AI & EMERGING TECH
Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI
Make a finished 2 to 3 minute short film with AI: idea, screenplay, look book, shot list, budget, production, edit, sound, grade and release, following the making of our own 10-minute film, Second Hand.
- 8 lessons
- ~3 hours
- Intermediate
- Project + certificate
Free account required to open the lessons. Any price is shown before you pay.
- Free to startOpen a free account and start. Any price is shown before you pay.
- Earned, not boughtCertificates are never sold. You pass a graded project, and anyone can verify it.
- Self-pacedShort lessons you take at your own pace. Your progress is saved.
- Built for real workLessons follow how the work is actually done and paid for, and end in a project you can show.
What you'll learn
- Developing a film idea you can finish
- Writing a logline, synopsis and treatment
- Screenplay format and writing a short screenplay
- Subtext and writing dialogue
- Writing scripts for AI production
- Look books: palette, lighting and lens rules
- Character sheets and keeping characters consistent
- Writing a numbered shot list and prompts from it
- Budgeting AI credits: free first, paid where it shows
- Production pipelines: file naming, versions and tracking
- Previs and animatics to guide AI shots
- Picture editing and pacing
- Sound design, leitmotifs and mixing
- Colour grading for consistency
- Credits, licence lists and AI disclosure
- Exporting and releasing a film
- Entering AI film festivals
- Building a film portfolio
About this course
This is the capstone of the AI Filmmaking track. You will make a complete short film of 2 to 3 minutes, from the first idea to a public release, and you will see every step done for real on Second Hand, the 10-minute film Skillnaija is making with the same tools and a budget of US$50. You start with an idea you can actually finish, and write it as a logline and a treatment. You write a short screenplay in the standard format, with subtext, written for what AI can and cannot do. You build a look book, character sheets that keep faces the same across a whole film, and a numbered shot list that is also your production plan. You plan a budget from real, dated prices: free tools first, paid credits only where they show. You run the production with clear file names, versions, a tracker, previs and retakes. Then you edit, pace and mix the film, write its music, grade it, add titles, credits and an honest AI disclosure, export it, and release it through festivals, a YouTube premiere and a portfolio. Every lesson gives you a template to fill in, with the Second Hand document as the worked example. You need a laptop or desktop computer; the free tools are the default and the walkthroughs assume a paid Higgsfield plan for key shots. Your final project is your own finished short film, reviewed by a person on our team.
This course takes you from an empty page to a finished short film that you can show the world. You will make a film of 2 to 3 minutes, and you will see every step of the way through our own film, Second Hand, which Skillnaija is making with the same tools and the same budget limits you have. This first lesson is about the idea: how to pick one you can actually finish, and how to write it down as a logline and a treatment.
Who it's for
Intermediate. Some grounding in the subject will help you move faster.
The lessons 8 lessons, ending in a graded project
- 1From idea to logline and treatment22 min
- 2Writing a short screenplay26 min
- 3Look book, character sheets and the shot list28 min
- 4Planning a budget and credits: free first, paid where it shows22 min
- 5The production pipeline: names, versions, tracking and keeping characters the same24 min
- 6Picture edit and pacing, sound design, music and the mix26 min
- 7Grade, titles, credits, AI disclosure and export20 min
- 8Release: premieres, festivals, rights and your portfolio22 min
- Project: Your Short Film: 2 to 3 Minutes, Script to ScreenGraded
THE PROJECT AND YOUR CERTIFICATE
Your Short Film: 2 to 3 Minutes, Script to Screen
One link, set so anyone with it can view: a Google Drive folder with the finished film as an MP4 (2 to 3 minutes) plus the screenplay, the numbered shot list, the budget sheet, the credits and licence list with the AI disclosure, and the techniques note, or a Google Doc holding all of those that links the film on YouTube set to Unlisted. The grader watches the film and checks every document; a person on our team reviews every film before a certificate is issued.
Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, an examiner grades the real work against a published rubric (you need 70% to pass), and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. If you don't pass yet, you get written feedback and can try again.
- Story and screenplay: the film tells a clear, complete story in 2 to 3 minutes, and the screenplay is in standard format with a logline20%
- Visual craft: shots are planned (size, angle, movement, light), characters stay consistent, and the grade makes one film25%
- Edit and sound: pacing, transitions, sound design and music serve the story, and dialogue is clear20%
- Planning documents: the shot list and budget sheet are complete and match the finished film15%
- Honesty and rights: credits, licence list and AI disclosure are complete and truthful, with no unlicensed music, real people or brands10%
- Techniques note: at least 6 track techniques are named correctly, located by shot number, and justified10%
Frequently asked questions
Is Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI free?
Most Skillnaija courses can be started free with a free account: your first two courses are free to start, then one new course each month. Some courses are paid; the course page in the app shows whether Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI is one, and its price, before you pay. You can also buy any course on its own for twelve months, or open every course with the All-Access Pass. Certificates are never sold: you earn one by passing the course's project.
How long does Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI take to complete?
6 weeks · ~5 hrs/week. There are 8 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.
Do I need any experience to start Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI?
Intermediate. Some prior grounding in the subject will help you move faster.
What will I learn in Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI?
You will build practical skills in Developing a film idea you can finish, Writing a logline, synopsis and treatment, Screenplay format and writing a short screenplay, Subtext and writing dialogue, Writing scripts for AI production, Look books: palette, lighting and lens rules, Character sheets and keeping characters consistent, Writing a numbered shot list and prompts from it, Budgeting AI credits: free first, paid where it shows, Production pipelines: file naming, versions and tracking, Previs and animatics to guide AI shots, Picture editing and pacing, Sound design, leitmotifs and mixing, Colour grading for consistency, Credits, licence lists and AI disclosure, Exporting and releasing a film, Entering AI film festivals, Building a film portfolio. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.
Do I get a certificate for Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI?
Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Short Film: 2 to 3 Minutes, Script to Screen and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.
Ready to start Make Your Film: From Script to Screen with AI?
It is self-paced, and it ends with something you can show an employer.
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