After 4 years of grinding in AI-powered filmmaking, I’ve seen it all. I went from burning cash to building a 4-figure business by breaking all the rules. Here’s the raw, unfiltered story of what actually works.
Why Most Approaches Fail
Many common approaches to AI filmmaking are flawed at the root.
The root cause is usually one of three things:
Copying what big companies do without understanding why they do it. What works for Google doesn't work for a 10-person startup.
Over-engineering the solution when a simple approach would work better. I've seen teams spend six months building something that could have been done in two weeks.
Ignoring the human element. Technology is the easy part. Getting people to actually use it is where the real challenge lives.
The Counterintuitive Truth
In AI filmmaking, the best practitioners often do less, not more.
The lesson: simplicity beats complexity every time. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
What I've Learned From 35 Companies
A few patterns in AI filmmaking come up again and again.
The founders who handle AI filmmaking well understand that the best solutions are often the simplest ones.
The AI Angle
Any discussion of AI filmmaking in 2026 has to include AI. As someone who's invested in Anthropic, OpenAI, Scale AI, and Hugging Face, I have a front-row seat to how AI is transforming this space.
The short version: AI makes good practitioners better and bad practitioners worse. It's an amplifier, not a replacement.
Some teams use AI to get far more out of AI filmmaking. Others spend heavily on AI that solves the wrong problem. The difference comes down to understanding what you're actually trying to achieve.
This connects to broader themes around AI music, AI journalism, AI storytelling that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
The Bottom Line
None of this is rocket science. But it does require intentionality, consistency, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: start now, start small, and iterate. The founders who win at AI filmmaking aren't the ones with the best strategy on paper. They're the ones who execute, learn, and adapt faster than everyone else.
Companies that take AI filmmaking seriously tend to pull ahead of the ones that don't.
If you're working on something interesting in this space, I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
Q:How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
Q:What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.