How it works #
- Nine skill tracks: the "core seven" solo-filmmaker roles from the Filmmaking Roles Glossary, plus Character & World Design and AI Craft.
- Three levels per track: Foundation, Practitioner and Advanced.
- Each level has can-do statements (what you can show), evidence (what proves it on AiFC), and where to practice (challenge types and pipelines).
- Levels come from evidence (submissions, breakdowns, peer reviews), not self-declaration. Scores refer to the levels in the Critique Rubric: 3 is Strong, 4 is Exemplary.
Track 1 — Story (Screenwriter) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Write a clear logline; build a hook; tell a micro-story with a beginning, turn and end | A submission scoring Storytelling ≥ 3 (Strong) | Hook and micro-story challenges |
| Practitioner | Use setup and payoff; give a character a want and an obstacle; show, don't tell | Two submissions at Storytelling ≥ 3, plus a beat sheet in the breakdown | Character, dialogue-scene and action challenges |
| Advanced | Build subtext, twists and reveals; sustain a 2–5 min arc; write dialogue that sounds human | A capstone or narrative short at Storytelling 4 | Capstones; the narrative short pipeline |
Track 2 — Direction (Director) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Keep one consistent tone and look across a short piece; select the best takes | Any completed submission with a coherent style | Any challenge |
| Practitioner | Direct performance through references, acted reference or edit choices; plan coverage | A dialogue scene with readable emotion (Performance subscale ≥ 3) | Character, directing and dialogue-scene challenges |
| Advanced | Hold a vision across many shots, characters and locations; make each technical choice serve the story | A capstone scoring 85+ overall, or a micro-award | Capstones and showcases |
Track 3 — Cinematography (DP) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Choose shot sizes and angles on purpose; apply the rule of thirds and lead room | A framing or composition entry at Craft objective ≥ 3 | Cinematography and composition challenges |
| Practitioner | Control lens feel, depth of field, motivated light and camera movement | Two of lens, lighting and camera-movement entries at Craft objective ≥ 3 | Lens, lighting and camera-movement challenges |
| Advanced | Design a visual language for a whole film; keep light direction consistent across coverage | All three at ≥ 3, plus Visual language 4 on a longer piece | Action set pieces and capstones |
Track 4 — Continuity (Script Supervisor) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Keep one character recognizable across shots | A character entry with no major identity drift | Character development challenges |
| Practitioner | Keep the 180° rule, eyelines, screen direction, wardrobe and props consistent | Continuity subscale ≥ 3 on a dialogue or editing entry, and a continuity bible in the breakdown | Dialogue-scene and editing challenges |
| Advanced | Hold continuity across a multi-location, multi-character piece | A capstone with no continuity errors noted in feedback | Capstones |
Track 5 — Editing (Editor) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Cut for clarity; remove dead time; stay within runtime | Any submission at Editing & pacing ≥ 3 | Any challenge, especially hooks |
| Practitioner | Use shot–reverse shot, reaction shots, match on action and J/L cuts | Editing ≥ 3 on a dialogue-scene or editing entry | Dialogue-scene and editing challenges |
| Advanced | Control rhythm in action and montage; restructure in the edit; use the Kuleshov effect deliberately | Editing 4 on an action set piece or a trailer | Action set pieces; the trailer pipeline |
Track 6 — Sound (Sound Designer / Mixer / Composer) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Add ambience and basic effects; balance music under dialogue; hit the loudness target | Sound subscale ≥ 3 on any piece | Any challenge |
| Practitioner | Clean dialogue; layer sound design; edit music to picture; use sound bridges | Two pieces at Sound ≥ 3 with a sound section in the breakdown | AI voice, dialogue-scene and action challenges |
| Advanced | Design a full soundtrack (dialogue, Foley-level detail, score or score edit, final mix, stems) | Sound 4 on a 1+ minute piece | Capstones; the music video and trailer pipelines |
Track 7 — Color (Colorist) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Correct exposure and white balance; apply a consistent look | Shot matching visible across a piece | Any challenge |
| Practitioner | Match shots from different models and sessions; build a color palette that supports the story | Craft objective ≥ 3 on a color challenge | Color challenges |
| Advanced | Design a color arc; finish to delivery spec (10-bit, no banding, natural skin tones) | Craft objective 4 on a color challenge, or Lighting & color 4 on a capstone | Color challenges and capstones |
Track 8 — Character & World Design (Production / Character Designer) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Build a character sheet with canonical references | A character sheet in a breakdown | Character development challenges |
| Practitioner | Build a world bible; design locations with consistent rules and set dressing | Craft objective ≥ 3 on a world-building entry, plus a lookbook | Virtual art department and environment challenges |
| Advanced | Develop a persistent character and world used across several pieces | The same character and world used in three or more entries at ≥ 3 | A recurring character across a challenge series |
Track 9 — AI Craft (Workflow Engineer / AI Supervisor) #
| Level | Can do | Evidence | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Use text-to-image and image-to-video; log seeds and settings; describe the pipeline | A complete breakdown at Breakdown & BTS ≥ 3 | Any challenge |
| Practitioner | Use references, ControlNet or pose and depth control, inpainting and upscaling; fix artifacts rather than re-rolling | A breakdown with a documented Problem → Solution, plus a published workflow card | Image-to-video, character and pipeline challenges |
| Advanced | Build reusable pipelines (ComfyUI graphs, automation); train LoRAs; composite hybrid VFX | Craft objective ≥ 3 on a hybrid or VFX entry, plus a workflow card that others save or rate | Pipeline, hybrid and VFX challenges; LoRAs & Fine-Tuning |
Generalist or specialist? #
- Generalist: Practitioner in all seven core tracks (Tracks 1–7). The complete solo AI filmmaker.
- Specialist: Advanced in one track plus Practitioner in two others. Useful for team matching in collaborative challenges.
Using the map #
For members
- Pick one or two tracks to focus on each month.
- Use the self-review checklist in the Critique Rubric and compare your self-score with the scores you get back.
- Tag the skills an entry shows when you submit it. They build up on your profile over time.
- Look at other members' profiles and entries to see what "good" looks like.
For team challenges
- Match teammates by complementary tracks (e.g. a strong storyteller, an AI Craft specialist and someone building their Sound track).
- The tracks line up with the roles you pick for collaborators on a team entry: Writer / Story Developer, Director, Cinematographer (DP), Editor, Sound Designer / Composer, Colorist, Character Designer, VFX Artist and more.