Lesson 1 of 21 · Section 1: Welcome to AI Filmmaking

AI Filmmaking for Beginners: The Short Film You Will Make

AI Filmmaking Course · 1.1 3:12 videoFree

This free AI filmmaking course takes one short film from the first idea to the final export, so you learn to make AI cinema instead of AI slop. Start here with Lost Garden and the course project.

Chapters (7)
Watch on YouTube, in the course playlist

In this lesson you will learn

  • What AI cinema looks like, shown on Lost Garden, an AI animated series
  • The difference between AI slop and AI cinema
  • The course project, The Photo: four shots, 18 seconds, the same two actors in every frame
  • The road ahead: write, design, storyboard in 3D previz, generate, add voices and sound, edit, then reach an audience
  • Why you need no prior AI experience to follow the course
  • Why the method works with the AI models and tools you already use

This free AI filmmaking course teaches you how to make an AI short film the way a director does, from the first idea to the final export. The opening lesson shows Lost Garden, an AI animated series with 20-minute episodes and characters that hold from the first minute to the last, made with the exact method you are about to learn. Frank, a filmmaker who runs an AI production studio, then introduces the course project, The Photo: a brother, a sister, a parked car on a rainy night and an old photograph, in four shots and 18 seconds.

You will see the full roadmap, from logline and screenplay to visual bible, consistent characters, 3D previz storyboards, AI video generation, voices, sound, editing and festivals. No AI experience is required. The demos use ScreenWeaver, but this is a filmmaking method, not a software tutorial, and every technique works with the tools you already use.

Full transcript

0:00This is Lost Garden, an animated series with 20 -minute episodes, the same characters from the first minute to the last, and a look that holds from one shot to the next. It was made with AI, using the exact method you're going to learn in this course.

0:20Hi, I'm Frank, I'm a filmmaker, and I run an AI production studio. I write, direct, and produce films with AI, and I build the tools my studio uses to make them.

0:34Most AI video you see online looks the same. Characters that change face between two shots, cameras that float for no reason, beautiful images that tell no story. People call it AI Slop. This course is about the opposite. AI Cinema.

0:53Over the next two hours, we'll follow one project, from the first idea to the final export. This scene. A brother, a sister, a parked car on a rainy night, and an old photograph. Four shots, 18 seconds, and the same two actors in every frame.

1:32Here's the road ahead. First, we write. A log line, a structure, and a screenplay an AI can actually shoot. Then we design the world, with a visual bible and characters that stay consistent. Then we storyboard and lock the camera in a 3D previs. Then we generate the shots. We choose the right model, we prompt like a director, and we fix what goes wrong. Then come the voices, the sound, and the edit. And finally, how to put your film in front of an audience, from festivals to paying clients.

2:08You don't need any experience with AI. If you've written a scene or held a camera, you're already ahead. If you haven't, that's fine too. We'll cover the film grammar as we go. Every lecture is short and practical, and most of them come with a template you can download. A log line worksheet, a screenplay template, a shot list, a prompt cheat sheet. You'll find them in the resources of each lecture.

2:34A quick word about tools. In the demos, you'll see me work in Screenweaver, the production software my team builds. But this is a method, not a software tutorial. Every technique works with the models and tools you already use. And I'll point out the alternatives along the way.

2:52One last thing. AI models change every few months. The craft doesn't. Story, framing, rhythm, continuity, that's what this course is really about. Let's start with the big picture. The pipeline.

The full course

YouTube playlist

Section 1 · Welcome to AI Filmmaking

  1. 1.1Welcome: The Film You'll Make in This Course3:12
  2. 1.2The AI Film Pipeline: From Script to Screen5:47
  3. 1.3AI Slop vs AI Cinema: What Professionals Do Differently6:59

Section 2 · Writing for AI Film

  1. 2.1From Idea to Logline: AI as Your Writing Partner5:51
  2. 2.2Structuring a Short Film: Beats That Work in 3 Minutes5:45
  3. 2.3Writing a Screenplay AI Can Actually Shoot5:37

Section 3 · Design Your Film

  1. 3.1Building Your Visual Bible: Style, Light and Lens6:33
  2. 3.2Consistent Characters: Reference Sheets That Hold Across Every Shot6:46

Section 4 · Shot List & Storyboard

  1. 4.1Breaking Down Your Script into a Shot List5:50
  2. 4.2From Storyboard to 3D Previz: Lock the Camera Before You Generate5:15

Section 5 · Generate the Film

  1. 5.1Choosing the Right Video Model for Each Shot5:18
  2. 5.2Prompting Like a Director: Camera, Action, Performance5:55
  3. 5.3Reference-to-Video: Keeping Characters and Sets On Model5:13
  4. 5.4Fixing Bad Shots: Repair, Reframe, Regenerate4:53
  5. 5.5Workshop, Part 1: Script & Storyboard, Step by Step6:21
  6. 5.6Workshop, Part 2: Production, Step by Step5:02

Section 6 · Sound & Edit

  1. 6.1Voices, Dialogue and Lip Sync3:32
  2. 6.2Editing, Sound Design and Final Export3:46

Section 7 · Case Study & Career

  1. 7.1Case Study: How Lost Garden Was Made3:07
  2. 7.2Festivals, Distribution and Building Your AI Film Career2:52
  3. 7.3Bonus Lecture: What's Next0:34

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