Finishing AI-generated video for professional delivery: generate at 720p, upscale, convert 8-bit to 10-bit before grading, and use creative upscalers only for stylised shots

Two 2026 production accounts (vendor-published) describe the same finishing chain. Primordial Soup (Darren Aronofsky's AI studio) on TIME Studios' YouTube series "On This Day... 1776" (R1): Starlight Precise 2.5 to upscale/refine generated footage across the series; Hyperion 2.5 converted 8-bit generated sources to 10-bit ProRes before a masked ghost grade in DaVinci Resolve because "8-bit GenAI sources do not hold up well under intensive color grading"; Hyperion also reduced visible banding in an extreme close-up; Astra 2 (creative video-to-video upscaler that adds generative detail) used only for an anime-styled episode to sharpen linework. Production mixed SAG actors and performance capture with GenAI animation and conventional edit/sound/colour. Verena Puhm's "Nobody Dies on Mars" (Future Vision XPRIZE 2026 second place, $100,000) (R2): video mostly made with Seedance, "often generated at 720p", then upscaled to 4K with Starlight Precise 2.6 for theatrical presentation; Premiere for editorial. Costs/licence (R3, fetched 2026-10-23): Topaz Studio $399/yr (promo $199.50 first year) with unlimited local rendering and 300 video cloud credits/month (no rollover); Studio Pro $799/yr with 600 credits; single Topaz Video desktop $299/yr, Video Pro $699/yr; personal plans allow commercial use only for organisations under $1M annual revenue, Pro needed above that. Open-pipeline alternative for the bit-depth step: ComfyUI added an ImageSDRToHDR node in v0.41.0 (R4; quality vs Hyperion unknown). Practical rule: decide grade intensity before choosing generation resolution; promote 8-bit generated clips to 10-bit before heavy grading/compositing; keep realism shots on precision (non-generative) upscalers and reserve creative upscalers for stylised looks where invented detail is acceptable. Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources. Both case studies are vendor marketing without before/after measurements or tool comparisons. Limitations: Both case studies are Topaz marketing (no before/after measurements, no alternative tools compared); exact model versions differ (Starlight Precise 2.5 vs 2.6); pricing page showed a 50%-off promotion so first-year prices are temporary; credit cost per minute of cloud video not stated on the pages read; ComfyUI SDR-to-HDR node not tested (no source execution). Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.topazlabs.com/news/primordial-soup-uses-topaz-hyperion-2-5-to-bring-8-bit-genai-into-10-bit-pro-video-finishing-workflows",
      "note": "\"More Color Grading Latitude\"; \"Creative Upscaling for an Anime Battle\"; \"From GenAI output to the big screen\"; FAQ"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.topazlabs.com/news/award-winning-genai-filmmaker-verena-puhm-on-storytelling-technology-and-topaz",
      "note": "\"More Color Grading Latitude\"; \"Creative Upscaling for an Anime Battle\"; \"From GenAI output to the big screen\"; FAQ"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.topazlabs.com/pricing",
      "note": "\"More Color Grading Latitude\"; \"Creative Upscaling for an Anime Battle\"; \"From GenAI output to the big screen\"; FAQ"
    }
  ]
}