A programme record with a process trail
Runway’s 2025 AI Film Festival screening room lists JAILBIRD by Andrew Salter at 2 minutes 49 seconds and identifies it as a Gold selection. The programme confirms a title, creator, runtime and exhibition context. It does not, by itself, reveal how each frame was made. For that, Salter’s project page is the more useful primary source.
Salter calls the work an experimental AI documentary and dates it to April 2025. He credits himself with writing, direction and editing. The subject and documentary-shaped form invite a second set of questions: which elements are testimony or record, which are reconstruction, and what cues tell the viewer the difference? A festival listing does not answer those questions.
Drawing is a production instruction
According to Salter, he created illustrated storyboards, described those images to AI, refined the resulting visuals and edited the film. He says the visuals are AI-generated except for the drawings at the end. The sequence is important: the board is not just a mood reference. It carries decisions about framing, order and emphasis into the generation stage. Editing then tests whether the assembled images make a coherent short.
For a maker trying a similar path, archive the storyboard next to each selected output. Label what changed between them: subject position, camera angle, gesture, environment and mood. A prompt log alone may not preserve the visual intent that the board made explicit. Review the finished sequence for claims implied by the imagery, especially when the film uses documentary conventions.
The limits of the public record
The creator’s description is a first-party process account, not independent verification of every asset or permission. It does not disclose all tools, attempts, source inputs or rights decisions. Nor does the festival award certify those things. The film can still teach a clear craft lesson: previsualization can make an AI-assisted production more directed, but the final responsibility for truthfulness and clearance sits outside the generation step.
Watch the film through the official screening room, then compare the experience to Salter’s stated workflow. Note where a shot appears to carry a specific piece of information and where it works as atmosphere. That is a more useful critique than treating every generated image as equally evidentiary.
Sources & context
- Andrew Salter · JAILBIRD project and process account (04/25 as marked by creator)
- Runway AI Film Festival · 2025 screening room
Sources checked 16 September 2026. Screen Method did not interview Salter, verify production files or independently clear the artwork. This article was prepared in 2026.