Don’t Forget: AI for Architects — Starts September 22nd!

Hey Friend 👋

Adam here — writing to you today not from a rooftop, but from behind my desk covered in notebooks, screenplays, half-sketched character arcs, and marketing magic for Lighthouse AI Academy.

If you’re a writer, storyteller, or creative thinker of any kind, this one’s for YOU.

Today, we’re pressing play on something I believe will change how we write stories forever: a modular AI-powered storytelling pipeline built by Jeff Hipolito, one of the most quietly brilliant builder-writers I’ve met.

His suite of tools covers every stage of the process: Character Builder, Story weaving, Scene and Shot Designing — and soon — auto-first-frame generation. Automated video rendering comes later… Once those first frames are locked in.

Here’s how it works in practice: you start with a logline and world notes. The system asks for genre, sub-genre, and runtime, then suggests archetypes that fit your story. From there, you can enter physical descriptions, goals, backstory, and relationships, or let the AI propose them for you. 

The more detail you feed it, the more nuanced your cast becomes.

The outcome is characters that aren’t just placeholders, but rich, story-ready personas who grow with your narrative. Scene by scene. Arc by arc.

With that, it’s time for me to walk you through how it works and how you can start experimenting with similar ideas right now.

Resources for Storytellers 🎞️

Watch Jeff’s Webinar replay on our YouTube channel for a full demo + a behind-the-scenes of his workflow.

📽️ The CineMachine Pipeline: From Chaos to Camera

Jeff’s CineMachine solves the most common problem for AI storytellers: long, messy, unstructured documents that collapse under their own weight.

He’s spent months designing a modular system that handles characters, arcs, relationships, and context limits with precision.

Let’s walk through the future workflow he’s designing, and what can be done with current tools to start thinking like a system builder.

Step 1 — Build a Character Roster

Start with a simple cast list that the AI can structure and expand.

• Roster basics: name, role, desire, core world (table or markdown)
  

• Keep structure tight so the LLM stays focused
  

• Use in-app chat as your muse or mentor to turn rough notes into structured character blocks

Step 2 — Map Relationships

Define how characters connect and conflict — it’s the backbone of story tension.

• Add a Relationship column (mentor, rival, sibling, etc.)
  

• Generate a relationship graph to visualize dynamics
  

• Note shared history and current friction (keep to one line each)

Step 3 — Assign Arcs & Motivations

Every character needs direction — what they want, what’s in the way, and how they change.

• Draft Goal → Obstacle → Change in 3 parts
  

• Use prompt seeds: “Outline a 3-act arc for a character who wants freedom but fears responsibility.”
  

• CineMachine’s Story Builder with 3-Act 45% completed; Hero’s Journey is on the roadmap
  

Step 4 — Compress for Context

The context window always runs out — CineMachine manages it intelligently.

• Summarize characters + arcs into shorter blocks
  

• Keep separate docs for acts or subplots
  

• Trim backstory until it’s relevant to the scene at hand
  

Step 5 — Export for Scene & Shot Generation

Turn the Story data into a format that the Scene Builder can use to generate the camera-ready prompts.

• Build a table of character + scene notes
  

• Prompt the LLM  to generate the first frames
  

• This was the old way: Drop into ComfyUI, Midjourney, or Runway for visual prototyping
  

• The new way still to be integrated - once first frames are locked in, side by side with the prompts reformulated for video generation, the automation kicks in. 
  

• Depending on the video model used, initial tests done with LTX video model generated 60+ shots overnight on a single RTX 4090 card.

🕵️ Case Study: Skinwalker

Jeff is actively battle-testing CineMachine on Skinwalker: an 8-episode sci-fi detective mini-series.

Each step of CineMachine feeds into his workflow: from character rosters and arcs, to JSON scene breakdowns, to prototype shots for each episode.

It’s “building the plane while flying it,” as Jeff puts it, and proof that AI isn’t merely a tool, but a partner in long-form storytelling.

Why It Matters 💡

Most AI storytelling still collapses after a few thousand tokens. 

CineMachine is designed to fight that collapse by managing context and structure — so the AI writes with you, not over you.

This modular approach means:

• Writers can track character arcs without losing them
  

• Stories keep structural integrity beyond short form
  

• Visual prototypes can feed directly into production

It’s a glimpse at the next era: AI as a structured co-writer, not just a clever autocomplete.

🧠 Homework: Build Your Character Engine

Try this with your current tools:

1. Make a roster of 5 characters
   

2. Add arcs, relationships, and key turning points
   

3. Compress into a 2,000-token summary
   

4. Prompt: “Write a 2-scene dialogue between [Character A] and [Character B] during their falling out.”
   

5. Bonus: create 3 camera angles for the same scene

🌀 Ready to Go Deeper? Here’s What’s Coming Next

We’re working closely with builders like Jeff to explore what creative tools of the future will really look like.

In the meantime, if you’re ready to sharpen your storytelling workflows, our current programs are filling fast:

👷‍♂️ AI for Architects: Book Your Spot Now 👷‍♀️

If you’re an architect, designer, or creative technologist looking to lead in the AI era, this is the course for you.

Led by former student-turned-mentor June Chow, AI for Architects teaches you to:

• Build a complete AI-powered design pipeline from concept to visualization
  

• Master workflows like Kontext Pro sketch-to-render, ComfyUI, advanced pipelines, and custom LoRA training
  

• Join a global network of forward-thinking architects
  

• Create a portfolio-ready architectural project

September 22 – December 12, 2025

Format: Live masterclasses, Q&A, self-paced modules, community support

For: Practicing architects, architectural visualization specialists, urban planners, architecture students, design firm partners, computational design specialists, innovators and creative technologists, agency founders and studio owners, senior creatives and marketing leaders.

👉 Apply for AI for Architects

📣 Further Upcoming Courses at Lighthouse Academy 

• Advanced ComfyUI (Cohort 2) — Starts Aug 28
  
  👉 Apply to join now

AI for Creative Leaders (Cohort 3) — Starts September 9

👉 Apply to join now

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That’s it for now: Thanks for reading and building this new era with us.

If you're a maestro of stories, scenes, or characters, this is your moment, and we’re ready to enjoy it with you… Just follow the light.

Step by step, node by node — and away we go!

Keep creating and always remember to have fun.

— Adam & the Lighthouse AI Academy Team ☀️