocamere portatili da parte dei giapponesi che fece correre un brivido in tutto il settore: fine del cinema, si disse, e invece il cinema non è mai stato così ricco di capolavori come nel 2025” ricorda De Micheli. Gli attori stanno cercando di usare l’IA a loro favore. Ben Affleck nel suo ultimo film Animals ha usato IA per la postproduzione che gli ha permesso di velocizzare l’editing e comprimere i costi”.

“Oggi una produzione di fiction ha dei titoli di coda dieci volte più lunghi di quelli di venti anni fa, significa che su un set si muovono nuove figure professionali che si sono formate con la diffusione del digitale prima, e dell’IA oggi”. Ci sono, secondo De Micheli, migliaia di sceneggiature valide rimaste nei cassetti dei produttori perché troppo costosa la loro realizzazione, con IA questi possono rinascere e portare nel mondo dell’audioviso una nuova primavera.

L’articolo Casta Diva lancia RebelOtt: l’IA entra nella produzione video è tratto da Forbes Italia.

Dwarkesh Patel on what the public doesn’t know about A.I.

© The New York Times

On Sept. 30, 1946, five National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics (NACA) engineers arrived at Muroc Army Airfield in California’s high desert to achieve supersonic flight for the first time. In less than two years, NACA flew the X-1 aircraft faster than the speed of sound, marking an important milestone in aviation history.

Fast forward 80 years, and that former NACA outpost is now NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flying the X-59 supersonic X-plane in the same skies to demonstrate that supersonic flight doesn’t have to come with a boom.

Over Armstrong’s 80-year history, the center has supported milestone missions ranging from space shuttle landings to SR-71 flights, shaping the evolution of science, aeronautics, and space research.

This Southern California NASA center is poised to lead the next era of aeronautics and human spaceflight, advancing technologies that will define the future of flight.

Fast facts

• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently named Armstrong as the agency’s Center of Excellence for Flight Test and Aircraft Operations, recognizing the center’s unmatched rigor in executing unique missions only NASA can fly.
• To support NASA’s Artemis missions and return to the Moon, Armstrong uses research aircraft such as a 737 for astronaut suit testing, the G-III for Artemis II heat-shield data collection, and an F/A-18 aircraft that tested the autopilot for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.
• NASA’s aeronautics centerpiece, the X-59, is undergoing rigorous testing and a series of flights at Armstrong to prepare for upcoming quiet supersonic demonstrations over U.S. communities.
• NASA Armstrong has transformed commercial and military aviation — from early supersonic flight research to digital fly-by-wire — and continues working with other government agencies, industry, and academia to make flying safer, more autonomous, and more efficient.
• The center plays a vital role in global science by flying aircraft like the ER-2, C-20A, and Gulfstream G-III/IV/V to collect critical data on wildfires, glacier melt, pollution, minerals, and more.

Behind these achievements are the engineers, pilots, technicians, and mission support teams who continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

For more about NASA Armstrong, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/armstrong

-end-

Dede Dinius / Teresa Whiting
Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California
661-276-3449
darin.l.dinius@nasa.gov / teresa.whiting@nasa.gov

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Long before they helped shape NASA’s future aerospace breakthroughs, Derek Abramson, Justin Hall, and Justin Link were in their garages and homes building radio‑controlled aircraft, testing new ideas, and flying their creations at hobby events. That early passion now fuels the work of NASA’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

At NASA Armstrong’s subscale flight lab, the team turns that lifelong enthusiasm into mission-focused innovation. The laboratory supports research that ranges from advanced navigation systems for future landings on the Moon and Mars to emerging aeronautics concepts that need quick, low-cost evaluation. NASA’s small, remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft allow engineers to explore ideas that could be difficult, risky or expensive to test at full scale.

Skilled team

Abramson, Hall, and Link play key roles in that work. Abramson serves as the laboratory’s chief engineer. Hall is the chief pilot. Link is a drone pilot. Together, they integrate emerging aerospace technologies with the lab’s subscale aircraft fleet and, when needed, design and build aircraft or flight experiments to evaluate new concepts.

Abramson’s expertise, built through service in the U.S. Navy and the aerospace industry, centers on technical oversight, management, and system design. Hall is known for creative approaches to problem solving and uses practical methods to address technical challenges and maintain flight safety. Link specializes in designing and fabricating research vehicles and draws on extensive hands-on experience to understand what works, and what does not, in flight. 

On weekends, the team often tinkers in their garages or hangars building radio-control aircraft, researching hobby trends, or exploring new technologies. You might see them flying their creations at hobby events or attending trade shows. Their passion for flight brought Abramson, Hall, and Link together years before they one-by-one joined NASA more than a decade ago, though each discovered that spark in a different way.

Early influences

Abramson’s interest began as a child with rubber-band powered stick and tissue aircraft and radio-controlled models. His early aviation pursuits led to his first solo flight while in high school and a pilot’s license. In the Navy, he worked on multiple aircraft, including EA-6B and the F-18, as an avionics technician. As an engineer, he supported the B-1 and CV-22 Osprey aircraft flight tests. As an intern at NASA Armstrong, he used his operational and engineering experience on remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft.

Hall’s interest grew after seeing historic aircraft including the Mach 3 SR-71 fly over his elementary school playground and watching Space Shuttle Challenger land from above his dad’s shoulders. He has built and flown model and remotely piloted aircraft for as long as he can remember. His reputation flying radio-controlled hobby aircraft at fly-ins and trade events led to an offer to fly subscale aircraft at NASA.

Link was five years old when he built balsa-wood aircraft with his dad and flew them in a field near their home. As he grew older, his hobby expanded to include radio-controlled cars, boats, helicopters, and aircraft. Aviation runs deep in Link’s family. His great grandfather served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, his grandfathers served in the U.S. Air Force, and his dad was an Air Force avionics technician. Link raced sailplanes, competed with scaled warbird aircraft, and was encouraged by family and friends to pursue an aviation profession. He has worked with large drones for more than 11 years, focusing on research and development, composite materials, and specialized fabrication methods.

Together, the team applies its experience and knowledge in rapid design, fabrication, integration and flight testing to bring new ideas to flight. Their work continues to support NASA’s missions across aeronautics, science, and exploration.