AI Filmmaking Workshop: Make a Real Film in 2 Days — with Documentary Director Zhan Petrov (In-Person San Francisco)
AI can generate infinite video. Most of it looks exactly like what it is — 83% of viewers say they've watched video they suspected was AI-generated, and over a third say it makes them trust a brand less. YouTube spent this summer demonetizing exactly that content. The scarce skill isn't prompting. It's story.
That's why this workshop is taught backwards from every AI course you've seen. You won't start with tools. You'll start in front of the camera — in a documentary interview session led by Zhan Petrov, the director who filmed the authorized portrait of Rob Nilsson (the first American to win both the Caméra d'Or at Cannes and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance). With 14 participants, interviews run on two stations — Zhan and an AISA interviewer trained in his method — and Zhan coaches every participant's story personally.
Then you produce. Google Flow/Veo for visuals, ElevenLabs for sound, free professional editing software, your real footage woven with AI-generated shots — the hybrid method actual studios use. We govern the scope (2–4 minutes, 12 shots max) so you actually finish. This is the difference: most 2-day AI film workshops openly admit "you may not complete your film." We structure the two days so you do — and if you attend both days, do the pre-work, and still don't finish, we refund you in full.
It ends the only way a film should: on a screen, in front of people.
What you'll walk out with
A finished 2–4 minute film — screened publicly on Day 2, yours to publish anywhere
A film poster, 30-second trailer, logline and synopsis — a complete portfolio package
Your Filmmaker DNA Report — AI-built creative profile from your on-camera interview
A repeatable AI production pipeline — interview → story → AI visuals/sound → edit → deliverables; vendor-agnostic, so it survives the next model shakeup
Hybrid production technique — weaving your real footage with AI-generated shots, the approach working productions actually use
Platform compliance literacy — what's monetizable after YouTube's July 2026 AI-content rules, and the disclosure standards documentaries now use
What to charge — packaging and pricing frameworks from published AI-video agency rate cards
A public screening credit + optional publication on the AI START academy YouTube showcase
Certificate of completion · 30 days async support · community access
All AI tool access included — Google Flow/Veo and ElevenLabs during the workshop; free DaVinci Resolve for editing. Nothing to subscribe to.
Two ways to win with this
Use it — bring video in-house. Stop paying $5K+ per produced minute. You leave with a pipeline you can run every week for your own brand, product, or company: interview → story → AI visuals and sound → edit → poster, trailer, thumbnail. One film in two days, then the same method on repeat.
Sell it — package it as a service. The same pipeline is a sellable offer. You leave with the demo film clients actually buy, plus packaging and rate-card frameworks drawn from published AI-video agency pricing — so you know what the work goes for before you quote it.
Most people come for one and leave using both. You don't have to pick at registration.
The stack you'll actually use
Google Flow / Veo (visuals) · ElevenLabs (voice + sound) · DaVinci Resolve (editing, free) · documentary interview capture (real camera, real audio) · AI transcript analysis for your Filmmaker DNA Report · poster, trailer and thumbnail generation. Vendor-agnostic by design — the method is the asset, so it survives the next model shakeup.
Why trust us with two days of your time
Zhan directed it, not just talked about it. The Way Things Seem to Be (2026) premiered at the Smith Rafael Film Center — a 224-minute authorized portrait, two years of shooting, featuring Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov. Full credits below.
★ 5.0 on Google across AI START academy reviews — small numbers, real people, every one of them from someone who sat in this room.
Featured by Empowerly in their engineering-programs coverage ("AI Engineering Spotlight").
Mentors at 500 Global and Draper University — Lex has mentored founder cohorts at both.
We teach what we build. AISA runs its own AI production pipeline for its content — this workshop is that pipeline, taught with a documentary director attached to the story half.
The room is the moat. 1769 15th Street is a real space with a real screen. Your film plays on it, in front of people, on Wednesday evening.
Schedule
Day 1 — The Story (Tue Sep 1, 10 AM–6 PM) Welcome + the anti-slop method · Documentary intake (on-camera interview) · AI analysis → your Filmmaker DNA Report · Story development: character, logline, synopsis, 12-shot plan · Production pipeline I: first AI shots generated before you leave
Day 2 — The Film (Wed Sep 2, 10 AM–6 PM) Production pipeline II: consistency, hybrid real+AI footage, sound, music · Production sprint: 4.5 protected hours with 1-on-1 guidance · Marketing package: poster, trailer, thumbnail, credits · 5 PM: Public screening — every film on the big screen, audience invited
Who this is for
Marketers & founders who need video every week and are done paying $5K+ per produced minute
Freelancers & agency builders adding AI video as a service
Creative professionals & career-changers adding the capability that now appears in job listings by name
Creators who want their film to stand out — and stay on the right side of monetization rules
Not for: passive-income seekers, AI-theory tourists, or anyone who wants to watch instead of make. You will be on camera. You will ship a film.
Instructors
Zhan Petrov — San Francisco Bay Area documentary filmmaker. Director, cinematographer, and editor of The Way Things Seem to Be (2026), the authorized 224-minute portrait of Rob Nilsson — the first American to win both the Caméra d'Or at Cannes and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. The film premiered at the Smith Rafael Film Center and features Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov. Zhan was cinematographer and editor on Rob Nilsson features including Faultline — part of the catalog Kino Lorber acquired in 2022 — shot his first feature on four cell phones in a single continuous take, and co-founded Rob Nilsson Art Forms. "If the shot is too clean, too staged — it's not me."
Lex Mustafin — Founder, AI START academy. Serial founder and AI integrator — startup exit, founder of Custom Product Builder (4,000+ stores, 100+ countries) and Buildateam. Mentor at 500 Global and Draper University.
Logistics
In-person only: 1769 15th St, San Francisco (Mission, 5 min from BART 16th St). Coffee, tea, snacks, and lunch both days.
Why no Zoom: your on-camera interview is the raw material of your film — can't be attended remotely.
Bring: a laptop (16GB RAM recommended, 8GB minimum, 30GB free disk), headphones, chargers. No film background, no editing experience, no code, no subscriptions.
On camera: standard release at check-in; footage used in your film, your film screens publicly, screening-night capture may be used in AISA marketing — showcase publication is separately opt-in, and a private-screening option is available on request.
After: 30 days async support, community access, priority admission to the AI Automation Agency Bootcamp cohorts starting Sep 7 (evenings) and Sep 14 (10-day).
Price & access
Early Bird $595 (first 8 seats, through Aug 14) · Standard $795 · Director's Cut $1,295 (adds 2 × 1-on-1 sessions + featured showcase, max 4). Two full scholarships every cohort — email hello@aistartacademy.com and tell us what you'd make. Invoices available for company reimbursement; ask us for the manager-approval email template. Refunds: full through Aug 18, 50% through Aug 25.
Zero barrier: no film background, no editing experience, no code, no subscriptions, any major, any career stage. An 8GB laptop is enough — tell us at registration if yours is under-spec and we'll pair you with a station.
Guarantee: leave with a finished, screened film — or a full refund. (Conditions: attend both days, complete the 45-min pre-work.)
FAQ
Do I need film or editing experience? No. The method generates your story on Day 1, and we edit in free DaVinci Resolve with templates and 1-on-1 help. Will my film look like "AI slop"? That's the point of the method: your real interview footage anchors the film, AI generates what you couldn't afford to shoot, and a documentary director coaches your story. Do I need software subscriptions? No. All AI tool access is included during the workshop, and DaVinci Resolve is free. Will I really finish in 2 days? Yes — we govern scope: 2–4 minutes, 12 shots max, 4.5 protected production hours. If you attend both days, do the pre-work, and still don't finish — full refund. Can I expense this? Yes — invoice available for company reimbursement. Can I attend on Zoom? No — the on-camera documentary interview is the film's source material. The one AISA program that can't be remote. Who owns my film? Can I use it commercially? You own it and can use it in your work — paid-tier AI tool accounts carry commercial-use rights under the providers' terms. Is there pre-work? About 45 minutes: a story worksheet, a free software install, and your release form. What happens at the screening? Sep 2, 5 PM: every film runs on the big screen for an invited audience. Free guest RSVPs open separately. Is $595 worth it for a 2-day workshop? One produced brand minute runs $5K+ from an agency. You leave with a finished film, a poster, a trailer, and the pipeline to make the next one yourself — plus a full refund if you don't finish. If it's still not the right time, take the free Thesaurus and come to a free Q&A first. Is this for me if I'm not a "creative"? Yes — the biggest group here is marketers and founders who need video and don't want to keep buying it. The story half is coached; you don't have to arrive with talent, only with something you care about. Are there scholarships or payment help? Two full scholarships per cohort — email hello@aistartacademy.com. Invoices for company reimbursement on request. What if I want to sell this as a service? Day 2 covers packaging and rate-card frameworks, and you leave with a demo film. Graduates also get priority admission to the AI Automation Agency Bootcamp (Sep 7 evenings / Sep 14 intensive), which is the full business build.