I watched the movie, “The Wild Robot” last night and it got me thinking about the act of creation.

Within each of us lies a spark—a primal urge to create. One of the greatest things you can do is to recognize that spark, feed it, and let it blaze from a tiny flicker into an unstoppable fire.

But to transform that spark into a raging fire - the kind of creative fire it takes to successfully make an animated movie like “The Wild Robot” - you need help.

You need three things:

1) Inspiration. You need to see someone else do something similar so you know it’s within reach.

2) Structure. You need a roadmap to break down a big vision into smaller, manageable steps you can tackle one by one.

3) Execution. You need the skill and grit to bring the idea in your mind to life.

The good news is this: there are boundless examples in the world for inspiration. And artificial intelligence can help you with structure and execution.

Inspiration is everywhere.

"The Wild Robot" lit the spark for this post. It’s a rollercoaster of a movie—gripping, heartfelt, and packed with a message that leaves a lasting impact.

I asked myself - could artificial intelligence make this movie on its own? With the release of Runway’s Act-One character model, you can now create animated avatars with human-like expressions.

Here’s one I made over the weekend:

You could have ChatGPT write a script and then you could act it out for Act-One to transform into animation.

So in theory, you could approximate the look and feel of “The Wild Robot” with this tech. But that’s not the same thing as making the movie.

Because the movie is more than the sum of its parts. It’s the characters, the story, the writing, the style, and the emotional journey all pumping together that makes it worth watching.

You could imitate its style, but you can’t capture its beating “heart.” Because you’re watching other humans bare their souls for the world to see. And that’s what inspired me.

One reason I love watching great movies is that they prove it’s possible—people really do make extraordinary films. And if I stay in the game, I can be one of them.

So if you’re looking for inspiration, just expose yourself to more art. Get moved by something, and you’ll get moving.

AI might not be able to create “The Wild Robot,” but it can help you get YOUR humanity out of your head & heart and into the world.

AI can give you structure to see the finish line.

A constant refrain of mine is that nothing good can happen unless you finish what you start.

And structure helps you finish. It’s the guiding light that illuminates the long path through the dark forest.

In screenwriting, the three-act structure has been the standard in Hollywood since the 1970s. It breaks up a 110-page movie script into three manageable chunks: set-up, confrontation, and resolution. That turns 120 pages into 30-50-30 chunks.

Tara and I take it a step further, dividing everything into 15-page chunks—making each piece even more achievable.

Notice how this article uses structure by breaking up the content with headlines. Headlines guide the way in all my articles. They tap me on the shoulder and remind me what I’m writing about. They also serve as a map, funneling me to the finish line and making sure I don’t get lost.

And AI can help you do this. One of the best use cases for ChatGPT is to help you with structure.

Here’s an example. Let’s say I wanted help with the article you’re reading right now. I could ask ChatGPT…

Maybe I won’t explore all of these, but at least it gets my brain going about possible headlines I could include. And it can also help if you’re stuck and need to shake things up.

ChatGPT has become an indispensable tool to help me finish what I start. How can you use it to do the same?

AI can help you create what’s in your head.

With inspiration in place and a clear roadmap ahead, it’s time to execute.

And every day, AI is becoming better at helping you make stuff.

I used a combination of ChatGPT and Replit’s AI interface to create the screenwriting app prototype I shared a few weeks ago.

First, I had ChatGPT break down the process into the tiniest steps to help me grasp each part (structure!).

Next, I asked it to write the code for the app (execution!).

I tested the code in Replit, then had ChatGPT refine it based on the feedback I got while running it (iteration!).

All this, without knowing how to code.

And this is just the start. I plan on telling stories with Runway’s Act-One animator, bringing characters to life. You can dive in too—become a director of photography, an animator, or a visual designer, and let AI guide you as you learn.

For anyone with a deep curiosity to create, the possibilities are endless. So start creating and share your work with me. I’m excited to see what you’re all making out there.

Thanks for reading.

-Thomas

PS. This is how I…

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