Updated: 2026-05

1. About This Page

A read that revisits the purpose of using Runway in this course. It’s not about technology, but about philosophy.

2. What Is Video Prototyping?

Video prototyping is a technique used during the planning stage to visually demonstrate what the final product will look like.

The same role as a mockup in product development:

• Take an unfinished project and give it shape to test it
• Share it with stakeholders (teachers, collaborators, and reviewers)
• Check for yourself whether it’s correct

The goal isn’t to create a finished product, but to give shape to ideas and share them.

3. It’s important that it’s not a finished product

Once you get hooked on AI video generation, you tend to want it to be “more beautiful,” “longer,” and “more perfect.” This is the trap of video prototyping.

Prototyping	Final Product Development
Speed is key	Quality is key
80% is good enough	Aiming for 99%
Expecting multiple revisions	Want to get it right the first time
Make one in a day	Make one in a month
Making it for testing	Making it for release

During the practical exercises phase of the course, we operate in prototyping mode. Only the projects that students decide to turn into finished products during the hands-on phase are given additional time to refine.

4. Why AI Video Generation Is Ideal for Prototyping

Comparison with conventional methods:

Method	Time to create one shot	Required skills
Live-action filming	Several hours to several days	Filming, lighting, directing, casting
3D CG	Several days to several weeks	3D modeling, animation, rendering
Hand-drawn animation	Several weeks to several months	Animation, filming, editing
AI video generation	30–90 seconds	Prompt writing, image preparation

With AI, you can see a prototype on the very day of the planning meeting. This is a revolutionary breakthrough.

5. The Freedom of Accepting Imperfection

When creating content using live-action, 3D, or hand-drawn animation, it’s difficult to show a rough prototype at the planning stage. If you show “strange movements” or “distorted faces,” there’s a risk that the project itself will be rejected.

In AI video generation, it is generally accepted that the output contains AI-specific glitches. This is actually crucial for protecting the concept:

• Blurred hands → You can explain, “Please focus on the character’s facial expressions.”
• Characters that change suddenly → You can explain, “The story structure is what matters.”
• Unrealistic physics → You can state the premise: “In the final version, we’ll use live-action or CG.”

A culture of showing projects to others even with rough prototypes is beginning to take root.

6. What to Leave to AI and What to Decide Yourself

Here is the most important message of this course:

6.1 Let AI Handle It

• The visual appeal of individual shots (lighting, compositional details)
• Subtle movement (leaves rustling, clouds drifting)
• The texture of the video (film grain, depth of field)

6.2 Making Your Own Decisions

• Story — What do you want to convey?
• Structure — In what order should you present it?
• Shot Selection — Where should you place the camera?
• Directional Intent — Why this movement?
• Editing Pacing — Where should you cut?

The AI is the “art director,” and I am the “director and screenwriter.” The latter is something I can’t leave to the AI.

7. The Essence of the Skill of “Writing” Prompts

The quality of a prompt depends more on creative vision than on technique:

• Someone who can articulate what they want to capture
• Someone who can visualize the overall structure of a video
• Someone who can plan the continuity between shots

These are skills that video creators have possessed since long before the advent of AI. AI doesn’t make them obsolete; rather, they are becoming increasingly important.

8. Experience failure quickly

Another benefit of prototyping is rapid iteration through failure.

In live-action filming, the cost of shooting a “failed take” is so high that you have to be cautious. With AI, you can test out “bad ideas” for just 50 cr.

• “I was thinking of setting it at dusk, but nighttime works better.”
• “I was thinking of making the protagonist a woman, but a man fits the story better.”
• “I was thinking of using a wide shot, but a close-up conveys the message better.”

We can produce 10 concept designs per hour. That’s a pace that would be impossible with live-action or 3D.

9. Implementing Prototyping in a Group Setting

When creating a 30-second short film in a group of five:

1. Planning Meeting (30 minutes) — Finalize the story and storyboard
2. Draft Round 1 (60 minutes) — Create all shots using Gen-4 Turbo
3. Review (15 minutes) — Watch together and decide what to change
4. Draft Round 2 (60 minutes) — Finalize key shots in Gen-4.5
5. Editing + Audio (45 minutes) — Finalize with Editor and Audio
6. Final Review (15 minutes) — Review as a group and submit

Approximately 4 hours total. You can complete it at a pace of three 90-minute sessions.

10. Are things created by AI considered works of art?

A philosophical discussion. In this course, we adopt the following position:

• AI is a tool, just like camera equipment or editing software
• It is the process of humans selecting, assembling, and conveying AI-generated content that gives the work its artistic merit
• It’s not that “AI created everything,” but rather that “I had AI create it based on my own intentions”

However, this perspective is open to debate, and it’s an issue everyone should continue to think about for themselves. I hope you’ll use Runway as an opportunity to reflect on “what you’re doing.”

11. The Creator’s Approach

With the advent of AI video generation, we have entered an era where anyone can create videos. This means:

• ✓ Opens up new possibilities for creation (Good)
• ✗ The misconception that “AI will create the work for you” (Bad)

AI has no intent of its own. Without the creator’s intent, it will simply churn out beautiful but meaningless images.

What we hope you will learn in this course:

• The ability to articulate what you want to create
• The judgment to determine structure and presentation
• The skill to recognize and work around the limitations of AI
• The determination to see a project through to completion

12. What’s Next

• Limits and Next — Runway’s Limits, The World Six Months from Now