CLEARPATH

AI-Short Film/ AI-Fake-Commercial (2026)

 

Is it a short film? Yes.

Is it a fake commercial? Yes.

Is it an AI film? Yes.

Does that mean turning away from traditional filmmaking? No. Definitely: NO.

But one thing is clear: AI isn’t going away – and that includes the world of filmmaking.

And one question in particular is worth exploring – not from the perspective of a content creator, nor from that of someone looking for quick ‘one-prompt’ solutions. But from the perspective of a director exploring the possibilities and limitations of a technology that is, quite simply, now part of the world we live in.

The question is: What is possible when these tools are approached with the mindset of traditional filmmaking?

When the aim is to retain as much control as possible, rather than simply choosing from whatever an AI tool happens to produce. And when the processes, experience and understanding of dramaturgy that come from traditional filmmaking are applied to these new tools.

That does, however, mean that everything takes longer. It’s more laborious. And, at times, pretty nerve-racking. But it’s also more controlled and more purposeful.

From the first hand-drawn character sketches, through the development of key frames, start and end frames, to countless generated videos using performance and movement references.

The journey? At times, something of a vale of tears: around 900 generated still images, 194 generated videos and countless … truly countless prompts for two minutes of film. There would be quite a lot to say about that process.

But in the end, all that can be seen is the result – not the work that went into it.

So: enjoy … despite the AI. ;)

 

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​​CREDITS

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WRITTEN & DIRECTED by / AI CREATION & SUPERVISION  Cyprian Hercka

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TOOLS: ChatGPT Image Generation, Nano Banana Pro, Seedance 2.0, Kling 3.0 Omni, ElevenLabs & Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Dehancer, Soundly, Epidemic Sounds