Ethical AI Video Course for Filmmakers with Drew Geraci – New on MZed

by Mascha DeikovaOctober 7^th, 2025

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Exploring new tools is always exciting. Yet, when these tools involve AI… the process can become confusing. AI is advancing too quickly to keep up. Sometimes, it’s challenging to determine the best approach to use this modern tech in our field. And, the main question revolves around ethics. All of these topics are exactly what the new course “Directing the Future: Ethical AI Video for Filmmakers” sets out to tackle. In this course, freshly launched on MZed, acclaimed filmmaker Drew Geraci guides us through generative video AI in a way that keeps creativity, originality, and ethics front and center. The main focus lies on using AI models to amplify your vision, rather than replacing it.

As Drew stresses in the introduction of the course, the technology isn’t going anywhere, and neither are the ethical questions it raises. (At least, for now). Thus, every lesson is designed to help filmmakers make informed, conscious choices. Let’s take a sneak peek into the course and what it offers to participants who decide to step into this “new era of filmmaking.”

Meet your instructor for the Ethical AI Video course

Drew Geraci is an award-winning cinematographer and photographer whose work spans TV, film, and advertising, and who has been in the industry for over 20 years. You might recognize his name from the now iconic “House of Cards” opening title sequence, on which he worked with David Fincher, or from collaborations with Steven Spielberg and Alejandro Iñárritu. (Head over here to check out his filmography.)

Drew already has a course on MZed.com, titled “Cinematic Timelapse,” where his affinity for high-impact HDR motion-controlled timelapse shines through. Apart from that, Drew is an AI advocate, and now he also shares his knowledge of AI-powered filmmaking with us.

We are aware that AI topics raise significant concerns and anxiety among our community, and we are extremely glad to hear that such an experienced filmmaker has decided to take steps to change this sentiment as he trains AI on his own creative work. And that he does this with a big focus on ethics.

Ethical AI and how to navigate it

No doubt that generative AI is everywhere nowadays. Yet, as Drew Geraci points out in the course, in the visual arts, it’s not a trend. It’s a tool. And like any other tool, how it is used matters. And here is where ethics enters the game.

So, what is ethical AI? In the first lesson, Drew asks participants to consider three guiding principles: transparency, consent, and authorship. Transparency means letting clients or audiences know when and how AI has been used. Consent equals respecting privacy and avoiding the use of personal likenesses without permission. (Meaning also: Just because the person’s photo is online, you still shouldn’t feed it into an AI model without asking beforehand.) Lastly, authorship implies maintaining ownership of creative decisions and staying responsible for them.

You are the storyteller, not the algorithm. AI is the assistant that can help carry your gear, but you are still the director.

A quote from the course

To give us an example of responsible AI use, Drew drafts the following scenario. A documentary team implements generative AI models to restore damaged archival footage. Imagine that they disclosed the process and got all the needed consents from the material owners. This way, they could achieve something historically valuable, which would have been impossible otherwise. On the contrary, a social media team that generates images of people for fake testimonials in Reels without labeling AI doesn’t take a responsible approach. That’s how they quickly lose the audience’s trust.

What else will you learn in the AI video course?

So, how do you decide what is okay? Especially when the laws and regulations on AI still fail to keep up? Drew’s tip here is to establish an ethical framework, based on the principles we described above. And also to value originality: use AI to enhance your work, rather than copying something else. It’s essential to ensure that your projects remain innovative and responsible at the same time. Once you do, a lot of new possibilities will open up to you.

The new course on ethical AI video for filmmakers covers practical workflows, tools, and hands-on examples at every stage of the project, and includes lessons on:

• Different AI generation tools, useful for video production: from image platforms like Midjourney and Hailuo AI, to video possibilities with Google Flow, upscalers like Topaz Video AI, and storyboarding with LTX Studio. As Drew jokes, no PHD in computer science is required.
• Tips on prompt engineering for crafting precise instructions for AI to achieve the desired outcome.
• The cost of using AI. The course examines platform pricing, subscription management, and the real investment of time and money required to integrate AI into production.
• AI workflows: various techniques for incorporating AI in pre- and post-production, like enhancing footage, creating scenes from still images, or removing objects while maintaining the client’s trust.
• Future of AI in filmmaking: Drew’s thoughts on emerging roles, real-time production enhancements, and evolving creative landscapes, while also highlighting the skills filmmakers need to obtain.
• Step-by-step guides. The heart of the course is live demos, in which Drew takes us through his workflows and demonstrates tools in action. From polishing a script for a fruit juice commercial with ChatGPT to asset manipulation in After Effects, from previsualizing tricky shots using Google Flow, to seamlessly combining real footage with AI-generated elements, and much, much more.

Head over here to read the full course’s plan and all the lesson descriptions. 

Part of the MZed subscription – an ever-evolving course!

The new course “Directing the Future: Ethical AI Video for Filmmakers” is available as part of the MZed Pro subscription, which is available monthly or annually.

If you are not an MZed Pro user yet, we highly recommend you consider becoming one. Along with other benefits you receive, please note that this new course will be continually evolving.

As AI is constantly advancing on a weekly or even daily basis, some of the information provided in the course may have changed before we even launched it on MZed. However, Drew plans to update the lessons regularly and add new technologies, models, and information as they become available. He is currently working on new lessons, which will be available soon. In the meantime, MZed Pro subscribers can already enjoy the released course.

What else do you get with MZed Pro?

As an MZed Pro member, you can access hundreds of hours of filmmaking education. Additionally, we continually add new courses (several are currently in production).

Starting at just $29/month (billed at $349 in the first year, $199 from the second year, or billed monthly at $49), here’s what you’ll get:

• 60+ courses, over 800+ high-quality lessons.
• Highly produced courses from educators with decades of experience and awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award.
• Unlimited access to stream all content during the 12 months.
• Offline download and viewing with the MZed iOS app.
• Discounts to ARRI Academy online courses, exclusively on MZed.
• Most of our courses provide an industry-recognized certificate upon completion.
• Purchasing the courses outright would cost over $9,500.
• Course topics include cinematography, directing, lighting, cameras and lenses, producing, indie filmmaking, writing, editing, color grading, audio, time-lapse, pitch decks, and more.
• 7-day money-back guarantee if you decide it’s not for you (on annual billing only).

Full disclosure: MZed is owned by CineD.
Join MZed Pro now and start watching today!

What about you? Where would you draw the ethical line when it comes to AI-generated content? If you had access to these tools and extensive knowledge on how to implement them, what scene or project would you test them on first? Do you believe audiences will care if AI was involved in the process, as long as the story resonates? Let us know what you think in the comments below!