How are AI, Virtual Production, and Sustainability really hitting indie pre-pro?

Hey everyone, Ben Castillo here, stunt coordinator. I'm gearing up for an indie action project next year, and trying to plan out our workflow efficiently. Lately, I keep hearing about AI tools, virtual production, and the push for sustainability. I'm genuinely curious how these are most significantly changing the pre-production process for independent filmmakers right now.

I've dabbled with AI for initial location scouting ideas and used pre-vis extensively for stunts on bigger shows, but for indies, where budgets and crews are tighter, I'm trying to figure out which of these trends are actually making a real difference in the early stages, rather than just being buzzwords. Are people seeing tangible benefits in storyboarding, scheduling, budgeting, or even green-lighting decisions thanks to these? And which one is having the biggest practical impact for us indies? Any insights you've got would be a massive help for my team's planning.