Gains:
- Ability to use artificial intelligence to brainstorm, concept variations and produce scenario drafts by providing target audience and message briefings
- Ability to configure and revise scene scripts, dialogue and shot list drafts with artificial intelligence support
- Ability to realize that the scenario produced by artificial intelligence may be cliché, unrealistic and contrary to the brand voice, and to preserve the creative direction of the human
Each video starts with a blank page. There are two big questions facing the director or content producer: "What will I tell?" and “How do I shoot this?” The bridge between these two questions is the heart of pre-production: concept, script and shooting schedule. AI helps you build that bridge faster — but you decide where the bridge leads, the idea and spirit of the business. In this unit we will see how to use AI as a “brainstorming partner” and “sketching machine”, as well as how to eliminate the clichés it produces.
First a few terms. The concept is the basic idea and approach of the video: what is being said, in what tone, to whom. A brief is a short document that summarizes the purpose, audience, message and constraints of the project. The script is the text that writes the words to be said, the scenes and the flow. The beat sheet / outline lists the main points of the story in order. The shot list is a table that lists each plan (frame, movement, duration) to be shot one by one. AI can generate blueprints in all of these; But the most critical input is the brief you provide. Bad brief means bad output.
Starting with a good brief
The quality of the scenario the AI produces is directly proportional to the context you give it. Saying "Write me a commercial script" is like telling a painter to "paint a painting" — the result is generic. A good brief includes the following elements: purpose (what should this video do: promote, teach, make people laugh), target audience (who will watch it), message (one sentence to remember), tone (serious, sincere or humorous), platform and duration (Is YouTube 8 minutes, TikTok 30 seconds), constraints (budget, venue, brand rules). When you give these items, the AI starts producing in your world, not in a vacuum.
The following table shows the difference between a weak and strong brief:
item
Weak brief
Strong brief
Purpose
"Advertisement"
"Increasing registration for the new application"
mass
"everyone"
"Employees aged 22-30 who keep a budget for the first time"
Message
"Our application is good"
"Saving money starts in 30 seconds"
tone
uncertain
"Friendly, humorous, non-judgmental"
Duration/Platform
uncertain
"TikTok, 30 seconds, vertical"
Concept variation: multiplying an idea
AI's greatest power in pre-production is to quickly vary a single idea in ten different directions. You give it a direction, the AI gives you different angles, hooks, and narrative structures; You choose and develop the strongest among them. This overcomes the “fear of the blank page.” But beware: AI tends to favor the statistically “most likely” and therefore the most familiar, most clichéd ideas. Clichés like "Here's a life like the four seasons" and corny openings like "when you woke up one morning, everything had changed" appear frequently. Your job is to leap off this familiar ground and find the original.
Your role: assistant creative partner to a commercial scriptwriter. Brief: A new budget tracking app. Audience: 22-30 year olds trying to save money for the first time. Message: "Savings start in 30 seconds."Tone: friendly, slightly humorous, never judgmental. Platform: TikTok, 30 sec, vertical. Task: Produce 6 different CONCEPTS. For each concept:- one sentence idea- hook of the first 3 seconds- why it would work with this audience (1 sentence)Avoid cliché openings ("I woke up one morning"); Make sure at least 2 concepts are unexpected.
Scenario and scene breakdown draft
After choosing the concept, you can ask the AI for a scene breakdown and script draft. The method here is this: first remove the skeleton (main stops), then the meat (dialogue and action). Validating the skeleton one time and then drilling down will keep both you and the AI on the right track. Proceeding step by step, instead of requesting a long script in one prompt, keeps you in control.
Selected concept: "Shopping cart reality" — the user discovers that the app gives a warning when seeing unnecessary items in the cart. Task 1: Write a 5-stop beat sheet for this concept. Let each stop be a single sentence. Total time should not exceed 30 seconds. Wait for my approval; Then we will write the dialogues.
Once the casting is confirmed:
I approve of the scene transcript. Now, for each stop, write in a table the trio of: - visible on the screen (action) - sound/dialogue (maximum 12 words) - duration (seconds). The dialogues should be in spoken language, without advertising clichés.
Preparing a shot list
Once the script is ready, AI comes in handy to draft the shot list. The shot list is the team's roadmap on the day of shooting: framing (shot scale: overall, medium, close) for each shot, camera movement, location, lighting intent, and estimated duration. The AI automatically derives this from the scenario and gives you an editable base; you prune it according to the realities of the space and budget.
Generate a SHOT LIST table from the following scenario. Columns: Plan No | Stage | Framing (general/medium/close) | Camera movement |Location | Light note | Estimated time. Constraint: one location (kitchen), one actor, natural light, phone camera. Be realistic; Suggesting a drone, crane or second location.
The constraint line here is important: If you don't give any constraints, the AI may produce a list that is beyond your budget, suggesting drone shots, explosion effects, or five different locations. Writing the constraints clearly aligns imagination and production.
three mini cases
Case 1 — Beating the blank page. A YouTuber is struggling to come up with ideas for his weekly video, his channel has been stagnant for 3 weeks. He gave AI the channel topic, the titles of the last 10 videos and the audience and asked for 15 concepts. 11 out of 15 were clichés; But 4 of them were inspiring and one of them, when combined and developed, became the most watched video on the channel. AI threw 15 ideas, human chose 1 winner.
Case 2 — Cliché trap. An agency submitted its AI script for a corporate trailer almost unchanged. The text was full of meaningless phrases such as "we walk into the future together" and "people-oriented solutions". The customer asks "every brand says this, why are we different?" He turned it down. Lesson: The AI blueprint is a start; Originality and brand difference come from people's hands.
Case 3 — Unreal shooting schedule. A student film crew received a shot list from AI but gave no restrictions. List; It featured a helicopter shot, night city closures, and 40 extras. The budget was 0 TL. Once the team had the list reproduced with constraints (one venue, 2 players), they had a usable, pullable plan.
Weak prompt / Strong prompt
Weak prompt:
Write me an advertising script for a coffee brand.
There is no audience, no tone, no duration, no message. The output will be generic and cliché.
Powerful prompt:
Your role: screenwriter of short commercials. Brand: local, third-generation coffee shop. Audience: 25-40, office workers looking for a "morning ritual". Message: "Don't rush, wait for a cup." Tone: warm, calm, nostalgic but not old. Platform: Instagram, 20 sec, vertical. Mission: 3 different concepts + 4-stop scene breakdown for the concept I chose. Avoid clichés (like "start the day with energy"); Center the shop's handcrafted story.
Common mistakes
- Requesting a script without giving a brief. If there is no context, the output is generic; give purpose/audience/tone/duration first.
- Using the cliché sketch as is. AI slips into familiar patterns; You add originality.
- Asking for an unlimited shot list. If there are no space, budget or equipment restrictions, the list cannot be drawn.
- Waiting for a whole scenario on a single prompt. Proceeding through skeleton-approval-detail steps maintains control.
- Not controlling the brand voice. If the output does not match the brand's language and values, it is rejected.
Tip: Give the AI clear instructions, such as “make at least 2 ideas unexpected” and “avoid clichés.” Forcing the model off familiar ground significantly increases the rate of usable original ideas.
Caution: An AI-generated scene may be impossible or dangerous to film (real fire, height, unauthorized location). I always read the script as "can I shoot this safely and legally?" Pass it through the strainer.
In summary
On the journey from idea to script, AI is a brainstorming partner and a rapid drafting machine that overcomes the fear of the blank page. The key to its power is the clarity of the brief you give it: purpose, audience, message, tone, platform and constraints. But AI slips into the familiar and cliché; Originality, brand voice and drawability are yours to control. Vary the concept, confirm the skeleton, ask for detail later and produce the shot list with constraints. This way, you get a pre-production that is both fast and bears your signature.
Application task
Choose a video idea and write a one-paragraph brief with the above elements (purpose, audience, message, tone, platform, constraint). With this brief, ask the AI for 5 concepts; Choose the strongest one and have it produced first, a scene breakdown, then a dialogue table, and finally a limited shot list. Mark the clichés in the printout and replace at least three with your own original expression. Evaluate the result with 6 items.
checklist
- [ ] Have I written a clear brief that includes purpose, audience, message, tone, platform and constraints?
- [ ] Did I diversify the concept, eliminate clichés and choose the original?
- [ ] Did I produce the script with skeleton-approval-detail steps?
- [ ] Did I limit the shot list to actual location/budget/equipment constraints?
- [ ] Have I checked the output for brand voice and safe/legal drawability?