New Delhi: Generative AI has moved from being a background tool in filmmaking to sitting close to the script itself. What once stayed limited to post-production
or visual effects is now shaping early ideas, characters, and even pacing. Writers across film, streaming, and digital video are quietly testing what AI can and cannot do inside the creative process.
This shift has opened up fresh debates inside writers’ rooms. Some see AI as a fast-thinking assistant that helps clear creative blocks. Others worry that storylines built with algorithms risk losing emotional truth. Between these extremes, a growing number of creators are experimenting in small, controlled ways, using AI to support human writing rather than replace it.
How prompt engineering is entering the screenplay process
One of the biggest changes is how writers are learning to talk to AI systems. Prompt engineering has become a skill of its own. The quality of a script idea often depends on how clearly a writer frames the request.
Instead of asking an AI tool to “write a movie script,” writers now break prompts into parts. They describe tone, genre, character flaws, and even emotional beats. This mirrors how a human writers’ room works. A vague brief gives weak results. A detailed brief pushes the AI to deliver more usable material.
Studios have started taking notice. Lionsgate has already signed deals with AI startups to speed up development work. These tools are being used to test ideas quickly before expensive writing cycles begin.
Swiss startup Largo.ai is part of this shift. Writers and producers upload scripts or even short synopses. The system then maps plot shifts, emotional arcs, and genre signals. It compares the material against a database of over 400,000 films and runs simulated focus groups using what it calls digital twins of real audiences.
If a story’s emotional curve feels flat, that note is sent back to the writing team. The company says producers using the tool have a greenlighting rate three times higher than average, with simulated focus groups running ten times faster than traditional ones.
Building character depth with AI assistance
Character work is where many writers feel AI falls short. Lived experience, awkward silences, and emotional contradictions are hard to encode. Still, some filmmakers use AI to strengthen early drafts.
Filmmaker Nik Kleverov tried ChatGPT while directing his sci-fi short “Memory Maker” for Wonder Studios. He used it to check story originality, brainstorm twists, and expand the fictional universe. The final decisions stayed human, but the AI helped widen the creative sandbox.
Veteran writers have also weighed in. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Paul Schrader sparked discussion after sharing his experiment with ChatGPT. “I’M STUNNED,” he wrote. “Every idea chatgpt came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out. Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when AI can provide one in seconds?”
His comments landed at a sensitive moment for Hollywood, where writers remain protective of authorship and credit.
Using AI to manage narrative pacing
Beyond plot and characters, pacing has become another area where AI tools are gaining ground. Some platforms track scene length, emotional intensity, and dialogue rhythm to flag slow sections.
Interactive storytelling is pushing this further. Steven Ilous, founder of Feature.io, works with clients such as Netflix and Porsche. His company blends human-written stories with AI-driven audience interaction.
In “Lollipop Racing,” a series backed by “The Fast and the Furious” writer David Ayer, viewers join a parallel race inside the show. Feature.io’s AI creates digital avatars of viewers and feeds personalised scenes back into the narrative. Ilous has said the core story remains human-written, with AI limited to interactive layers.
He has spoken about AI enabling never-ending shows or fan-built universes, but keeps its use restricted to protect writers’ creative control.
Why AI-written scripts matter beyond cinema
The same tools shaping film scripts are reshaping video marketing and online storytelling. With shorter attention spans, creators are using AI to test hooks, tighten intros, and adjust pacing for platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
AI systems help generate first drafts, outlines, and alternate openings in minutes. Writers still revise heavily, but the starting point arrives faster. This has become common in branded videos, tutorials, and explainers where speed matters.
TV9 Network’s AI² Awards put focus on human-led AI storytelling
As experimentation grows, platforms are emerging to showcase this hybrid approach. TV9 Network has launched the AI² Awards 2026, a filmmaking competition focused on AI-assisted storytelling.
The initiative invites students, independent creators, and early-career filmmakers to submit short projects blending human creativity with AI tools. Categories include documentaries, animation, music videos, and branded content. Organisers say the aim is to explore new narrative forms without removing the artist from the process.
With AI now touching scripts, characters, and pacing, the conversation is no longer about replacement. It is about how writers learn to work with machines, on their own terms, one prompt at a time.
