A finished AI short film needs a clear description wherever it travels: a screening programme, a YouTube page, a portfolio or a festival application. Prepare three versions: a one-sentence logline, a short public synopsis and a fuller story summary for applications that request it. Each should describe the film a viewer will actually see.

This guide offers an editorial workflow for creators taking a film beyond a hackathon screening. The suggested lengths are working targets, not Prompt2Screen rules or universal festival requirements.

Start with what happens on screen

Watch the final export and write four plain answers: who or what is at its centre, what changes, what makes that change difficult, and where the film ends. Use visible actions and audible information. A character's history only belongs in the description if the film gives the audience a way to understand it.

This matters when an AI production changes during editing. A discarded shot may have carried a crucial revelation; a beautiful replacement may suggest a different story. Describe the completed cut, then decide whether any remaining confusion needs an edit rather than a more elaborate explanation.

For practice, choose a film from the Prompt2Screen Torino collection, write its central action in one sentence and compare your description with what is actually shown.

Write a logline around a specific choice

For a narrative short, try this starting structure: when something changes, a particular person must take an action despite an obstacle, with something meaningful at stake. Remove any element that makes the sentence feel forced. A quiet character study does not need a manufactured countdown.

Here is an invented automotive story used only for this exercise; it is not a film from the Torino competition.

Vague version: “An emotional AI journey through cars, memories and the future.”

More specific version: “Before selling her late father's car, a mechanic follows its faulty navigation system on one final journey to discover why it keeps directing her home.”

The second version gives the reader a person, an action and a question. The word “AI” can appear in a separate production note unless artificial intelligence is part of the story itself. Aim for a sentence you can say comfortably aloud; around 25–40 words is a useful drafting target for this exercise.

For an abstract or experimental film, describe the visual progression, sound relationship or central transformation instead. Do not invent a protagonist to fit a template.

Give public viewers enough to choose the film

A public synopsis can introduce the setup and tone while leaving the resolution for the viewer. Try 50–90 words, then shorten it for the platform you are using.

For the fictional example:

“On the morning she plans to sell her father's old car, a mechanic discovers that its navigation system keeps sending her home. She follows its instructions through a changing city, searching for a fault she can repair. Familiar streets become a route through their unfinished relationship, in a quiet short about memory and the things we struggle to let go.”

Every promise here would need support in the finished film. If there is no changing city, remove it. If the film is comic rather than quiet, change the tone description. Avoid claims such as award-winning unless you can name the actual award accurately.

Use the ending when the application asks for it

An application synopsis can serve a different purpose from a public teaser: the reader may need to understand the complete story. The BFI NETWORK England short film funding guidance asks for a logline separately from a story outline that includes reveals and the ending.

Likewise, the Sundance Feature Film Program's Development Track guidance distinguishes a short logline from a synopsis covering major story points and the ending. These are examples from specific funding and development programmes, not submission rules for your short or a statement of eligibility.

For the invented film, a full synopsis would explain what the mechanic discovers, the decision she makes about selling the car and the final image. “She learns a life-changing truth” would conceal precisely the information that reader requested. Follow the destination's instructions on length, spoilers and format every time.

Keep the AI process accurate and separate

Alongside the story copy, maintain a concise production note: what the team created, where AI tools contributed and what people directed, edited or performed. Describe your actual workflow. Do not label an entire production fully generated if it also uses filmed performances or other source material.

Our guide to explaining an AI film process covers that companion document. Keeping the two pieces distinct makes both easier to use: the synopsis explains the viewing experience, while the process note explains how the work was made.

Build a small copy pack for the next screening

Save the approved title, logline, public synopsis, full summary and production note in one shared document. Include the final runtime and agreed credits, then nominate one teammate to maintain the current version.

Before sending it, check:

  • Does the description match the final export, including its ending?
  • Are names, title spelling and credits consistent everywhere?
  • Does the destination require a specific word or character limit?
  • Have you kept private application spoilers out of public promotional copy?
  • Can a teammate explain the film after reading the logline once?

If you are exploring other screening contexts in the VIA community, Milan AI Festival is a useful official destination for its festival information and competition categories. Check each event's current requirements before adapting your materials. A clear copy pack makes that adaptation easier while keeping the film's identity intact.

Sources & further reading

Updated 20 October 2026. Event availability and final details are maintained on the linked official event pages.

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