It's Only Life (2026)
As Jack and Frank's father lies in a coma with little chance of recovery, his two estranged sons navigate the heart-wrenching, end-of-life decisions for their father.
This 2-minute experimental video was produced with AI generated characters from the award-winning screenplay, “It’s Only Life,” and to date, is the first AI excerpt with genuine connections between AI characters. Every pixel was AI generated; no actors.
Detailed, hand-drawn, moment-to-moment storyboards were created by the writer/director (Stephen Meadows) who also performed the voices for the characters. The storyboards dictated the character emotions, reactions, dialogue, looks, wardrobe, camera angles and backgrounds. This clip represents a leap forward in AI filmmaking, as the goal was to illustrate genuine, human emotions, reactions and connections from and between AI generated characters that has previously not been accomplished with AI filmmaking.
AI tools utilized: Magnific, Higgsfield, Runway, Kling, Seedance, Eleven Labs, and some After Effects.
Credits:
• Stephen Meadows- Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Storyboards, Voices
• James Hussey- Creative Director
• Robert Wald- Producer
• Edward McGurn- Producer
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Joseph Stephen MeadowsDirectorsee IMDb
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James HusseyDirector
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Joseph Stephen MeadowsWriterFlashcard, Dreamgift, Rumblers, It’s Only Life
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Robert WaldProducer
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Edward McGurnProducer
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AI generated AI generatedKey Cast"Jack Morris"
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AI generated AI generatedKey Cast"Frank Morris"
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Joseph Stephen MeadowsVoicessee IMDb
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Joseph Stephen MeadowsStoryboardssee IMDb
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Project Type:Experimental, Feature, Short, Web / New Media, Other
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Runtime:1 minute 56 seconds
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Completion Date:May 14, 2026
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Production Budget:10,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Shooting Format:AI generation
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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Golden Fern International Film FestivalDarjeeling
India
Best Experimental Film
See: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0575081/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_7_in_0_q_stephen%20meadows
The future of filmmaking is undeniably AI based for independent filmmakers. Those in the industry that do not embrace it will eventually be left behind. "Only Change remains the same."