Inside Leo Mas Renard's AI Filmmaking Journey From Photography to Viral Romance

Creating a striking AI-generated photograph might appear as simple as typing a description and watching an image appear, but the creator behind viral virtual character Leo Mas Renard has revealed just how much work can go into producing a single finished picture. In an exclusive interview with SoapLandTV, the creator explained that one Instagram post can involve dozens of AI image generations, followed by careful selection, editing and adjustments to achieve the result he wants.

That attention to detail has helped transform Leo Mas Renard from an experimental photography project into a fictional storytelling venture, including the romantic video series Meeting You, whose second episode reportedly attracted more than one million views in just three days. The project highlights how AI can provide new creative opportunities while still requiring decisions about visual composition, storytelling, editing and the development of believable fictional characters.

Why One AI Photograph Can Take Dozens of Attempts

Leo Mas Renard was created in June 2026 as a virtual character appearing in everyday photography and more carefully composed editorial images, with his creator developing a detailed approach to producing each finished photograph. Rather than entering a lengthy prompt and accepting whatever appears, he begins with a particular visual idea, such as an outfit, location, pose or expression, before developing the image through repeated generations.

As the process continues, he gradually refines the lighting, colours, background and overall composition, exploring different possibilities until the result reflects what he originally imagined. Sometimes the early images suggest an entirely new creative direction, encouraging further experimentation before he settles on the final appearance.

"A single post can involve dozens and dozens of generations before I'm happy with the results."

Once he has narrowed the results to five or ten candidates, he moves them into photo editing software and works on each image individually, making further adjustments before choosing the finished photograph. The final selection comes after comparing those edited images and deciding which one best communicates the appearance or atmosphere he wants.

The approach demonstrates how AI-assisted image creation can involve substantial artistic judgement, with the technology generating possibilities while the creator continues directing the finished work. Each stage involves decisions about composition, lighting, colour and visual storytelling, making the process considerably more involved than producing an image from a single instruction.

How a Photography Experiment Became a Film Series

The project began as a way for the creator to enjoy experimenting with AI imagery, away from the pressure he had experienced while working on another creative project. Although he already had experience producing AI-generated video, he initially intended Leo to remain a photography-focused character without developing elaborate stories around him.

"The original idea was very simple: create a good-looking guy and make nice pictures of him. That was it!"

Curiosity eventually encouraged him to explore what Leo might look like speaking, how his voice could sound and how he might interact with somebody else, leading to a series of experiments with AI-generated video. Those early tests developed into a short scene featuring another fictional character, Sebastian, with just one spoken word appearing at the end.

The audience response was far greater than expected, encouraging the creator to begin developing a second episode with more dialogue, character interaction and greater attention to the emotional connection between Leo and Sebastian. The result was the beginning of Meeting You, a fictional gay romance that has since developed into a multipart series.

What Happened When Meeting You Went Viral?

According to the creator, the second episode of Meeting You reached more than one million views within three days, attracting thousands of new followers and encouraging viewers to become increasingly invested in the characters. The response was particularly significant because he had initially been reluctant to continue the series after the unexpected popularity of the first video.

He worried that a second episode might not attract the same interest and spent more than a month considering how to continue the story before eventually deciding to develop another instalment. Rather than simply repeating the original format, he introduced more substantial conversations and interactions between the characters, allowing their personalities and relationship to develop further.

"I spent a lot more time working on the dialogue and the interactions between Leo and Sebastian, and I began learning more about sound design, editing, and colour grading."

The experience revealed an unexpected interest in writing dialogue and developing fictional relationships, opening a new creative direction for a project that had originally centred on photography. Viewers began asking when Leo and Sebastian would meet again, where they could watch further episodes and how the relationship might develop, with some even believing they were watching extracts from an existing film or television series.

For the creator, that response demonstrated how strongly audiences could connect with fictional characters developed through AI-generated video, particularly when their relationships were explored through natural conversations and smaller emotional moments. It also encouraged him to think beyond individual photographs and short experiments towards longer fictional narratives.

What Does It Take to Create an AI Film?

Moving from photography to narrative video has introduced new creative challenges, particularly when developing stories that require consistent characters, believable conversations and emotional continuity between scenes. The creator has been experimenting with dialogue, sound design, pacing, editing and colour grading while learning how to structure longer narratives and make individual moments feel convincing.

His third episode of Meeting You demonstrates that evolving approach, presenting almost the entire interaction between Leo and Sebastian through text messages, with only one brief spoken line. Rather than attempting to recreate the format of earlier episodes, he wanted to tell a quieter part of the relationship in a different way, recognising that not every moment needs to be visually elaborate to contribute to a larger story.

For aspiring filmmakers, his experience highlights how AI can help turn creative ideas into visual productions, while the process of writing, directing and editing remains important. The technology can generate characters, locations and moving images, but developing an engaging story still depends on how those elements are brought together and how effectively the finished scenes communicate the creator's intentions.

What Is Next for Leo Mas Renard?

The creator is continuing to develop Meeting You while preparing another multipart project set in a completely different historical period, allowing Leo to inhabit another fictional world and explore a new storyline. Alongside those longer projects, he intends to continue producing photography and shorter videos, maintaining the freedom to experiment without every creation needing to become part of a larger series.

The experience has also encouraged him to reconsider how he measures creative success, particularly after the unexpected popularity of his early videos and the pressure he initially felt to repeat those results. He now wants to give himself the freedom to develop different types of stories, including quieter moments that may not attract the same audience numbers.

"Not every video is going to reach a million people, nor does it need to."

For independent creators interested in AI filmmaking, the Leo Mas Renard project offers an example of how a simple visual experiment can grow into something more ambitious through repeated experimentation and creative development. Behind the finished photographs and videos are decisions about lighting, composition, character, dialogue and editing, demonstrating how AI technology can become part of a broader creative process rather than replacing the creator's artistic involvement.

What began as a collection of AI-generated photographs has developed into an expanding fictional world, with its creator discovering new interests in filmmaking and storytelling along the way. As further episodes and projects take shape, the creative possibilities extend beyond individual viral videos towards developing characters and stories that audiences can continue following.

Readers can explore the creator's photography and watch episodes of Meeting You on Instagram @leo.mas.renard and the official YouTube channel, where new projects and videos are shared.

Image credits: Leo Mas Renard. Used with permission from the creator.