Jo Lehndorf and Billie Jo Ropiha present

Vision Architects.

Creation at the speed of imagination.

Now showing: Hewey flies Farmer Jim and Binnie home, from The Beginning, Episode 1.Watch the whole film

We bring meaningful stories to life through our own production method: animated content for media platforms, rapidly and at scale. Made to industry standards, with AI as our co-creator.

Get in touch See the proof

Two women. Four months.
The output of a whole media company.

14 minAnimated film25Music videos37Songs183Illustrated spreads12Picture books

Sunset over the bush as the helicopters search, from Book 1

01What we do

Meaningful stories, brought to life.

Sunset over the bush. From Book 1, The Beginning.

Stories that previously wouldn’t have been produced, or would have been gated behind industry knowledge, skills and price tags, can now be made expediently and efficiently to industry, production-level standards.

For media platforms and organisations

Animated content, rapidly and at scale.

We create production-grade animated content for existing media platforms: series, episodes, music videos and short-form clips, with consistent characters in every frame, delivered at a pace and volume a traditional studio can't match.

Animated series and episodes
Music videos and short-form
Consistent characters at scale

Talk to us about animation

Every format a story deserves

Publishing

Books and audiobooks

Illustrated books, print-ready and prepared for distribution, plus audiobooks voiced by a full cast.

Screen

Animated film and music videos

Production-grade 3D animation, cut like a film and built from the same characters and world as the books.

Sound

Music and songs

Original songs and albums, production-quality and ready for Spotify and YouTube.

The factory doors open onto the night, from our Book 1 film

02How we work

There was no playbook. So we built our own.

A proven methodology for working methodically at pace. Multiple production streams run in parallel, coordinated through AI and directed by a clear creative vision.

Direct

One clear creative vision.

Every stream answers to the same creative vision, so the books, film, music, brand and marketing all tell one story.

Run in parallel

Many streams at once.

Books, film, music, brand and marketing run side by side, coordinated through AI. That's how two people produce production-grade content across every format at once.

Refine

Every project feeds the next.

We take the learnings from every piece of work, then test, adjust and keep refining, so the quality of the output keeps improving.

Everyone has a story.

AI is the paintbrush and the paint. We are the artists, bringing the texture to the painting.

Every artist needs their tool.

03Working with us

From briefing call to final cut.

A bespoke service, developed over hundreds of iterations and outputs, refined and optimised, with the technology in a continual learning loop. You review the script, then the voices and music, then the finished cut, so your feedback lands before each costly step.

The seven steps, shown with our own Hewey and Binnie work. Steps 3 to 6 follow one shot from the Book 1 film, where Binnie finds Hewey crying alone in the factory.Scroll the film strip

1. Briefing and script
We start with a briefing call, then write the script with you. Language and culture are checked before anything is made.
From Book 1, page 4: the words on the page become the script.
2. Sound first
Voices, music and sound are recorded first. That soundtrack sets the length of every shot and when each character speaks.
From Ka Tarai Au, our te reo Māori music video: Binnie and Hewey sing.
Shot
s04c
Spread · length
4 · 4.7 s
Type
Reveal
Size
Over Binnie's shoulder
Camera
Locked off, static
Dialogue
None
Acting
Binnie gentle and concerned; Hewey heartbroken
Cut
From a close-up of Binnie, to Binnie speaking
3. Shot plan
Every shot is planned like a film: size, angle, screen direction and the cut.
Shot s04c: the plan for one shot.
4. Characters and places, in detail
Each character gets a design sheet full of expression and movement, specific down to the last feather, and each place a set layout, so they stay true in every frame and every episode.
Shot s04c: the Aeronauts factory's set layout. Hewey's dark corner is at the back.
5. Key frames, then movement
A still key frame is made for every shot, and you approve it before it is animated.
Shot s04c: the opening frame, approved before it was animated.
6. Quality gate
Every shot is checked against the designs: lip-sync, consistency, clean frame edges, no jumps. A shot that fails is made again.
Shot s04c: Hewey checked at three moments. Same design, same set.
7. Assembly and delivery
Cut to the soundtrack, mixed, subtitled and delivered in every size and every language you need.
One story, every size and language: the te reo music video (16:9) and an English short (9:16).

04Case study · Hewey and Binnie

A small yellow helicopter nobody wanted.

Eighteen years ago, Billie Jo Ropiha MBA wrote a story about a small yellow helicopter nobody wanted. She met roadblock after roadblock and put the stories on a shelf.

In July, we set out to change that, with a clear vision, a series worth sharing, and AI as our production studio. The Adventures of Hewey the Helicopter and Binnie the Beagle became the proving ground for our method.

Visit heweyandbinnie.com

The Beginning · Episode 1 · 14 minWatch on YouTube ↗

05Characters in development

Characters in development

(confidential partnerships)

New series we are developing with partners, shared here in confidence.

Raukura

Animated series · te reo Māori first · ages 3–8

Scroll to meet the cast

Te Kaahu, A proud young kāhu, sure he can do anything alone — **Te Kaahu**A proud young kāhu, sure he can do anything alone

Rangimārie, A tiny mātātā (fernbird): small, quick and brave — **Rangimārie**A tiny mātātā (fernbird): small, quick and brave

Kuia Paerau, The warm, wise heart of the whānau, a doctor who heals bodies — **Kuia Paerau**The warm, wise heart of the whānau, a doctor who heals bodies

Kaumātua Mohi, A doctor who heals the mind, whose great love is the sea — **Kaumātua Mohi**A doctor who heals the mind, whose great love is the sea

Materoa, The ancient pōhutukawa on the cliff, the whānau's memory — **Materoa**The ancient pōhutukawa on the cliff, the whānau's memory

Darya, A grand Persian cat who reads auras — **Darya**A grand Persian cat who reads auras

Wilhelmina, The peacock of Raukura: grand, regal and fabulous — **Wilhelmina**The peacock of Raukura: grand, regal and fabulous

Pozzie, A laid-back possum from across the ditch — **Pozzie**A laid-back possum from across the ditch

Hewey searches the night bush with his lights while Farmer Jim points the way, from Book 1

06The result

Production-grade, on every platform.

Film and music videos

YouTube · Animation

A production-grade 3D animated film and music videos on YouTube.

Hewey and Binnie on YouTube

Music

Spotify · Music

Production-quality music on Spotify.

Hewey and Binnie on Spotify

Picture book

Print-ready · Publishing

A print-ready book, now being prepared for distribution through Amazon.

07About

We take the learnings from every piece of work, test, adjust and keep refining. Every project feeds the next.

Hewey and Binnie at the Free-Range Farmstead — Waima, Aotearoa NZ. Where the first story lives.

Wisdom Lab is Jo Lehndorf and Billie Jo Ropiha MBA: two founders who build the way a whole studio would, across books, film, music, brand and marketing at once.

We proved the method on our own series first. Now we bring it to other meaningful stories: the ones that deserve to be made to industry standards and reach the people they were written for.

Production systems, AI and deliveryJo Lehndorf

Author and creative leadBillie Jo Ropiha MBA

08Questions

Questions, answered.

What does Wisdom Lab do?

Wisdom Lab is an AI animation studio founded by Jo Lehndorf and Billie Jo Ropiha. We create production-grade animated content for media platforms and organisations: series, episodes, music videos and short-form clips. We also produce illustrated books, audiobooks and original music.

What have you made?

Our own series, The Adventures of Hewey the Helicopter and Binnie the Beagle. In four months, two of us made a 14-minute animated film, 25 music videos, 37 songs and 183 illustrated spreads across 12 picture books.

How does working with Wisdom Lab work?

It is a bespoke service. We start with a briefing call, write the script with you, record the voices and music, plan every shot, then animate. You review the script, the voices and music, and the finished cut, so your feedback lands before each costly step.

How long does an animated episode take?

As a guide, about two weeks for script and voicing, then three to four weeks from shot plan to final cut. Episodes overlap in production, so a series moves faster than one episode at a time.

How do you keep characters consistent?

Each character has a detailed design sheet and each place a set layout, and every frame is made against them. A still key frame is approved for every shot before it is animated, and every shot passes a quality check for lip-sync, consistency and clean frames. A shot that fails is made again.

Do you use AI?

Yes. AI is the paintbrush and the paint; we are the artists. Every story, character and creative decision is made by people, and every shot is checked by people before it is delivered.

Which languages do you work in?

English, Arabic and te reo Māori, with content delivered in every size and language you need.

Where are you based?

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Aotearoa New Zealand. We work with clients globally.

Contact

Have a story worth bringing to life?

Tell us about the story, your platform and who it’s for.

Get in touch