Getting started

From prompt to premiere
A guide to AI film making.

New to AI film making? This step-by-step production guide provides the professional blueprint for navigating the GenAI workflow, from your first prompt to your global premiere on GenFlix.

The workflow

How to Make an AI Film: The 6-Phase Roadmap

Phase 01

The Narrative Core (Story & Scripting)

The blueprint. Every great film starts with a structured map. Use AI as a technical co-writer to define camera language, lighting, and emotional intent before you render a single pixel.

Tools (writing & planning)

Research powerhouse for world lore, technical accuracy, and structured planning.

Versatile co-director for shotlists, beats, and production-style breakdowns.

Strong human-like dialogue and emotional nuance for character-driven writing.

Real-time cultural edge for bold, satirical, and modern voices.

Long-form writing workflows: organise chapters and track arcs across a feature.

Film script formatting and production-minded writing assistance.

Phase 02

Visual intent (Locking the Look)

The source of truth. Create “hero frames” to establish character and set consistency. Locking your art direction early prevents style drift and ensures your world feels cohesive.

Tools (hero frames & storyboards)

Industry favourite for art direction and “hero frames” to lock character + set style.

Nano Banana (Gemini)

Gemini’s image generation and editing model — useful for fast concept art, local edits, and character consistency across reference frames.

Commercially safer image generation and edits inside the Adobe ecosystem.

Script-to-storyboard workflow; useful for fast previsualisation and continuity.

Visual generation inside ChatGPT and via OpenAI tooling; useful for concept art, iterations, and reference frames.

Phase 03

Cinematic motion (The Production Engine)

The synthesis. Professional AI cinema is driven by image-to-video workflows. Drive motion from your hero frames to maintain the highest level of visual fidelity and technical stability.

Tools (image‑to‑video)

Cinematic directing language (camera terms, lens intent, and scene control).

World physics and complex scene simulation; strong for realism and interactions.

Known for human realism and performance fidelity (skin, motion, acting).

VFX and control-style workflows; often used for directed motion and iteration.

Luma Dream Machine

Fast, high-quality clips for rapid iteration and cinematic tests.

Kinetic, social-first motion styles; useful for action energy and punchy pacing.

Phase 04

Acoustic depth (Sound, Voice & Sync)

The soul of cinema. Sound bridges the gap between a clip and a film. Use speech-to-speech tools to re-skin performances into character voices while preserving human timing and emotion.

Tools (voice, lip‑sync & sound)

Voice performance (including speech-to-speech workflows for emotion retention).

Lip‑sync that maps spoken audio to character mouth movements.

Lip‑sync and character performance tools for dialogue scenes.

Music and sound generation; useful for beds, motif experiments, and texture.

Phase 05

The Final Grade (Post‑Production)

The master finish. Edit for rhythm and pace. Use DaVinci Resolve or Premiere to match colours across different generators, then upscale your final cut to remove artefacts and sharpen the frame for the big screen.

Tools (edit, colour & upscale)

Upscale and reduce artefacts; often the last step to remove shimmer and sharpen.

DaVinci Resolve

Industry-standard editing + colour grading; great for matching different generators.

Simple “one-click” style upscaling/remaster options.

Cloud-based remastering and upscaling workflows.

Phase 06

Your global premiere (Publishing)

The stage. GenFlix is the destination for finished AI-native cinema. Once your film meets the GenFlix Certification Index (GCI) standards, upload via the Studio to join the Global Index.

Start Your Production Journey.

Ready to build the future of cinema? Follow the roadmap, refine your craft, and compete for the monthly $1,000 GenFlix Grant.

Open GenFlix Studio Learn the GCI standard

Updated 1 Feb 2026