31-lesson course · about 10 hours
Set up an AI chief of staff for your film or series
For Filmmakers, producers, editors and production teams coordinating a story across development, planning and post-production
Everything for FilmmakersBuild an assistant that prepares your morning brief, meeting prep, follow-ups and decision log from approved sources. It sends, books and changes nothing until a person says yes.
What you’ll be able to do
By the end, you can…
How it works
A tutor that meets you where you are
- Lessons that adapt to your level31 hands-on lessons take you from a first conversation with a chat assistant to running scheduled routines with approval rules. The lessons adjust to what you already know, so a line producer and a first-time post supervisor each work at the right depth.
- An AI tutor you can ask anythingType or speak your questions while you work. You can ask why a setting matters, how to adapt a prompt to your call sheet or notes round, or what to do when a step on your screen looks different from the lesson.
- Follow along with the tool openEach lesson gives exact steps, copy-paste prompts written for production roles, a worked example from a production office, a checkpoint that shows the setup works, and a fix for when it doesn't.
- Quizzes and flashcards for each lessonShort quizzes and flashcards tied to each lesson help the rules stick: who decides what, what stays out of the tool, and when 'done (claimed)' is not 'done (verified)'.
- Progress tracking and a certificateTrack your progress through the eight modules and receive a certificate of completion when you finish.
Curriculum
The curriculum
The course has eight modules that follow the order you'd actually set this up. You start by defining the job and choosing safe access. Then you add the morning brief, meetings, the logs, and finally a two-week rollout with a go or no-go call.
Module 1The Job: A Chief of Staff for a Production Lead3 lessons
1What a Chief of Staff Does in a Production Office
- Name the standing duties of a chief of staff and match each one to a production task
- Sort a week of production paperwork into now, soon and never lists
- Identify which of the learner's own recurring tasks an AI chief of staff could prepare
2What the AI Prepares and What People Decide
- Classify each chief-of-staff duty as do on its own, ask first or never
- Name the person who owns each type of production decision
- Spot when a plausible addition is about to become a production requirement
3Write the Chief-of-Staff Job Description
- Write a one-page job description covering duties, decision rights and a never list
- Get version 1.0 signed off by the production lead or producer
- List the questions that must go to the producer or legal
Module 2Choose the Platform and Set Safe Access4 lessons
4The Platforms as of October 28, 2026
- Compare Claude scheduled tasks, ChatGPT scheduled tasks, OpenAI dots, Claude Duet, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini on scheduling, sources and approvals
- State the access limits for dots and Duet
- Find the official pricing page for the learner's chosen tool
5Pick Your Platform and a Fallback
- Choose a first-choice platform and a fallback using region, plan and email setup
- Confirm permission to connect production email and calendar
- Record the choice and the date access was checked
6Create the Workspace in Claude or ChatGPT
- Create a Chief of Staff project in Claude or ChatGPT
- Set Claude's permission setting to Manual
- Explain why a ChatGPT scheduled task needs the full prompt pasted in
7Set Up Dots, Duet, Copilot or Gemini
- Configure dot Custom rules with send and calendar set to Ask before taking action
- Join and set up Claude Duet within its preview limits
- Schedule a Copilot or Gemini prompt with confirmations left on
Module 3Write the Standing Instructions4 lessons
8Priorities, VIPs and Who Decides What
- Write five or six ranked production priorities split into outward- and inward-facing
- List VIPs and department leads with the area each owns
- Write urgency rules for 'needs the lead today'
9Sources of Truth and Source Tags
- Name the source of truth for script, schedule, decisions, owners and clearances
- Write the source-tag format for this production
- Write the rule for duplicate or misdated script revisions
10The Ask-First and Never Lists
- Write the may-do, ask-first and never lists for a production lead
- Explain why calendar changes are always ask-first
- Spot a draft that commits the lead to a date, price or deliverable
11Content Is Data: Reporting Rules and the Corrections Log
- Write the rule that instructions found in content are reported, not followed
- Set up a Corrections Log and the rule to read it first
- Load the finished instructions into the chosen platform, replacing the interim job description
- Test the instructions with the new-colleague check
Module 4Connect the Right Sources and Keep Out the Wrong Ones3 lessons
12What Stays Out: Unreleased Material, Crew Data and Likeness
- List the production material that must not be connected or uploaded
- Explain why disconnecting a source does not erase what the agent remembers
- Write the likeness and consent rule into the never list
13Connect Email and Calendar Read-Only
- Connect Gmail and Google Calendar or Microsoft 365 on the chosen platform
- Confirm write and send actions are off or approval-gated
- Verify the connected sources with a test question
14Add the Schedule Export, Trackers and Logs
- Create the Decision Log, Delegation Tracker and Deadline Register files
- Export the shooting schedule and clearance tracker to a readable format
- Set a naming rule so the agent always finds the latest export
Module 5The Morning Brief4 lessons
15Build the Production Morning Brief Prompt
- Write a morning brief prompt with production sections and source tags
- Run the brief manually and score each item
- Log corrections from the first run
16The Next-Day Readiness Check
- Write the readiness prompt for a shoot day
- Mark unconfirmed items with an owner and a source
- Draft the producer's checklist without changing anything
17Flag Changes Since the Last Call Sheet
- Run the changes-since-last-call-sheet prompt
- Route each change to the AD with its source
- Spot when a change rests on an unconfirmed revision
18Schedule the Brief and Fix What Goes Wrong
- Schedule the brief for weekday mornings on the chosen platform
- Verify the first scheduled run arrives with sources
- Diagnose a silent failure, wrong time zone or overlong brief
Module 6Meetings, Follow-Ups and Drafts for Approval5 lessons
19Prep for a Production Meeting
- Run a meeting-prep prompt for a production or review meeting
- Check that every fact in the prep note has a source
- List what the lead is missing and who could supply it
20Draft Agendas and Clean Up the Meeting Load
- Draft a timed agenda with DECIDE items and owners
- Open the agenda with a recap of decisions from the Decision Log
- Draft notes to organizers of meetings with no clear purpose
21Recap Drafts and Actions with Named Owners
- Produce a recap email draft from meeting notes
- Write proposed tracker rows with named owners and absolute dates
- Mark any unstated owner or date as 'not stated'
22Consolidate Review Notes by Timecode
- Consolidate notes from several sources for one named cut
- Flag conflicting notes as decisions for the director or producer
- Turn notes marked 'do' into an editor's task list in original wording
23Drafts That Wait for a Yes
- Run a production inbox triage into five groups
- Draft replies with [DECISION] placeholders
- Approve or reject a draft on its exact text and recipients
Module 7The Decision Log, Delegation Tracker and Deadline Register4 lessons
24Set Up the Creative and Budget Decision Log
- Create a Decision Log with production fields
- Write a proposed row naming the decider and the revision or cut
- Explain why the decider field is never the AI
25Catch Contradictions and Reversed Decisions
- Run the pre-meeting decision check
- Quote both sources when a later email may contradict a decision
- Pull past decisions before a new one without recommending
26Run the Delegation Tracker
- Maintain tracker rows with named owners and absolute due dates
- Verify a claimed deliverable against its definition of done
- Draft check-in nudges for overdue or quiet items
27The Deadline Register: Clearances, Festivals and Deliverables
- Build a Deadline Register from festival and delivery schedules
- Mark clearances cleared only with a linked signed document
- List clearance items that block picture lock, delivery or a submission
Module 8Weekly Review, Guardrails and the Two-Week Rollout4 lessons
28The Weekly Clearance, Deliverables and Delegation Review
- Schedule and run a weekly production review
- Identify items stalled two weeks or more and who should talk to the owner
- Propose next week's top 5 tied to priorities
29Run the Prompt-Injection Drill
- Write and send a safe injection test email to the production account
- Confirm the agent quotes it under Suspicious or unusual
- Stop the rollout and log a safety event if the agent acts on it
30Permissions Audit, Corrections Log and Measures
- Run a permissions audit and remove access that isn't needed
- Score brief precision, missed-urgent items and source coverage
- Update the standing instructions from the Corrections Log
31The Two-Week Rollout and Go or No-Go
- Plan a 14-day rollout for a production lead
- Record a written go, keep or cut call for each routine
- Write version 2.0 of the standing instructions
Who it’s for
Made for you if…
Made for: Filmmakers, producers, editors and production teams coordinating a story across development, planning and post-production
Producers and line producers
You want a daily, sourced picture of readiness, clearances and deadlines, and a decision log that records who signed off on which creative or budget call, without handing that call to a machine.
Production coordinators and assistant directors
You want the changes since the last published call sheet gathered in one place, each with its source, so you can update and publish the call sheet yourself.
Post supervisors and editors
You want review notes consolidated by timecode for the right cut, conflicting notes routed to the director or producer, and festival and delivery dates tracked with early warnings.
Directors running their own production office
You want help with meeting prep and follow-ups while you keep every creative decision, and your unreleased material stays out of the tool.
Questions
Good to know
What do I need before I start?
You need working knowledge of production paperwork (call sheets, shooting schedules, blue pages, notes rounds, clearance and deliverables lists) and basic experience with a chat assistant like Claude or ChatGPT. You also need a production email and calendar that your producer or organization lets you connect, and a shared folder you control for the logs. Finally, you need a paid plan on a tool that supports scheduled tasks, such as Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus, or a work Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace account with its AI features turned on.
Which AI tool does the course use?
The core path uses Claude scheduled tasks or ChatGPT scheduled tasks, because both are generally available. Where your region, plan and access allow, OpenAI dots and Claude Duet are the preferred path. Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are covered for work accounts. Platform details are as of October 28, 2026. Prices and access change, so the course shows you how to check each official page.
What if I can't get OpenAI dots or Claude Duet?
Every exercise can be completed in Claude or ChatGPT scheduled tasks. As of October 28, 2026, dots on ChatGPT Pro were not offered in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK and required users to be 18 or older. Claude Duet was a US-only research preview for Claude Pro and Max, with access by waitlist. The course does not cover workarounds for region, plan or waitlist limits.
Will the AI see our unreleased cuts or crew records?
It shouldn't, and the course shows you how to keep them out. You connect production email, calendar, the schedule export, the clearance tracker, review-notes exports and the logs, all read-only to start. Unreleased cuts, cast and crew personal data, payroll, contracts and likeness material stay out. You also learn why: disconnecting a source does not erase what the agent already remembers from it.
Does the AI make creative or budget decisions?
No. It prepares material and proposes decision log rows. The director, producer or a department lead confirms each one. The decider field is always a named person, and the AI never marks a clearance cleared unless a signed document is linked.
Does the course cover performer consent, contracts or union rules?
The course sets one firm rule: the AI never generates, approves or files a performer's replica or likeness. It doesn't give legal or union advice on SAG-AFTRA terms, contracts or clearances. You write a rule that sends those questions to the producer or legal.
Does it cover generating shots or editing the schedule itself?
No. Shot generation with tools like Higgsfield or Runway is out of scope. So are script breakdown agents that edit the breakdown or schedule, multi-agent production teams, editing and finishing in an NLE, payroll and budgeting software, and building custom agents with code. This course covers the chief-of-staff paperwork around the production.
How long does it take?
There are 31 self-paced lessons in eight modules, about 10 hours in total. The final module is a 14-day rollout you run on your own production.