A Real AI Search Tool Built for a Film
Hungarian actor and director Viktor Dénes had an idea for a short film called The Key.
As is often the case with independent productions, bringing the story to life required external support. Avant Media decided to back the project.
Initially, we considered a conventional sponsorship arrangement: a mention in the end credits, promotional support or an advertising presence connected to the film.
As discussions progressed, however, it became clear that the collaboration could go further. We began exploring whether one of Avant Media’s products or services could become part of the story itself. There was only one problem: none of our existing products fitted the scene naturally.
So we approached the question differently.
Instead of asking which product we could place in the film, we asked the filmmakers:
What does the scene need?
The brief was already in the script
In one scene, a character photographs an old warded key, uploads the image to a search tool and, within moments, receives an explanation of what the object might be.
The scene called for a simple, intuitive interface: an image upload, a short written question and a concise response in Hungarian.
The filmmakers explained what they needed. Avant Media built it.
That was how the first version of Avant Search came into being.
A working version in a single day
The first functional version was completed in one day. It accepted both an image and a written question, then used artificial intelligence to generate a concise response.
This was not an on-screen graphic, a post-production animation or a cinematic illusion. It was a real, functioning AI search tool.
Over the following three days, we worked closely with the filmmakers to refine the system. The interface needed to be clearly visible on camera, respond quickly and perform consistently throughout every take.
In an everyday digital service, minor variations in output may be acceptable. On a film set, where the same scene may be recorded repeatedly, consistency is essential.
The system therefore had to be completely predictable.
Search mode and film mode
In the initial version, the AI analysed whether the uploaded image showed the warded key used in the film. When it recognised the object, it displayed a pre-agreed response in Hungarian. For other images, it generated a response dynamically.
The solution worked, but image recognition could not be guaranteed in every instance. On set, the same prop could not produce one answer in one take and a different answer in the next.
We therefore developed a dedicated film mode.
In film mode, uploading the key always produced the same approved response. The standard search function remained AI-powered, continuing to generate dynamic answers for other images and questions.
Avant Search became both a working digital service and a piece of digital set design: fully functional in its own right, while remaining entirely predictable within the scene.
More than product placement
In the end, we did not place an existing product in the film.
The film presented us with a specific creative and technical challenge, and we built the solution. We then developed it alongside the filmmakers, ensuring that it worked not only as a piece of technology, but also as part of the story and within the practical demands of the production.
Avant Media originally joined The Key as a sponsor. Through the collaboration, sponsorship became product development, and product placement became a genuine creative partnership.
We did more than appear in the end credits. We helped create an element that became an active part of the story itself.
Avant Search is the result of that collaboration: a functioning AI search tool originally developed for a short-film scene and now available for anyone to try beyond the world of the film.