AI CINEMA WORKSHOPS: PROOF OF CONCEPT
A Dynamic, Hands-On Workshop Designed for Film, Screenwriting, and Media Students who Want to Master AI Creative Techniques to Prove Concepts for Financing and Production in 2026 – Creatively, Professionally and Ethically.
AI Cinema: Proof of Concept to Production is an intensive, practice-led course designed for students who want to understand how artificial intelligence is actually being used to develop, pitch, and finance film, tv and game projects in the real world.
Led by Doug Rao, the award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter behind festival-hit feature “Dirty Boy”, this workshop focuses on AI as a creative accelerator, not a replacement for craft.
Students will learn how AI tools can be ethically and intelligently integrated into story development, story world IP expansion, visualisation, proof-of-concept creation for pitching, and early market engagement.
This is not a purely technical course. It is grounded in real projects that have successfully attracted sales offers, financing conversations, and high-profile collaborators.
Doug Rao’s proof-of-concepts for Gunn and Cold Hard B*stard have attracted multiple sales offers during Cannes Film Festival and attached A-list talent during Berlinale, due to these proof-of-concept teasers.
"AI will not replace filmmakers. But filmmakers who understand AI will replace those who don’t."
The global film industry has entered a new phase:
Traditional development timelines are shrinking
A Great Screenplay is no longer enough to open doors – top-level Proof-of-Concept visuals are now expected
Investors and sales agents want to see tone, world, and franchise (IP story world expansion) potential early
AI tools have quietly become part of professional producer, director, and even writer workflows (and not just in film, in publishing too!)
But most traditional film and media courses either:
Ignore AI entirely, or
Teach AI tools without introducing real-world creative or ethical parameters
This workshop bridges the gap between technical understanding and real industry success.
Students leave understanding which AI tools are most useful for filmmakers who want to get projects to financing, and how to wield those tools responsibly as a filmmaker.
Why This Workshop?
Taught by a working filmmaker, not just a technologist
Anchored in real industry outcomes, not hype
Balances craft and innovation, with ethics
Prepares students for the industry they are entering now
Course Outcome
Each student leaves with:
- A short AI-assisted proof-of-concept animation or deck
- A clear understanding of ethical AI use
- A framework for developing and pitching future projects
- A huge competitive edge in a rapidly changing industry
Ethics in AI-Assisted Filmmaking
In this workshop, we also explore ethics in AI use as it applies to authorship, intention and professional accountability.
AI is approached as a development and visualisation tool, not as a replacement for human creativity, labour, or authorship. Students are taught to distinguish clearly between idea generation, aesthetic exploration, and final creative decision-making, ensuring that all work remains meaningfully authored and ethically defensible.
The workshop explicitly addresses:
Questions of copyright, consent, and provenance
The risks of uncritical automation and aesthetic homogenisation
The difference between exploratory use and exploitative use of generative AI systems
The importance of transparency when presenting AI-assisted materials in professional contexts
Rather than encouraging unchecked adoption, this workshop equips students with a critical framework for deciding when not to use AI, alongside practical guidance on how AI can be used responsibly in early-stage development without undermining craft or originality.
Ethical use, in this context, is defined as human-led, intention-driven, and legally informed practice, aligning these rapidly emerging technologies with the long-established principles of creative authorship and professional integrity.
