How to Make an AI Short Film: Step-by-Step Workflow and Real Costs

To make an AI short film: write a one-page script, break it into 10 to 20 shots of 3 to 8 seconds each, design each character and location once as a reusable reference, generate the shots in order, add voices and lip-synced dialogue, then trim and export. A one-minute short usually needs 10 to 15 shots. In Paintbrush, a one-minute Standard-quality short with three characters and spoken dialogue costs roughly 1,100 to 1,450 credits before retakes at October 2026 rates, or about $22 to $35 depending on the credit pack.

This guide walks through each step with the decisions that matter, the mistakes that waste money, and a line-by-line budget.

Step 1: Choose an idea that suits AI video

AI video is strongest at striking images, stylized worlds, and short, clear actions. It is weakest at complex physical interactions, like two people passing objects back and forth, and at long unbroken takes. Pick an idea that plays to those strengths:

• One or two locations. Every new location is another reference to design and keep consistent.
• Two or three characters. Enough for conflict, few enough to keep distinct.
• A visual premise. A lighthouse keeper who discovers the light attracts something, or a robot learning to paint. The audience should understand it without much explanation.
• One to three minutes. Long enough for a beginning, middle, and end. Short enough to finish.

Step 2: Write a short script

Write in screenplay style or plain prose. Either works. Keep dialogue short. A good AI short often has only a few lines of dialogue per minute and lets the images carry the story. Read the dialogue out loud. If a line takes more than about 10 seconds to say, split it.

If you already have a script, skip ahead. Paste it into Paintbrush's creation agent and it plans the characters, settings, and shot list for you. See how to turn a script into an AI video.

Step 3: Break the script into a shot list

Each shot should have one clear visible action. "Mara opens the door" is a shot. "Mara opens the door, walks downstairs, and finds the letter" is three shots. For each shot, note:

• The framing (wide, medium, or close-up)
• Which characters and which location appear
• The one action that happens
• Any dialogue or narration
• Whether it is a cut (new angle) or a continuation of the previous shot

Our storyboard template has a copyable format. If you use the creation agent, it drafts this shot list for you and shows it for approval before generating anything.

Step 4: Design your cast and locations once

This step decides whether your film looks like a film or a collection of unrelated clips. In Paintbrush:

1. Set the project style first, such as realistic, anime, cartoon, watercolor, or oil painting. The project style applies to every character, setting, and scene.
2. Create each character with a specific description: build, age, hair, one signature clothing item, and color palette. Paintbrush generates a front view and matching side and back views. You can base a character on an uploaded photo or drawing.
3. Create each location as a setting. Settings are generated as empty, reusable environments, so the same room or street appears in every scene that uses it.
4. Assign voices to characters who speak, and pick a narrator voice for the project if you have narration.

Approve these before generating any video. Fixing a character design now costs about 12 credits. Fixing it after 15 scenes costs all 15 scenes.

Step 5: Generate shots in order

Write each scene prompt as action and camera, and @mention the cast and the setting: "@Mara pushes open the heavy door of @Lighthouse Stairwell, medium shot, lantern light flickering." Do not describe Mara's appearance again. The reference images handle that.

• Standard vs. Pro. Standard (Kling) costs 16.8 credits per second and makes clips from 3 to 15 seconds. Pro (Seedance) costs 47.3 credits per second, makes clips from 4 to 30 seconds, and produces higher quality. Draft everything in Standard and save Pro for the few shots that carry the film.
• Short shots. 4 to 6 seconds is the sweet spot for quality and pacing.
• Continuity. When a shot continues the previous one without a cut, chain it from the last frame so position and lighting carry over.
• Review before moving on. If a shot is wrong, regenerate it or tweak it with a text instruction. Do not build later shots on a broken one.

Step 6: Add dialogue, narration, and sound

Write spoken lines in a scene's audio text. Put dialogue in quotes and assign each quote to a character. Anything outside quotes is read by the narrator. You can add delivery tags inside a quote, like "[whispers] Did you hear that?". Paintbrush generates the speech with each character's voice, times the shot around it, and lip-syncs on-screen lines. If a passage is too long for one clip, it is split into continuation scenes automatically. The video models also generate ambient sound and effects for each clip. Full detail: how to make AI characters talk.

Music is not generated inside Paintbrush. Add a score in your editor after export.

Step 7: Edit and export

Trim the start and end of each clip on the timeline. AI clips often start strong and wander at the end, so trimming a second makes a big difference. Reorder shots if the pacing is off. Export the project as one video file, then finish in CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, or Premiere with music, titles, and a color pass.

What a one-minute AI short film costs

Here is a realistic budget for a 60-second short in Paintbrush: three characters, two locations, twelve 5-second Standard shots, eight shots with speech, and about 20 seconds of on-screen dialogue.

A narration-only short with no on-screen dialogue skips the lip sync and comes in around 1,130 credits. Credits cost $12 for 500 or $99 for 5,000, so the short above costs about $28 to $34 before retakes. Plan for 1.5 to 2 times that once you include regenerations. Using Pro video for every shot roughly triples the video cost. Rates are current as of October 2026.

Common mistakes

• Generating video before the cast is final. Every change to a character's design after this point means regenerating scenes.
• Packing several actions into one shot. Models handle one action well and three actions poorly.
• Describing appearance in every prompt. Conflicting descriptions cause drift. Use references.
• Long monologues. Short lines are easier to time, sync, and cut.
• Skipping the trim. Most AI clips get better when you cut their last second.

The faster way: direct the agent

Everything above can be done by hand in the editor. You can also paste your script into the creation agent and say "make this into a one-minute short film in watercolor style." It proposes the cast and locations, shows previews for approval, drafts the shot list with dialogue assignments and a credit estimate, and generates after you approve. Then you direct with follow-ups: "tighten the opening," "make the argument a shot and reverse shot," "give Mara a quieter voice."

FAQ

How long does it take to make an AI short film?

A one-minute short takes an afternoon to a weekend for a first project. Most of that time goes into the script, the cast, and reviewing shots, not waiting for generation.

How much does it cost to make a one-minute AI short film?

In Paintbrush, about 1,100 to 1,450 credits before retakes for a Standard-quality minute with three characters and dialogue. That is roughly $22 to $35, and $35 to $70 including retakes.

Can AI short films have dialogue?

Yes. Assign a voice to each character, write the lines in quotes, and Paintbrush generates the speech and lip-syncs the on-screen lines.

What is the best AI tool for making a short film?

For a film with recurring characters, a tool that saves the cast and locations as references, like Paintbrush. Single-clip generators like Veo and Kling make great individual shots but leave continuity to you. See the best AI video generators for consistent characters.