What is covered, week by week, and which topics each lecture draws on.
Follow the course from directing a single moment to writing, planning, generating, editing, and screening your own short film. Each week’s lecture includes slides and a link to the workshop where you practise its technique.
What does a director actually do?
Directing as translating a given objective and intended interpretation into a playable action, judging a take against that objective, and telling a genuine redirect from a note that quietly changes it
Week 1 · 22 February 2027
Story for the screen
Short-form dramatic structure, loglines, conflict and motivation — building a story small enough to actually direct
Week 2 · 1 March 2027
From story to screenplay
Turning a premise into scenes — screenplay form, dialogue versus action, and the director's intent behind a line
Week 3 · 8 March 2027
Thinking in shots
Wide, medium and close-up, composition, angle, blocking and camera movement — breaking a scene into purposeful shots and sketching the first storyboard
Week 4 · 15 March 2027
Building a consistent world
Character bibles, world bibles, costume and prop references and a visual style guide — and why consistency is the hard problem in generative film
Week 5 · 22 March 2027
Planning before generating
Turning the screenplay into a full shot list and storyboard, and sequencing the whole production before spending time generating anything
Week 6 · 29 March 2027
From frame to performance
Turning a controlled anchor frame into motion — directing image-to-video prompts at performance, timing and camera movement, not decoration
Week 7 · 12 April 2027
Directing the AI performer
Generation as rehearsal and takes — diagnosing failure, giving actionable notes, and selecting a take on purpose instead of regenerating until something looks right
Week 8 · 19 April 2027
Continuity and production
Combining shots into a sequence, and repairing only the parts of the pipeline that actually failed
Week 9 · 26 April 2027
Editing and dramatic rhythm
How editing creates meaning — pacing, cuts, reactions, montage, shot duration and dramatic rhythm
Week 10 · 3 May 2027
Directing with sound
Dialogue and voice performance, ambience, Foley, sound effects and music — how sound redirects emotion, pacing and attention
Week 11 · 10 May 2027
Screening, critique, and the revision to final cut
Screening a near-final cut, defending directorial decisions under critique, and using the revision period before the deadline on purpose
Week 12 · 17 May 2027