Abu Dhabi - AI in Film & TV industries Workshop: Creative Module with Martin Percy 24-25 October UAE

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Jul 2, 2026, 4:50:03 AMJul 2

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2300AED with 35% Discount until the 9th of July

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN FILM & TV INDUSTRIES:

CREATIVE MODULE WORKSHOP WITH MARTIN PERCY

24th -25th of October | Abu Dhabi UAE

This will be a great opportunity to dive into the creative potential of Artificial Intelligence in film and television with BAFTA and Emmy-winning director Martin Percy, one of the pioneers of interactive cinema, VR, and AI-driven storytelling. In this intensive Creative Module, you will work hands-on with the most advanced AI tools to expand your artistic practice, experiment with new forms of visual storytelling, get access to the most up to date tools, and develop your own AI-generated film, all within a small and focused group of only 25 participants, allowing you to assess the capacities and limitations of the technology, for Film, TV, animation, and commercials.

Participants will also gain exclusive access to a high-profile beta version of an AI tool currently in development, available only to attendees during the workshop. This unique opportunity will allow them to experiment directly with cutting-edge technology still unavailable to the public, integrating it into how AI can enhance story structure, dialogue, and character development in real time.

This 2 days intensive workshop is limited to 25 participants, we advise to register fast to guarantee your place. The workshop fee is 3500AED, but we will have a Discount of 35% costing only 2300AED until the 9th of July. The workshop will take place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on the 24th and 25th of October 2026.

This Abu Dhabi edition is organised by FEST FILM LAB in collaboration with NYU Abu Dhabi. NYUAD will act as the venue partner for this edition, hosting the workshop on its Abu Dhabi campus and helping create the ideal setting for an intensive, practical, and internationally oriented training experience.

For more information and to register please visit this workshop's page www.filmlab.fest.pt

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Martin Percy is a British director celebrated for his pioneering work in interactive cinema, virtual reality, and the creative use of artificial intelligence in film. A graduate of King’s College, Cambridge, Percy has built a career defined by experimentation with new forms of storytelling that actively involve the audience, merging narrative, technology, and participation.

His breakthrough came with Lifesaver (2012), an interactive crisis simulator that won a Grand Clio Award, a Webby Award, and received a BAFTA nomination. The project, which featured Daisy Ridley in her first professional role, established Percy as a leading figure in interactive film. He later expanded this format with Heart Class (2019), which won an Emmy in the United States, and CardiacCrash (2023), a Canadian project that won three Webby Awards and was nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards.

Percy has collaborated with some of the most respected institutions in the world, including the Tate Modern, the British Film Institute, the National Theatre, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. His projects have often brought together acclaimed actors such as Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Daisy Ridley, combining high-profile talent with cutting-edge interactive design. His VR project Virry VR (2017), filmed at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, received both BAFTA and Webby recognition and reinforced his reputation as a leading innovator in immersive media.

In recent years, Percy has increasingly integrated artificial intelligence into his practice, creating works that adapt to the user’s emotions, decisions, and interactions. Projects such as AI Basics: Thrills or Chills (2023) and the Adaptive-Media Interview Coach exemplify his commitment to exploring how AI can reshape creative expression and audience engagement. His TEDx talk, How to Save Lives with Interactive Film, highlighted his dedication to using new technologies not just for storytelling, but also for education and social impact.
Throughout his career, Martin Percy has been recognised with a BAFTA, an Emmy, a Grand Clio, and more than a dozen Webby Awards. His work stands at the intersection of creativity and innovation, continually pushing the boundaries of how stories can be told and experienced.

You’ve no doubt heard the claim that "A poet needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a filmmaker an army." Well, with the advent of AI-generated film, we’re approaching the time when a filmmaker just needs to sit at their computer and get access to AI to make their film. You may be able to “write” your entire film the way you can write a script - creating “performers”, action and location, alone with your computer. We’re not there yet - but this course will help you see where we are now.

This intensive weekend workshop will take you through the complete pipeline of AI-assisted filmmaking, from initial concept to finished production. By the end of this course, you will have created your first pieces of AI-generated video and gained hands-on experience with the latest cutting-edge AI image and video tools currently available.

Are AI tools perfect? No. Things which are easy to film - two people speaking in a room - can be very hard or impossible to do well in AI. By contrast, things that are very hard to film for real - a 19th century dock scene with working steam trains and tall sailing ships - can be done very easily in AI. You’re not making a film in five years’ time - you’re making a film now. So we will show you what you need to know now, warts and all.

Do you need technical skills to participate? No. But it is helpful if you have some basic familiarity with using AI. We will focus on accessible tools that are easy to use for non-technical people, not complex systems requiring coding experience.

You will have the chance not only to learn these cutting-edge techniques but also to interact in a very direct way, as the group will have up to 25 participants, making it highly practical and interactive. The workshop will be hands-on, with participants working on their own material throughout the weekend. Depending on the scale and complexity of your vision, you may not complete your short film by the end of the workshop, but you will have the knowledge you need to continue independently.

WORKSHOP CURRICULUM

PRE-WORKSHOP: SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT

Two weeks before the in-person course, we conduct a 1-hour Zoom call exploring how to use an AI system for scriptwriting and development, including ways to shape the writing style and improve creative output. We’ll also look at successful AI films and current limitations to help you prepare your script in advance.

FOUNDATIONS: PROMPTING AND IMAGE GENERATION

Using an LLM to help generate advanced prompts for image creation. Fundamentals of creating compelling images from text. Understanding the strengths, limitations and quality-control issues of AI image generation. Considering your "shooting ratio" - how many images you may need to create to get the one you really want.

CHARACTER CONSISTENCY AND VIDEO GENERATION

Building character consistency across multiple angles and shots. Creating character libraries. Generating video from still images and text. Managing challenges with voice, continuity and performance control. Understanding video "shooting ratio" and costs.

ENHANCEMENT AND POST-PRODUCTION

Refining and improving AI-generated images and video. Making footage feel more realistic and production-ready. Preparing material for further video generation and editing. Understanding the critical importance of human oversight in the edit, and why AI systems still give imperfect results that need human judgement.

FINISHING AND MUSIC

Adding music and sound. Final editing and delivery considerations.

ETHICS AND POLITICS: AI AS A HISTORICAL MILESTONE

AI represents a major milestone in human history which will have a major impact on all our lives. AI films are very unpopular with some people - so if you describe yourself as an AI filmmaker, you will likely be challenged about AI ethics. We won’t push a particular viewpoint, but we will explore the key questions so you can articulate your own position on these issues.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

To get the most from this workshop, participants should be prepared to subscribe to suitable AI image and video services. We may also provide shared access to certain tools during the workshop where appropriate.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Participant Profile

This workshop is designed for Directors, Producers, Content Creators, Digital Artists, and filmmakers interested in exploring the cutting-edge intersection of artificial intelligence and filmmaking. The workshop is also suitable for traditional filmmakers curious about integrating AI tools into their existing workflows, as well as technologists interested in creative applications of AI.