From Netflix to Newcastle Northumbria graduate uses AI to revolutionise film and TV production

A Northumbria University graduate who co-created Bangkok Breaking — one of Thailand's biggest Netflix shows — is now using artificial intelligence to revolutionise film and TV production, while championing the writers and creatives who bring stories to life.

Rehan Malik is the Founder and Managing Director of Coherent 360 Limited, a human-centred AI lab dedicated to artificial intelligence-driven solutions for the film and TV industry. He is building cutting-edge tools to boost efficiency and reduce costs across the sector.

It is a vision shaped by decades of experience. Rehan began his career behind the scenes, teaching himself every aspect of production from camera work and lighting, to editing and visual effects — often sleeping just three hours a night to master his craft.

At Stargate Studios in Dubai, he worked on pioneering virtual production workflows which blend real-time digital environments with live-action filming. Actors appear through the camera to be in a realistic 3D world, such as walking through a palace or a city, when they’re actually in front of a blank background. This unique method is all shot through the camera rather than combining the two in post-production and has significantly improved the efficiency of filmmaking. The technology has since evolved to be made famous on the popular live-action series, The Mandalorian.

He has also collaborated on the development of two TV series with Stan Chervin, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter for the 2011 film Moneyball, and Michael Beckner, an award-winning novelist and screenwriter best known for Spy Game.

With a clear vision but a gap in technical knowledge, Rehan turned to Northumbria University's Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence Master’s programme to ensure AI was adopted in a way that improved production processes rather than displaced the talent behind them. He studied remotely from Dubai before relocating to Newcastle.

"I chose Northumbria because the course offered a solid overview of AI, which is exactly what I needed to bring my vision to life," Rehan explained. "It was essential that I understood what AI could and couldn't do, so I could work out how to use it well. And my wife, who is from Newcastle and several of her nieces and nephews had all studied at the University, so it was tried, tested and thoroughly recommended."

While studying for his Master's, Rehan’s research focused on whether AI can truly understand narrative structure in film scripts, with a particular emphasis on the "Hero's Journey" framework that underpins films such as Star Wars and The Matrix.

“The Hero's Journey is one of the key frameworks writers use when crafting blockbusters," Rehan explained. "It appears as a recurring structure in ancient myths as well as modern movies, with clearly identifiable stages of a hero’s evolution -  typically starting with the ordinary world, the call to adventure, rejection of the call, meeting the mentor and so on. Think of Luke Skywalker living his everyday life on Tatooine, until he receives a message from Princess Leia, which he initially rejects, until meeting with his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, all the way to the destruction of the Death Star.

“My research revealed that even now, AI cannot reliably detect this structure, let alone replicate it. It can recognise patterns, but it lacks any real understanding of long-form narrative. For shorter, more repetitive content like soap operas, it may have a role to play. But the kind of storytelling that truly moves audiences still relies on human creativity. Those findings shaped my thinking and became the foundation for my business."

Coherent 360 is now developing two flagship products. The first is a production management tool that automates scheduling, communication, budgeting and progress reporting. It will streamline a process where a single delay can trigger a costly chain reaction and tackle the budget inflation that has seen production costs balloon into the hundreds of millions in recent years.

The second is a collaborative AI writing tool which takes a novel approach to the creative process. Rather than generating scripts, it enables screenwriters to create virtual versions of their characters, complete with personalities, emotions, and backstories, and interact with them as creative partners. This technology has the potential to translate into other fields, such as gaming and marketing.

"The film industry stands at a critical crossroads," Rehan cautioned. "Without thoughtful management of AI, the industry risks widespread job losses and a world where audiences never watch the same thing twice. Imagine being able to generate your own seven-hour James Bond film for a long-haul flight. There is probably a place for that kind of entertainment, but art is a human expression. It is a way for us to tell our stories to a mass audience, to speak about beauty and pain and shared experience. If we lose that to purely AI-generated content, we lose something profound.

"You can't stop technology or technological shifts by putting your hand against it. You have to work out a way of working with it, otherwise you'll be swept away."

Rehan has received vital support from Northumbria University's Incubator Hub, connecting him with experienced business advisors, marketing and sales expertise, venture capitalists, and government funding routes, including guidance from the British Business Bank.

"Before joining Northumbria's Incubator Hub, I was doing everything by myself," Rehan said. "With their support, I suddenly felt like I wasn't alone. The staff are fantastic and there is a real sense of mission and purpose among the entrepreneurs, which is a huge motivation."

Professor Nic Whitton, Dean of AI in Education at Northumbria University said: "Rehan's story is a remarkable example of what happens when deep industry expertise meets academic curiosity. Through his Master's programme and the support of our Incubator Hub, he has developed a genuine understanding of both the potential and the limitations of AI, and built a company around that insight. His focus on the ethical use of generative AI to support - rather than replace -  the creative process is very much in line with our approach of teaching students to develop critical AI literacy to use it effectively to support learning. We are proud to support entrepreneurs like Rehan who are not just building successful businesses, but are helping to shape the future of a global industry responsibly."

Northumbria University is dedicated to supporting current students and graduate start-ups. It has been ranked in the top 10 in the UK for the last 16 years for graduate start-ups based on aggregate turnover, according to the Higher Education Business Community Interaction Survey (2023/24), and has been placed in the top five for 13 of those years.

Northumbria offers a range of courses designed to equip graduates with a solid understanding of the capabilities of AI and the skills to implement the technology in practice.