# How do you make an AI short film?

**Short answer:** Write a short script with one clear arc, fix the look and cast as reference images, storyboard 40 to 400 shots, render each as a short clip and cut them together with sound. Our short films run 7 to 11 minutes and were each rendered on one Seedance 2.0 model at 720p.

URL: https://arc.katechon.technology/answers/how-to-make-an-ai-short-film
Updated: 2026-10-18

## Our short films

Short films made with Arc:

| Film | Runtime | Structure | Video model |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [RatKid and the Red Balloon](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/ratkid-and-the-red-balloon) | 9:44 | 5 chapters, one per level of the city | Seedance 2.0 at 720p (19 shots), Seedance 2.0 Mini (5), Seedance 2.0 through a second provider (22, partly at 480p and upscaled); 17 final shots were rendered on Seedance 2.0 outside Arc when provider balances ran out |
| [The Emperor's Pleasure Court](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/the-emperors-pleasure-court) | 10:22 | 6 chapters, 55 script units covering the series' first 15 episodes | Seedance 2.0 Fast at 720p |
| [BROODFALL](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/broodfall) | 10:09 | 50 planned episodes; this 10-minute cut uses 364 shots chosen from 972 rendered clips (episodes 1–35) | Seedance 2.0 Fast at 720p |
| [Dragon Rising](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/dragon-rising) | 6:58 | 6 chapters, 42 multi-shot units, 16 locations with 4–6 camera plates each | Seedance 2.0 Fast at 720p |

## The method

1. **One idea, one arc.** A short has room for one world and one turn. RatKid and the Red Balloon introduces a city level by level rather than following a complicated plot.
2. **Chapters of one or two minutes.** Chapter cards give rhythm and hide jumps in location.
3. **Look first.** Write the style brief and make reference sheets for every character and set before writing shots.
4. **One action per shot.** Name a concrete light source and a single movement. Dragon Rising was written this way.
5. **Storyboard, then render.** Fix framing on frames, then render the approved shots.
6. **Edit for pace.** Keep the strongest second of each shot; let the score breathe before big moments.
7. **Finish.** Narration, captions, a loudness-normalized mix and, if you like, an upscale of the master.

## Shot counts and pacing

Our fast cut [BROODFALL](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/broodfall) uses 364 shots in 10:09, about 1.7 seconds a shot. [Dragon Rising](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/dragon-rising) runs 6:58 from 42 multi-shot units. [The Emperor's Pleasure Court](https://arc.katechon.technology/films/the-emperors-pleasure-court) is 55 units in 10:22. A dialogue-led short needs fewer, longer shots; an action short needs many and a lot of cutting.

## Common mistakes

- Style rules that leak: "the red balloon is the only red" made the image model paint balloons into set sheets. State the rule for sets and wardrobe instead.
- Colour words next to skin: a cold blue light on a face produced a blue-skinned character.
- Changing the video model halfway, which changes the look.

## Where Katechon Arc fits

Arc fits shorts built from many shots with recurring characters and places; every short above was planned, referenced and rendered in it.

For a single 10-second piece, a plain text-to-video tool is quicker; and Arc does not score or grade, which we did in an editor.

## People also ask

### How long should an AI short film be?

Ours run 7 to 11 minutes. Shorter is easier to keep consistent; festival and platform rules set their own limits.

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