Vertical dramas are changing the future of filmmaking—and AI is making them more accessible than ever. In this episode of The Director’s Commentary, we sit down with AI director Paulo to break down how he adapted the novel January’s Cowboy Slade by Eve London into a compelling vertical series using Movie Machine. Learn how to structure addictive 60–90 second episodes, create powerful cliffhangers, build storyboards, generate cinematic AI shots, and overcome the challenges of AI filmmaking.

Join Movie Machine 2.0: https://www.creatorwood.tv/
Chat with our VIP Production Team about turning your story into a movie: https://www.creatorwood.tv/vip
Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe
Read Beyond the Book, 100 ideas to make money beyond selling books, for free: https://blog.creatorwood.tv/p/free-book-100-ideas-to-make-money-from-your-stories
Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q
Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 Vertical Drama Boom
01:24 Sneak Peek Episode One
03:05 Series Setup and Paulo Intro
04:25 Paulo Filmmaking Origins
08:18 From Film to AI Skills
10:18 What Makes Verticals Work
12:59 Adapting a Novel to Hooks
19:50 Storyboards and Start Frames
27:33 Models Audio and Costs

ABOUT MICHAEL:
He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast.

ABOUT CREATORWOOD:

Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business.

The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost.

Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally.

You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

Making trailers used to cost tens of thousands of dollars. Now with AI, you can do it for a fraction of the cost. Learn how one of our AI Directors on the VIP Production Team from Creatorwood made this epic sci-fi trailer for The Answer.

Join Movie Machine 2.0: https://www.creatorwood.tv/

Chat with our VIP Production Team about turning your story into a movie: https://www.creatorwood.tv/vip

Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe

Read Beyond the Book, 100 ideas to make money beyond selling books, for free: https://blog.creatorwood.tv/p/free-book-100-ideas-to-make-money-from-your-stories

Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q

Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

Introduction & AI Trailer Overview 0:00 -1:07
Trailer Premiere: The Answer 1:07 – 08:30
Meet the AI Director: Matthew 8:30 – 09:31
Matthew’s AI Filmmaking Workflow 09:31 – 11:52
Solving the Black Frame Problem 11:52 – 14:53
Writer Notes & Visual Revisions 14:53 – 17:19
Coin Costs & Regeneration Challenges 17:19 – 19:20
Fixing Continuity in Group Shots 19:20 – 24:56
Workflow While Videos Render 24:56 – 26:47
Nailing Golden Hour Lighting 26:47 – 50:28

ABOUT MICHAEL:
He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast.

ABOUT CREATORWOOD:

Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business.

The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost.

Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally.

You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

With AI, you don’t need to be a filmmaker, have millions of dollars, or a gatekeeper’s approval, to bring your story to life. In today’s workshop Sashv Dave, co-founder of Creatorwood, will teach you the AI filmmaking workflow on how to turn your story into a film inside the Movie Machine.

Use the Movie Machine here (Movie Machine 2.0 going live to all soon): https://www.creatorwood.tv/
Chat with our VIP Production Team about turning your story into a movie: https://cal.com/team/creatorwood/consultation
Join the Movie Machine Madness and compete for 10,000 coins on Creatorwood: https://filmfest.creatorwood.tv/
Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe
Read Beyond the Book, 100 ideas to make money beyond selling books, for free: https://blog.creatorwood.tv/p/free-book-100-ideas-to-make-money-from-your-stories
Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q
Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:
0:00:00 Why AI Filmmaking Failed Writers
0:03:24 Movie Machine Madness: 10K Coins
0:06:05 What’s New in Movie Machine 2.0
0:11:16 Generating Cast and Locations
0:15:17 Storyboards, Wardrobes, and the Chat
0:22:18 Editing on One Timeline
0:25:54 Q&A: Lip Sync, R-Rated, Models
0:33:11 We’ll Make Your Movie For You
0:34:28 Pitch Decks, Real Actors, Copyright
0:47:37 How the Coin System Works
0:49:46 Selling on the Streaming Platform
0:54:57 Michael’s $9K Publishing Lesson
1:01:06 Real Cost Per Finished Minute
1:04:52 You Own Your Content

ABOUT MICHAEL:
He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast.

ABOUT CREATORWOOD:

Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business.

The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost.

Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally.

You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

Welcome to week 2 of Movie Machine Madness where Sashv Dave, co-founder of Creatorwood, and Mia Salsi, Creative Director at Creatorwood, share step-by-step how to make your first scene with the Movie Machine. Want to join the Movie Machine Madness competition for a chance at winning 10,000 coins (worth $1,000)? You can join here: https://filmfest.creatorwood.tv/

Join Movie Machine 2.0: https://www.creatorwood.tv/
Chat with our VIP Production Team about turning your story into a movie: https://cal.com/team/creatorwood/consultation
Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe
Read Beyond the Book, 100 ideas to make money beyond selling books, for free: https://blog.creatorwood.tv/p/free-book-100-ideas-to-make-money-from-your-stories
Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q
Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:
Welcome & Session Overview: 0:00 – 2:16
Scaremail Trailer: 2:16 – 4:23
Meet Mia & Scaremail Creative Process: 4:23 – 7:45
Movie Machine 2.0 Migration & Account Setup: 7:45 – 9:08
Uploading Your Story & Style Presets : 9:08 – 13:51
Reviewing Characters, Locations & Props: 13:51- 31:41
Storyboard & Shot Composition: 31:41- 42:51
Camera Angles, Shot Types & Framing: 42:51 – 51:32
Video Generation Workflow: 51:32 – 1:13:38
Editing & Exporting Your Film: 1:13:38 – 1:26:43
Q&A: Pricing, VIP Production & Content Rights: 1:26:43 – 1:35:03

ABOUT MICHAEL:
He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast.

ABOUT CREATORWOOD:

Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business.

The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost.

Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally.

You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

Fruit Love Island got banned from TikTok after gaining 3 million followers. Here’s what it means for AI Filmmakers…

Join Movie Machine 2.0: https://www.creatorwood.tv/
Chat with our VIP Production Team about turning your story into a movie: https://cal.com/team/creatorwood/consultation
Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe
Read Beyond the Book, 100 ideas to make money beyond selling books, for free: https://blog.creatorwood.tv/p/free-book-100-ideas-to-make-money-from-your-stories
Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q
Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:
00:00 Fruit Love Island Fallout
00:56 Why TikTok Pulled It
01:45 Rage Bait and Brainrot
02:51 Platforms vs AI Monetization
03:48 Why Creatorwood Exists
04:18 Creator Ownership and Sales
05:07 Audience Demand for AI Stories
05:47 Scaremail Case Study
07:11 Handling Hate and Community
07:53 Wrap Up and Takeaways
ABOUT MICHAEL:
He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast.

ABOUT CREATORWOOD:

Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business.

The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost.

Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally.

You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

Beyond the Book by Michael Evans is a 100-idea toolkit for indie fiction authors who want to build businesses around their stories — not just sell books. Through examples like a $3M/year horror letter subscription and a viral bookish cocktail brand, Evans shows how treating your fictional world as a launchpad for products, communities, films, and experiences can transform a modest author income into a lasting creative empire.

Michael walks through 25 of his 100 ideas for authors who want to make money beyond just selling books. Drawing from his time at Mr. Beast and his CreatorWood platform, he covers things like Kickstarters, merch, fan communities, AI movies, and story letters. He also stresses the importance of knowing your audience before spending a dime on marketing — and wraps up with a fun live Q&A helping an attendee with their book marketing. Join the beta of the Creatorwood platform: https://www.creatorwood.tv/ Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/ EPISODE CHAPTERS: 00:00 Beyond Books Mindset 01:00 Webinar Welcome Chat 02:13 Origin Story Creatorwood 04:00 Beyond Book Examples 05:35 AI Movies Vision 07:00 MrBeast Business Lesson 10:48 Business Problems Solved 20:46 Three Stages Framework 22:20 Fun Examples Kickstarter 27:15 Ghost Listing Validation 30:10 25 Ideas Speedrun 31:23 Merch Newsletters Community 35:03 Special Editions Events 38:29 Consulting And Products 43:25 Genre Hacks Interactive 46:34 Behind The Scenes That Matters 47:37 AI Character BTS Marketing 48:28 Build A Genre Hub 50:13 Seasonal And Subscription Ideas 50:18 Patreon Horror Case Study 52:28 Reader Rewards Street Team 55:04 Shared Worlds And Book Clubs 55:55 Digital Bonuses And Affiliates 58:01 Wrap Up And Q&A 59:38 Do You Need An LLC 01:02:32 Marketing Without Market Fit 01:05:53 Finding Audience And Validation 01:08:40 Funding Films With Fans 01:10:13 Reaching Kids And Schools 01:13:01 Fixing A Mystery Book Launch 01:21:50 Short Form Video Playbook 01:26:58 Hard Earned Marketing Lessons 01:29:02 Final Thanks And Sign Off ABOUT MICHAEL: He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast. ABOUT CREATORWOOD: Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business. The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost. Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally. You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

What if the secret to unlocking your creativity isn’t about working harder, but doing just one thing?

In this episode, I sit down with Peter Dudley — engineer turned writer, fundraiser, and life coach — who shares a surprisingly simple framework that could save you from creative burnout for good.

Join the beta of the Creatorwood platform: https://www.creatorwood.tv/

Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe

Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q

Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 Creativity Without Burnout

02:14 Meet Peter Dudley

03:28 From Engineer to Impact Work

05:19 Giving Yourself Permission

07:05 Writing Across Genres

10:45 Protecting Creative Energy

13:51 One Shoe Momentum

17:22 Time Blocking and Accountability

18:34 Impact Beyond Big Numbers

20:20 Why Create and Self Publish

24:03 AI and the Messy Middle

27:03 Unpredictable AI Future

27:37 Adaptability Wins

29:33 Resilience Origins

30:49 Compassion Fatigue Tools

32:53 Creativity Builds Resilience

35:21 Detaching From Outcomes

38:04 Nature And Regulation

41:21 Sound Baths And Safety

44:03 Creative Needs Framework

45:57 Community And Risk Taking

49:13 Where To Find Peter

51:07 Final Reflections

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Here’s Peter’s website: https://graybearpublications.com/

Get the free download on resilience from Peter: https://graybearcoaching.com/11-paths-to-personal-resilience-3/

ABOUT MICHAEL:

He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast.

ABOUT CREATORWOOD:

Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business.

The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost.

Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally.

You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

An introduction to the five core rules of AI filmmaking — embracing randomness, experimenting often, maintaining consistency through start frames, working with the technology rather than against it, and letting post-production work its magic.

Join the beta of the Creatorwood platform: https://make.creatorwood.tv/ Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODES CHAPTER:

00:00 Five Rules Overview 00:51 Rule One Embrace Randomness 01:24 Rule Two Experiment Often 02:09 Rule Three Build Consistency 03:01 Start Frames And Control 04:23 Rule Four Work With Tech 05:44 Rule Five Post Is Magic 06:40 Movie Machine And Future 07:39 Wrap Up And Resources

ABOUT MICHAEL: He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast. ABOUT CREATORWOOD: Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business. The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost. Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally. You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/

Go behind the scenes of the AI short film Saturn’s Rings with director Mia Salsi as she reveals how the entire film was created using the Movie Machine for just $600.

Watch Saturn’s Rings here: https://youtu.be/NZqkz6Trylg?si=P5fpeBh_C_49kyIO

Join the Creatorwood Discord: https://discord.gg/tTmWv23C9q

Join the beta of the Creatorwood platform: https://creatorwood.tv/

Read the Creatorwood book, all about building a movie business with AI, for free: https://www.blog.creatorwood.tv/subscribe

Join the Six-Figure Film Accelerator: https://learn.creatorwood.tv/

EPISODE CHAPTERS: 00:00 Meet the Director: Breaking Down the AI Short “Saturn’s Rings” 00:46 Project Budget Reveal: Coins, Costs, and Where the Money Went 03:16 Production Timeline: 5–6 Days, 200+ Shots, and the AI Filmmaking Workflow 06:02 Watching the Film: Opening Walkway Shot & Continuity Headaches 10:32 Prompt Troubleshooting: The One-Word Fix (“Left”) and Iteration Strategy 13:41 Sound Design Deep Dive: Drones, SFX Layers, and Editing in DaVinci Resolve 21:33 Action Sequence Breakdown: Music Cues, Pacing, and Audience Emotion 24:00 Hardest VFX Shot: Debris Impact, Model Switching, and Continuity Fixes 31:07 Scene Two Begins: Dialogue, Telemetry, and Shifting the Tone 31:58 Why She’s Crying: The Cut Love Story & Story Intent 33:36 Directing AI Performances: Emotion, Facial Expressions & Future Video-to-Video Acting 36:47 Consistent Character Voices: Using the Juan Dialogue Model (and Current Limitations) 39:21 Green Screen Tricks: Matching Locations & Compositing Corridor Shots 41:49 Blocking & Continuity: Eye Lines, Camera Moves, and the 180° Rule 46:38 Keeping Faces Consistent: Zoom/Angle Pitfalls and the “Do It Backwards” Hack 51:18 Endgame VFX: Prompting Disintegration, Warp Speed, and Iterating on Shots 54:41 Workflow & Takeaways: Start Frames, Frames View, Learning Fast, and Funding Your Film 01:02:10 Crowdfunding + What’s Next: New Films, Community Breakdowns, and Final Thanks ABOUT MICHAEL: He has published 12 sci-fi novels, helped authors make $1 million+/year in memberships, and even worked on the Strategy Team for MrBeast. ABOUT CREATORWOOD: Creatorwood is the home for storytellers to turn their writing into films, discover new viewers, and run a film business. The Movie Machine by Creatorwood integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost. Creatorwood also makes it easy to make money from your films inside our Streaming Platform. Specifically, Creatorwood allows you to upload your episodes, set them as free or paid (any price you’d like). Creators keep 80% of the revenue they earn on Creatorwood, and we pay out to creators in 130+ countries and accept payments from viewers globally. You can join Creatorwood here: https://creatorwood.tv/