Production file: showing how AI was used
A production file is a document sent with an entry that explains how the film was made, which AI tools were used and for what. Some festivals require one; others ask for the same facts in a shorter form. From 4 source pages, read 2026-09-25; no maker pays to be listed.
WAIFF in Cannes requires a production file explaining the use of AI tools for every submission. Astana asks for the models and the pipeline to be disclosed and every contributor credited. The African AI Film Festival asks for the main tools and models and a short account of how AI was used.
The Chroma Awards keep it lighter, asking for the tools to be listed in the video description, and ask sponsor-award winners to prove they used the sponsor's tool.
A production file is easiest to write from notes kept while making the film: the tool behind each shot, the source of each voice and piece of music, the reference images used.
It also protects the entrant. When a festival asks later how a scene was made, a record written at the time answers more convincingly than a memory.
| Festival | Rule | What the rules say |
|---|---|---|
| World AI Film Festival | Tool disclosure | A production file explaining the AI tools used, for every submission |
| Astana AI Film Festival | Tool disclosure | Model or models and the pipeline disclosed on submission, with every contributor credited |
| African AI Film Festival | Tool disclosure | Every entry lists the main AI tools and models and how AI was used |
| Chroma Awards | Tool disclosure | The tools used are listed in the video description |
Inclusion rule. Readings from the register cited on this page. Order. The order they are discussed in.
1The wording in the rules
A production file explaining the use of AI tools is required for every submission.
World AI Film Festival, competitions page
All contributors credited; model(s) and pipeline disclosed on submission.
Astana AI Film Festival, home page
List the main AI tools and models (Runway, Sora, Midjourney, ElevenLabs, etc.) and briefly describe how AI was used.
African AI Film Festival, home page
In the video description, lists the tools that were used
Chroma Awards, film division rules
- Competition rulesA production file explaining the AI tools used, for every submission
- Rules of admissionModel or models and the pipeline disclosed on submission, with every contributor credited
- AI ethics and disclosureEvery entry lists the main AI tools and models and how AI was used
- RecommendationsThe tools used are listed in the video description
2Producing the entry with AI
For an entrant reading “Production file”, this is what SceneMixer publishes about the film its pipeline hands over:
A micro drama (vertical drama) is a serialized show of 60–120 second episodes shot for phones.
SceneMixer, The AI Micro Drama Production Pipeline (read 2026-10-13)
SceneMixer writes dialogue into the script analysis, assigns each line to a shot with a speaker and a short delivery note, and the video model performs it — picture and audio generated together, so the mouth forms that sentence in the language you chose.
SceneMixer, AI Dialogue Generator (read 2026-10-13)