Bad Beetle Entertainment uses Beeble for AI in filmmaking

With just four people behind the scenes, Bad Beetle Entertainment's Star Wars: Entrenched is already earning praise from major studios and directors. The trailer alone demonstrates that high-end production values are no longer limited to big teams or big budgets.

Thanks to accessible, AI-powered tools like Beeble, independent creators can take full creative control—relighting scenes, customising looks, and delivering professional-quality visuals, all without traditional gear or complex software pipelines.

In this interview, studio head Navaz Dowling shares how he and his son Roman launched Bad Beetle Entertainment, the creative process behind Entrenched, and how Beeble enabled them to achieve a cinematic finish on their own terms.

From garage studio to cinema-grade visuals—watch the trailer now.

Origins & Vision

Q_How did you get started with Bad Beetle Entertainment?

It began when my son, Roman, wanted to follow the same career path as mine. He saw my work as a 3D freelance artist, my time on set, and my efforts on major projects, and was inspired to pursue a similar path. We established Bad Beetle Entertainment as a space to work on high-quality content with a small budget, all while teaching ourselves new techniques. 

Father–son creators behind Bad Beetle Entertainment

Q_Tell us more about Star Wars Entrenched. 

It's a fan film that retells Empire Strikes Back from a different perspective. It's based on a comic book of the same name. As soon as I read it, I knew it would work amazingly in an audio-visual format, so we got to work deciding on the creative direction and our methodology. 

This is our second project as Bad Beetle Entertainment, and although we've only released the teaser so far, we're receiving great feedback already. We've been invited to visit Pixar, and the creator of the comic has also given us kind words about our progress and vision.

Production & Process

Q_ How did you make a high-quality production on such a small scale?

We used what we had to the best of our ability. We were four people doing the job of 50, including concepting, shooting, editing, and post-production. Alongside myself and Roman, we had Lucas, who's training for VFX, and Zoe, who's creating the costumes for each character by hand. That's what makes this so special: we're all bringing our own unique skillsets to the project.

In terms of VFX, Roman taught himself a great deal about Blender and DaVinci Resolve, and we refined our work until it became as lifelike as possible. However, the real challenge was relighting, as enterprise-grade tools seemed to be our only option, until we discovered Beeble.

Handmade costumes on set before VFX

Q_How did you find out about Beeble? 

I was watching YouTuber and VFX artist Joshua M Kerr, who was walking through Beeble's features and showcasing its quality. He demonstrated how easy it was to use from home, and that suited our needs perfectly, so we decided to give it a try.

We got the hang of the software in just a day or two. The help received from the Beeble team during that time was crucial to our success, and they were quick to answer any questions we had.

From green screen to cinematic world

Beeble's Impact

Q_How did Beeble enhance the filmmaking process in Star Wars Entrenched?

Relighting can be one of the most difficult and time-consuming aspects of post-production, but Beeble made it easier for us. Even in traditional, large-scale pipelines, it's challenging to change the lighting once the scene has been shot. But Beeble enables us to completely remove light and shadow and add our own, customisable effects. That's an edge it gives indie filmmakers that the rest of the industry doesn't currently have.

With reshoots now complete, we're entering the final stages of production, where Beeble will really shine. Thanks to our constant upskilling and Beeble's professional finish, we're moving past just showcasing our work. We're now in competition with major film studios in terms of quality.

Low-budget setup powering high-end shots (Tracking shots powered by Lightcraft's Jetset system)

Q_SwitchLight 2.0 launched after the teaser trailer. Have you tried it yet?

Yes, we love it! It's highly improved from the original model, and truly brings it to a cinema-grade tool. It's clear the Beeble team has taken customer suggestions and implemented them in this new model. We're excited to see how far it can take us for Star Wars Entrenched.

Indie-scale VFX rivaling studios

Whether you're an indie creator or a professional VFX artist, Beeble gives you full control over lighting, no green screens, no 3D, just cinematic results.

Ready to try it yourself? Explore Beeble and start relighting your own scenes—no green screens or 3D required.

Find out more details here.