STOP USING AI LIKE A SEARCH ENGINE. USE IT LIKE A TUTOR.
That is the approach we were taught in NEXTGEN Cohort 2.
Over two sessions, the NextGen learned to turn an idea into a structured short-film concept, develop characters with consistent visual identities, and build scenes shot by shot instead of leaning on one big prompt. Then we went deeper: continuity across characters, outfits, environments and props. Reference images to lock a visual world together. Camera angles, lighting, framing, cinematic composition. Preparing scenes for AI video generation in Google Flow.
None of it stayed theory. Every lesson feeds "THE LAST SEAT," our 30 to 60 second AI short film.
One rule from this week is worth keeping: never switch models mid-video just because you ran out of credits. Wait until the next day and finish it on the same model. Switch halfway and the back half looks like a different film.
But the bigger lesson sits underneath all of it. Approach AI as a learner, not as someone who already knows. Ask it to break things down. Ask it to explain in plain language, in proper context. Tell it to teach you.
"Why does this step matter?" "What context am I missing?" "What would a beginner get wrong here?"
AI can help with almost anything — if you give it proper context. Vague in, vague out. Real context, real teaching.
That is how you stop using AI and start learning from it.
The more you learn, the more you see. The more you see, the better you direct. Skill stacks.
Day 5: text to video. The films are about to move.