AI Video Production in New Jersey: How a Production Company Uses AI Without Losing the Craft
Updated: 4 days ago
By Brien T. Dougherty, Co-Founder & CEO, 7th Letter Media
Search "New Jersey video production company" right now and you'll see two kinds of results: traditional production companies with crews and cameras, and a new wave of "AI video" services promising a finished commercial from a text prompt.
7th Letter Media is both, on purpose. We're a New Jersey film and video production company that shoots real commercials, music videos and films, and we built our own AI film studio, 7LM Content Forge. We call it Hollywood Evolved™. Here's how it fits together, and what it means if you're a brand, an agency or an artist deciding who to hire.
Who we are
7th Letter Media was founded by two New Jersey creatives: me, Brien T. Dougherty (CEO and Creative Director), and Steven "Wealthee" Garcia (CFO and Executive Producer).
I came up on the crews of Joker: Folie à Deux, Rebel Moon – Part Two, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, rose to Practical Effects Lead, and went on to executive produce, associate produce, and write, direct, produce, edit and star in my first feature, Too Little, Too Late. My second live-action feature, REMAIN CALM, is greenlit and shooting in October 2026. Wealthee is a recording artist, music video director and producer (he produced and acted in Too Little, Too Late) who runs finance and operations and brings deep knowledge of music, culture and talent.
I came home to Monmouth County because New Jersey has become a serious place to make things. The talent is here. The locations are here.
What "AI video production" means here
1. Pre-production and previs. Before a shoot, Content Forge turns a script or concept into a scene breakdown, characters, a storyboard and sample shots. My feature script REMAIN CALM came back as 101 scenes and 20 characters in about a minute. For clients, that means you see the commercial before a single crew member is booked.
2. Concept exploration. One product photo can become a cinematic direction to react to. We turned a single photo of a soda can into a full cinematic promo.
3. Editing on real footage. Auto Edit, part of Content Forge, builds first cuts from real event, real estate and wedding footage. Our editors finish every project.
4. AI-assisted VFX and finishing. Generative tools unlock effects and extensions that used to be out of reach on smaller budgets. A human signs off on every frame.
What AI doesn't replace
We still shoot. We still hire crews, and we pay them. We light, cast, direct, record sound, grade and mix.
Real performances, real products and real places carry a truth audiences feel, especially in commercials, where trust is everything. For most brand work the winning result is a hybrid: AI to plan, explore and accelerate post; real production for the moments that have to be real.
Why clients win
You see it earlier. Storyboards and previs fast, so feedback lands before the expensive part.
Tighter shoot days. When everyone has seen the boards, sets run cleaner.
More versions. Paid social needs many cuts and hooks. AI-assisted editing makes testing practical.
Craft where it counts. Hero shots are shot, lit and directed by people who do this for a living.
Our principles
Artist-first. Tools serve the story.
Crews get paid. Every time.
Transparency with clients about what's AI and what's shot.
Show the work. If we say a tool does something, we'll show it to you on screen.
What we make
Commercials and branded content. Performance creative for Meta, TikTok and YouTube. Music videos and artist campaigns. Film, documentary and narrative production. Photography and key art. Post-production: editing, color, sound and VFX. AI-enhanced creative production and previs.
See the work on our portfolio.
Two ways to work with us
Have a project? A commercial, a music video, a brand film, a feature: start a project and tell us what you're making.
Want the tool?
7LM Content Forge is live now. Start at 7thlettermedia.com/content-forge.
Comments