AI Filmmaking and Creative Arts Lab

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative storytelling, equipping them with the tools and critical thinking skills to navigate emerging production workflows in visual media. Students explore how AI can enhance narrative development and production processes while preserving the human creativity at the center of filmmaking. Through hands on experimentation, students work with commercially available AI tools that are transforming the media landscape, including scriptwriting, image generation, storyboarding, video creation, animation, visual effects, and postproduction. These tools are used as part of a complete narrative pipeline that leads to the development of an original short film and reaserch. A central component of the course is the AI Film Lab (locaed at Posner Hall 261), a dedicated studio environment where students experiment with AI driven workflows in a practical setting. The lab includes immersive Dolby Atmos sound, editing suites, motion capture capabilities, and flexible filming space where generative media can interact with physical performance and traditional filmmaking techniques. Graduate students from different disciplines are encouraged to integrate AI tools into their existing creative practice, whether in art, drama, technical production, or media related fields. By the end of the course, students complete an AI assisted narrative short film and gain practical experience with the tools, workflows, and critical frameworks shaping the next generation of filmmaking. Students analyze both the creative possibilities and the ethical and legal implications of AI in visual media, developing a critical perspective on how these technologies influence authorship, creative practice, and the future of the entertainment industry.