Storytelling with AI

How do you tell a complex energy story in just a few seconds — using AI as your creative partner?

In this hands-on, hybrid masterclass (in person + Zoom), participants will step inside the world of The Atomic Gamble, a documentary exploring AI’s growing thirst for energy and the turn to nuclear power for data centers. Instead of listening to a lecture about the film, you’ll actively create your own AI-assisted micro-documentary inspired by one chapter of its script.

Working collaboratively and using AI tools, participants will learn how to:

• Use AI to research and fact-check a real-world question: How much energy does AI use?
• Transform research into a short, clear script suitable for a micro-video
• Translate that script into a simple shot plan
• Prompt AI image and video generators to create compelling visual assets

By the end of the session, participants will have all AI-generated assets needed to assemble a final 30-second video. Video editing itself is beyond the scope of this class, but the instructors will be available after the session to provide information on how to assemble their final video if desired.

Instructors will also introduce participants to workflows for dubbing the final video into other languages and for generating a short podcast conversation, using AI to simulate two people discussing the video and its ideas, demonstrating how a single story can be adapted across multiple formats.

No prior experience with AI or filmmaking is required. This masterclass is designed for researchers, academics, and students who want to explore AI as a storytelling tool for communicating complex ideas in new, creative ways.

Watch the AI Atomic Gamble documentary: https://youtu.be/6EzJxR5-k0E 

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/ko6DunQHrT4

Watch the trailer in Chinese: https://youtu.be/HVR6LYDBCuY

Register to attend: https://middlebury.zoom.us/meeting/register/ZgtzkWoTS-yLcAH7VYJBJw

These are the AI tools provided by Middlebury (you have access with your Middlebury email):

• Microsoft Copilot
• Google Gemini
• Google NotebookLM

The Gemini video generators Veo and Flow are not available with your Middlebury email. You will need to get a Pro account before the training class. You can get a one-year free student subscription by following the instructions here: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16417758?hl=en

Faculty and staff can also get a free student subscription. You will need a personal Gmail account. Don’t use the Middlebury email for this.