Martini, Gaussian Splats and the Art of AI Cinematography

For three years, AI video has had a strange problem. You don't really direct the camera. You ask for a camera move and hope for the best.

Type "slow dolly in, 35mm, shallow depth of field" into a prompt box, hit generate, and see what comes back.

But a director on a real set doesn't describe a camera move and leave the rest to chance. You find the frame, choose the lens, block the movement, decide what gets revealed and when, then shoot it.

Martini is trying to bring some of that control into AI video.

Give it a single still image and it reconstructs the scene as a navigable 3D space using Gaussian Splats. You can move a virtual camera through it, choose your lens, set keyframes and work out the move before generating the video.

So instead of prompting for a shot, you block one.

Last month at FaiGHT CLUB, we made the case for keeping AI filmmaking local. This month, we're going back into the cloud to test whether more creative control makes that trade worthwhile.

The question for the night is simple:

If you control the camera, how much of the shot do you actually control?

🎬 What You'll Work On

"What changes when you can move the camera?" (20 min)

"One Frame. Five Moves." (70 min)

Debrief & Share

⚔️ The Five Rules

Rule 1: Make, Not Talk

No endless AI theory. Build actual shots in two hours that you can test Monday morning.

Rule 2: Teamwork = Human Open Source Bot

No passengers, no creative dictators. Everyone contributes, everyone rotates. Everyone gets a turn behind the virtual camera.

Rule 3: Don't Hoard Your Subscription Credits

Fast hours, API tokens, pro access. Pool your compute power for the team. Generosity wins.

Rule 4: No Subscription Required

You won't need your own Martini subscription to participate. [Confirm access arrangement before publishing.]

Rule 5: Leave Egos at the Door

Director, DP, editor, producer, fresh grad. Everyone is equal at the table. Pure collaboration, pure learning.

⚠️ Important Notes

Bring a laptop with internet access and a Chrome-based browser.

Bring one still image you'd love to fly a camera through. It could be a location photo, a frame from your own footage or a generated image. We'll pick the battle frame or frames on the day of the workshop.

All experience levels welcome, but come ready to collaborate and experiment.

In the event of oversubscription, Lorong AI members will be prioritized.

🗣️ Facilitated by Gavin Lim (AI Film Lab)

Gavin Lim is founder of AI Film Lab, a Future of Work community exploring the intersection of AI technology and visual storytelling. A seasoned TV producer, director and filmmaker with nearly thirty years of experience, Gavin leads practical exploration of AI tools that enhance rather than replace human creative judgment.

AI Film Lab has conducted AI filmmaking hackathons with Singapore media practitioners and led the first AI filmmaking hackathon at the Philippines' inaugural AI Festival (2025). Their approach centres on iteration over perfection and collaborative learning over isolated expertise.

More About the Series

FaiGHT CLUB is a monthly AI filmmaking lab bringing together professional filmmakers, creatives, and producers for hands-on exploration of AI tools that enhance rather than replace human craft. Each session tackles a specific production challenge through collaborative team sprints, guest case studies, and practical workflow development.

Tinker Time is Lorong AI's hands-on meetup combining guided workshops with open collaboration time for builders to share code, troubleshoot together, and experiment with AI development techniques.

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