THE EARTH MOVIE is set on a backwards planet hooked on its feeds, where one ordinary guy wakes up and learns that love and kindness beat money. The trailer is out now at theearthmovie.com. Here's how a small Denver studio got a feature-length AI film to a trailer, and what we'd tell any creator trying the same thing. We'll share the process and the lessons. The exact tools and prompts stay in the studio.
Step 1: Start with a story AI can't write for you
The tools can make a planet with a face made of clouds. They can't tell you why anyone should care about it. THE EARTH MOVIE started as a point of view: a world that keeps score with a glowing number over every head and never looks up from its feed. Every scene in the trailer had to serve that idea before we made a single frame.
Step 2: Build it scene by scene, like a studio shoot
We don't prompt a movie. We plan it the way a crew plans a shoot: script, storyboard, shot list, then each shot made, reviewed and remade until it plays. The handmade clay look of the cast, including a flip phone with pixel eyes and a rooftop gardener with a bird on her head, had to stay the same from shot to shot. Keeping characters and voices consistent is the hardest part of AI filmmaking, and it's the problem Madwackd Studio was built to solve.
Step 3: Let people make the calls
AI gives you options fast. Taste picks the one that works. Every line of dialogue, every cut and every music cue in the trailer was chosen by a person. That's also why we label the film plainly: THE EARTH MOVIE uses AI-generated characters, voices and imagery. Our AI disclosure explains how we label our work.
Step 4: Keep it clean on purpose
Satire usually reaches for shock. We went the other way: no cussing and no crude humor, so families can watch together, with allegories older viewers will catch. It turned out to be a better creative limit than we expected. Clean jokes have to be sharper.
Step 5: Edit the trailer like a promise
A trailer tells people what kind of night they're signing up for. Ours is long for a trailer, at 4:04, because the world takes a minute to land. We cut for the feeling first, then the jokes, then the story. "Turn the sound on" is the first note we give everyone.
What we'd tell other creators
- Write first. A clear point of view beats a pretty frame.
- Plan shots, not prompts. Storyboard before you generate.
- Lock your characters early. Consistency is the job.
- Disclose AI plainly. Audiences respect it.
- Ship in versions. Our trailer is the fifth cut.
Want the same studio tools for your own videos? The Custom Creator Studio builds them around you, and our music video breakdown shows the process at a smaller scale.
Common questions
Is THE EARTH MOVIE made with AI?
Yes. The characters, voices and imagery are AI-generated. People write, direct, edit and approve everything.
When does THE EARTH MOVIE come out?
It's targeted for Summer 2027, online at watchvrmovie.com. There's no fixed premiere date yet.
Is THE EARTH MOVIE family friendly?
Yes. No cussing and no crude humor, with satire older viewers will catch.
How much are tickets?
Presale tickets are $2.99 (the regular price at release will be $4.88), with a full refund on request any time before release.