Previsualization with AI Tools for Filmmakers

With: KD Daza
$495

No currently scheduled sessions

Interested in hearing about the next session of this course?
Add your name to our notification list

8 weeks
15
Previsualization with AI Tools for Filmmakers
15
Previsualization with AI Tools for Filmmakers

About this Live Online Course

This comprehensive live online course empowers new and experienced directors, cinematographers, and producers to harness artificial intelligence as a powerful creative tool for visual development and planning.


In an industry where visual storytelling is paramount, AI tools offer unprecedented opportunities to explore, refine, and communicate your creative vision before stepping on set. This hands-on course does not seek to replace your creative vision but to offer skills that can be used to help filmmakers bridge the gap between imagination and execution. This course will help you leverage AI tools while maintaining your unique artistic voice.


Over eight focused weeks, you'll master essential AI-driven workflows for concept development, storyboarding, virtual set design, and motion planning. Each session will give you an overview of previsualization skills, followed by practical exercises using AI tools and workflows.


Throughout the course, you will have opportunities to complete a visual development package for your film. You'll leave with not just technical skills, but a comprehensive understanding of how AI can enhance your creative process in a quickly evolving technology landscape.


What you will get from the course:

  • Industry-tested workflows from working professionals
  • Practical exercises and assignments
  • A balance of creative vision with technical execution
  • Focus on AI as a creative enhancement, not replacement
  • Comprehensive coverage from initial concept to final presentation

Whether you're developing your first short film or planning a feature production, this course provides the tools and confidence to integrate AI previsualization into your creative process, helping you visualize your story more effectively and communicate your vision with clarity.


AI Tools:

To keep this course cost-effective, participants will use the following tools which total to be approximately $100/month:


Subscription to these AI tools is not included in the course price. Demonstrations and exploration of other AI filmmaking tools (Moonvalley, Kling, Topaz Video AI, etc.) will be included in this course; freemium use cases will be prioritized for participants. Access to photo and video editing software like Adobe Creative Cloud tools, is encouraged, but Canva can be used as an alternative.


Projects:

Director’s treatment with moodboard, pitch deck, shot lists, virtual sets, virtual location scouting guide, lookbooks, visual scene breakdowns, shot diagrams, storyboards, animatics, cinematics, and a previsualization package.


1-on-1 Session:

For an additional fee of $150, you may elect to meet with your Instructor for a 45-minute 1-on-1 session during the course term. You would submit work in advance, and then in this 1-on-1 session, your Instructor will provide feedback on your previsualization package.


Structure:

  • Week 1 | Previsualization Workflows with AI
  • Week 2 | Visual Communication and Presentation Design
  • Week 3 | Guide to World Building: Using AI for Virtual Location Scouting and Virtual Sets
  • Week 4 | Shot Planning and Scene Development
  • Week 5 | Storyboarding with AI
  • Week 6 | Creative Direction: Rendering Characters and Environments with Consistency and Style
  • Week 7 | Mastering the Virtual Camera: Blocking, Movement, Lighting, Pacing, and Color
  • Week 8 | Polishing and Presenting Your Visual Development Package + Cinematic



A limited number of need-based scholarships are available and are considered on a rolling basis as they are received. Those who apply earlier will have a greater chance of getting support. To apply for a scholarship, please complete the course registration form.


Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.

Live Online Course
Beginner to Intermediate
Live virtual class sessions
1-on-1 meeting with Instructor (for additional fee)
Certificate of Completion
Access to course for one year

Scholarships

Sundance Collab offers a limited number of full and partial need-based scholarships for individuals who need assistance. 

Due to limited scholarship funds available, we prioritize one course scholarship per participant in a 12-month period. Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.

Outline

Topics covered include:

  • Overview: Previsualization
  • Previs workflows using AI tools
  • In-class exercise: Script breakdowns & treatments
  • In-class exercise: Text-to-image prompt engineering for cinematic visuals

Topics covered include:

  • Training AI tools with cinematic references
  • Concept art and decks
  • In-class exercise: Refining your visual vision
  • In-class exercise: AI presentation tools and workflows

Topics covered include:

  • Visualizing the world of your film
  • Using AI for virtual world building, location scouting, and set design
  • In-class exercise: Visualizing the virtual set
  • In-class exercise: Using virtual scouting tools to find real locations

Topics covered include:

  • Shot planning and scene development
  • Shot lists, shot spec comparisons, and scene motivations
  • In-class exercise: Using AI tools to refine your shot list
  • In-class exercise: Using AI tools to create a shot plan comparison

Topics covered include:

  • Overview: How to storyboard
  • How to storyboard using AI tools
  • In-class exercise: Reverse-engineering a famous scene with storyboards
  • In-class exercise: Reinterpreting a famous scene using AI tools to storyboard

Topics covered include:

  • Harmonious visual storytelling
  • Rendering characters and environments with creative direction
  • In-class exercise: Advanced AI prompting techniques
  • In-class exercise: Image to video workflows

Topics covered include:

  • Refining visual details
  • Advanced techniques to simulate live action filming with AI tools
  • In-class exercise: Visual analysis of a short scene
  • In-class exercise: Emulating the style of an existing scene for your project

Topics covered include:

  • Polishing the visual development package
  • The future of AI-enhanced creative + emerging/advanced workflows and tools
  • Breakout sessions: Workshopping the visual development package
  • Next steps

Team

KD Daza

Instructor

KD Daza is an executive, producer, and writer dedicated to future-minded storytelling. As the leader of Punctuate Studio, she works at the intersection of entertainment, innovation, and education. She has contributed to projects for Netflix, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Cartoon Network, Hi-Rez Studios, and more. 


Punctuate empowers film and television professionals to navigate rapid industry transformation. The studio specializes in creative resilience frameworks and the ethical adoption of emerging technologies, including AI, XR, virtual production, gamification, and interactive storytelling.


Through the Sundance Institute, Daza serves as the creative technology advisor for Sundance Collab and the Story Forum program producer for the Sundance Film Festival. She also teaches filmmaking courses and hosts story development events, including the popular Sundance Collab Script Club.


Daza has navigated a robust career as an artist, researcher, and entrepreneur. She has successfully founded and sold two companies — an award-winning digital strategy studio and an edtech media platform — and generated millions of media impressions for her creative works.  

FAQ

In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work. 

  • Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
  • In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
  • In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 session with your advisor. Depending on the course, this session may be included or may be purchased separately for an additional cost. Check the course description for specifics. 

All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.


Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first. 

We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.

Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team for every course. Each class is led by an instructor who may be accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.

We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship,complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.

Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.

Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org. 

Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a 1-on-1 session with an advisor or instructor, the meeting is scheduled according to your (and their) availability.

All sessions are recorded and usually made available within one business day. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.


Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.

You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Sundance Collab account under “Courses.”

You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our live, online courses are conducted via Zoom.


Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:

 

If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.


Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.

No currently scheduled sessions

Interested in hearing about the next session of this course?
Add your name to our notification list

Did you apply or register for a session that is not listed above?

Payment Plans:

  • A three-part payment plan is available after you register.

  • Payments are spaced two weeks apart with the first payment due at the time of registration.

Scholarships:

  • A limited number of need-based scholarships are available.

  • Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.

  • To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button above and selecting the scholarship option, if available.