Animation Accelerator: AI-Powered Filmmaking
A two-session intensive where you'll build a complete 30-40 second animated short using the AI-powered production pipeline from Tiny Ghost Studios.
Led by Luke Minaker (30 years in animation, directing since age 21) and Mayumi Rollings, this workshop teaches the actual workflow they use on paying client work, the same approach behind their greenlit original IP "Blood and Glitter."
Two Monday evenings (March 2 & 9, 6-9 PM online), with 10-16 hours of guided production work between sessions. You'll leave with portfolio-ready work and an optional screening opportunity at BC + AI Film Club.
Here’s what’s happening right now.
The animation and film industry is changing fast... aster than most of us feel ready for. If you've been paying attention, you've probably noticed that the conversation has split into two pretty loud camps: the people who think AI is going to save everything, and the people who think it's going to ruin everything.
We think both camps are missing something.
At Tiny Ghost Studios, we've spent the last 2 years exploring the space in between... where AI isn't a replacement for creativity, and it isn't a cheap shortcut either. If used correctly, it's a tool that can flip animation production from the traditional ratio of 80% grind and 20% creative input, right around.
We wanted to figure out what it actually looks like to work alongside AI as a creative - not in theory, but in practice. What we’ve created is a real workflow that we use on paying client work, and has led us to our own greenlit original IP Blood and Glitter, which has been called "the strongest AI IP from anybody working in this space right now."
With nearly three decades of experience, Luke Minaker has been making animated content professionally since he was 17. Now, his work spans across film, television, and games. He has won multiple awards, and his content has been watched over a billion times. He has seen the industry reinvent itself more than once. This is another one of those moments.
It's still hard work.
It’s a genuine paradigm shift that puts you in the director's chair with a team of incredibly capable, wildly chaotic, and sometimes unhinged, collaborators. But once you find your footing, it opens up possibilities that simply didn't exist before.
This workshop is about finding that footing.
What You'll Build
One complete 30-40 second animated short from a client brief. Your vision. Portfolio-ready.
Session 1 (March 2): Pipeline foundations and project kickoff
Session 2 (March 9): Feedback, refinement, and packaging your work
Between sessions: 10-16 hours of independent production work
Session recordings for reference
What's Included
Direct access to Luke and Mayumi during production
Private cohort chat for collaboration
Optional screening at BC+AI Film Club (~200 industry attendees, March 12)
Connection to Canada's most active AI filmmaking community
Who This Is For
Animators navigating the industry shift. Filmmakers exploring AI workflows. Creative professionals who want to see what's actually possible—not what Twitter thinks is possible.
No AI experience required. Curiosity and commitment to 10-16 hours of work between sessions required.
Investment: $650 CAD
NOTE: Class limited to 20 people. Requires 10-16 hours of independent production work between sessions to complete the program. Students should budget an additional ~$50 for AI credits and platform subscription fees.
About BC + AI Ecosystem Association
BC + AI is the province-wide layer: a community-driven, nonprofit industry association built to create public-interest infrastructure for AI in British Columbia.
Not a corporate lobby. Not a think tank. A commons where meetups turn into working groups, prototypes turn into shared tools, and community values turn into governance.
Vancouver AI was just the start. The ecosystem keeps growing across BC... Surrey, Victoria, Kelowna, and beyond... each node bringing its own culture, needs, and experiments.
Join / support: https://bc-ai.ca/membership/