AI tools

Career ladder

Where the work sits

Not a department with its own grades. AI tools sit inside editing, sound, VFX, production and development, and the person in that grade signs off the work.

AI in production: our position · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Safety first

Consent, likeness, data and rights

AI tools don't drop things on people, but they can harm them: copying a face or voice without consent, leaking a script, breaking data protection law, or putting someone else's copyright in your film. These are the rules to follow before you open a tool on a production.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of AI tools in film and TV production. Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

6

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

Faces, bodies and voicesA person's likeness and voice are theirs. Get informed, written consent for each use, paid where it's work. Equity's AI toolkit and its 'Stop AI Stealing the Show' campaign set out what performers expect.
Personal dataCast and crew details, faces and voices are personal data under UK GDPR; face and voice data used to recognise someone is special category data. Don't upload them to a tool unless the production has checked it and has a lawful basis (ICO guidance).
Confidential materialScripts, schedules and rushes are covered by contracts and NDAs. Some tools keep or train on what you upload. Use only tools and settings the production has approved.
CopyrightOutputs can copy other people's work, and the law on training and ownership is still being decided in the UK (the government consulted on copyright and AI in 2024 to 2025). Check what the commissioner allows, and keep a record of the tools and prompts used.
DeepfakesSharing a sexually explicit deepfake of a real person without consent is a criminal offence in England and Wales under the Online Safety Act 2023. Never make or share one, even as a joke.
Disclosure and jobsBroadcasters and commissioners ask what was made with AI: tell them. Bectu, Equity and the Writers' Guild all have guidance; read your union's before you use AI on someone else's work.

Who is responsible

The producer decides which tools are approved, and is responsible for rights and data on the production.
Whoever uses a tool checks consent, data and rights before they upload anything.
Performers decide what happens to their face, body and voice.

As a trainee, never

Never clone, alter or generate a real person's face or voice without their written consent.
Never upload scripts, rushes or crew data to an unapproved tool.
Never make or share a deepfake of a real person.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

Equity AI toolkitAdvice on digital likeness scanning, voice capture and generative AI.
Equity: Stop AI Stealing the ShowThe union's campaign for personality rights over voice, face and body.
ICO: artificial intelligenceThe Information Commissioner's guidance on AI and UK GDPR.
ICO: biometric data guidanceWhen face and voice data used to recognise someone is special category data.
GOV.UK: copyright and artificial intelligence consultationThe UK government's consultation; check for the latest position before relying on it.
Online Safety Act 2023Including the offence of sharing intimate deepfakes.
Bectu and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain: AI guidanceThe crew and writers' unions' positions on AI at work.

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

What this guide is

AI isn't a department with its own grades. It's a set of tools inside most departments: the edit, sound, VFX, the production office, development. This guide sorts them by stage and points to films that show them working.

For our position, the rules and the record of what the industry has said, read the AI in production pages: start here, on set and in post, consent and credit and what the industry says.

Three things don't change whatever the tool: consent before anyone's face, voice or performance is used; credit for the people whose work it is; and a person signs off every frame, edit and mix.

Tools by stage of production

Stage	What AI tools do now	Who signs it off
Development and script	Research, summaries, storyboard frames, pitch images	Writer, director, producer
Breakdown and scheduling	Draft script breakdowns and schedules from a locked script	1st AD, production manager
Previs	Rough shots and animatics to plan with	Director, DoP, VFX supervisor
Editing assist	Transcripts, search by what is said or seen, syncing, clip prep, extending a shot by a few frames	Editor
VFX, roto and clean-up	Masks, tracking, object removal, first-pass roto	VFX supervisor, compositor
Sound	Separating voices, cleaning dialogue, reducing noise	Dialogue editor, re-recording mixer
Generative video	Shots made from prompts or images; consistent characters	Director and producer, with consent and labelling
Archive and restoration	Upscaling, repair, search across collections	Archivist, colourist

Script breakdown and scheduling tools change fast, and we haven't found an official training video we trust yet. Use the AI for producers path for now.

The rules, in one place

Consent: no one's face, voice or performance is scanned, cloned or changed without their informed, written agreement. See consent and credit.
Confidentiality: never upload rushes, scripts, call sheets or contact lists to a public AI tool without the production's say-so.
Copyright: the law is moving. The UK government's report on copyright and AI (18 March 2026) is summarised, with the unions' positions, on what the industry says.
Labelling: say where AI was used when it matters to the audience, the credits or the client. Content Credentials are one way to record it.
Unions: Equity, Bectu and the Writers' Guild all have current positions. Read them before you sign anything that mentions AI.

Whose voice is this?

Some of these videos come from the companies that make the tools (Adobe, Avid, Blackmagic Design, Runway). They show what the tools do; they are not neutral. We put them next to the unions, the BBC's research team and working editors, never on their own.

How to get in, and keep up (checked 12 November 2026)

AI skills are added to a craft, not a craft on their own. Learn the job first, then the tools that help it.

AIMICI Responsible AI, accredited by ScreenSkills: see start here for the details.
ScreenSkills Skills Futures: critical AI skills for high-impact film producing (StoryFutures with Final Pixel): the listing. Check the dates and who it's for before you apply.
NFTS MA Virtual Production has a module on AI in virtual production. See the virtual production guide.
The makers' own free training: Adobe, Avid and Blackmagic Design publish tutorials for the AI features in their software.

AI in your department

Every department guide has a short "How AI fits this department" section. Start with camera, post, VFX, sound or production. AI films to study, with how they were made, are in Watch and Learn: AI. Experiments are in the Lab.

How learning with FIF works

Learn online, then a short check with us, then a practical on our unit, then the FIF Certificate. The certificate comes only from the practical.

Learn onlineFree films, paths and Academy courses
Competency checkA short check with us, online or in person
In-person practicalOn our unit at Pinewood or 3 Mills
FIF CertificateFrom the practical only

The FIF Certificate comes only from the practical. How it works · Book a competency check

Where Futures in Film helps

AI Day One: six short lessons on what the tools are, the words, where they already sit on a unit, consent, copyright and confidentiality.
AI Foundation: the tools by stage, with an optional practice task: one real clip through transcript search, a clean-up and a mask, logged and labelled. Then book your competency check.
The AI learning paths: six paths, from tools to rights.