Training Cinematic Grammar for AI Filmmaking

Cooke Varotal FF Zoom 30-95 Asa Bailey.

1. Curate Your Shots

Build a personal database of your work. Not just “good” shots — the ones that feel like you.
Label by:

• Camera angles (e.g. “low handheld push-in”)

• Lens type (e.g. “dirty 35mm close-up”)

• Lighting mood (e.g. “flat overcast contrast,” “warm practicals only”)

• Editing rhythm (e.g. “long hold, no cut,” “snap edit between glances”)

2. Style Pairings

Create style packs. These can be:

• Moodboards (images from your films, photography you love)

• Frames from reference cinema

• Still life + tone combos (e.g. “metal table / grey skies / VHS softness”)

3. Prompt Templates

Write reusable prompt skeletons that sound like you direct.
Instead of “a woman walks through a field,” it becomes:

Over-the-shoulder, 50mm. Shallow depth. Hazy dawn. Subject centre frame, looking left. No camera movement. 10 seconds hold.

Train the model to understand your shorthand.

4. Feedback Loops

Every generation is a learning loop.

• Rate the results

• Tweak prompts

• Feed back the best stills into your style bank
  Over time, you’re not just prompting — you’re coding a cinematic voice into the machine.