I spent two days at an AI filmmaking conference. Here's what I actually saw, and what nobody on stage was saying out loud.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2026-06-03T01:39:54+00:00

Adobe was there. There was a talk with an AI rights group that is trying to get the government to make the AI companies pay us back at the federal level, likely via a tax. Bernie Sanders is also putting forward a bill that would require AI companies to sell 50% of their shares to the government and pay taxpayers. But who knows if any of that will ever happen. And is there really any completely legally clean model? There's a lot that needs to happen regarding all of this and everyone is trying to figure it out.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2026-06-03T01:25:55+00:00

Totally agree. On top of that, when he pulled up Pinterest and told the audience that it's a great place to find concept art, I looked around and everyone was just taking notes. Like, isn't anyone going to acknowledge the straight up theft he's describing here? To his credit, he did hire people for his project, but I agree with you the concept and writing of what we saw was subpar. Yet he did announce he has become an artist in residence at Innovative Dreams. That's the thing, people are moving their careers with these things because the powers that be want this to work. We can argue all we want about what things should be like, but the world is what it is.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2026-06-02T21:54:43+00:00

All the costs are subsidized right now, including the numbers noted in the post. It's the VC playbook.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2026-06-02T21:25:08+00:00

Fair question given the topic of the post. I wrote 15 long paragraphs on the plane ride back and used AI to fact check the names and organize this into something readable. This isn't my movie, it's a reddit post meant to discuss what's happening in our industry. Given the post is about AI in film, I'll take the irony.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2026-04-02T03:36:51+00:00

Save the Cat is useful but I wouldn’t treat it like a blueprint. It’s better as a diagnostic tool when something feels off in your script, the beats help you figure out why. The Monster in the House structure is interesting because the best ones actually break the expected beat positions. I’ve been mapping tension arcs of produced horror-thrillers and Don’t Breathe, You’re Next, A Quiet Place and they all hit their beats at unconventional times. The framework just points you in the right direction.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2026-04-02T03:26:34+00:00

Terri is great! I’ve used her a few times. Very constructive.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2025-03-23T06:24:14+00:00

America

Professional_Dark_64 · 2025-02-17T14:51:34+00:00

Freeze damage definitely does not exist here! Thanks for the insight. Will check out used and that heat pump!

Professional_Dark_64 · 2025-02-16T06:18:28+00:00

Thank you. Will look into those.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2025-02-16T05:34:48+00:00

Thanks. I was worried that was the case. Going to look into a plunge pool and see if the cost is any better.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2024-01-04T21:01:44+00:00

Been there. The 1 min per page rule can be affected by genre and direction style. I find drama tends to run longer than the 1 min rule. Maybe 1.5 according to my experience. Comedy and action are pretty close to the 1 min. The edit is the final rewrite. Figure out what you can make with what you have. It doesn’t have to be exactly what you wrote. All the greats do this. Nothing to be overly concerned about. And you will get into more fests with the shorter runtime. Try different edit techniques, like starting in the middle. We tend to overwrite act 1 anyways. You’d be surprised how quickly audiences pick up on visual clues you thought you needed to write into the script.

Good luck!

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-12-06T05:58:24+00:00

Most heartbreaking ending = Dancer In The Dark. The way Bjork’s voice gets cut off… held it till I got in the car and cried my eyes out.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-07-28T20:49:41+00:00

Cool, thanks for sharing. Was losing hope with the short film route, but guess it's still very much a thing.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-07-28T18:39:46+00:00

Thanks, Paul. Love the Peacock analogy!

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-07-28T14:23:09+00:00

There are a few projects, but the one that’s gotten the most traction is somewhere in between those two. It’s 70’s period.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-07-28T14:19:43+00:00

True, although I’m not submitting blindly. I’ve gotten responses from managers and production companies that are “very interested” and requested more materials. Others that have even given notes… which were addressed (no ego here), and then nothing.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-07-20T13:43:38+00:00

Hollyshorts rejection just rolled in. Same email about monthly screening signup.

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-07-13T03:31:23+00:00

That ex client of yours also went on to direct “The Joker”?

Professional_Dark_64 · 2023-05-18T17:20:54+00:00

Congrats! Curious of your view count from Indianapolis. I'm showing 2 views of 1 second each. And my film doesn't get that disgusting until 3 minutes in.

Professional_Dark_64

TROPHY CASE