Ravi's Thursday, two ways

Ravi, an independent filmmaker preparing a short drama.

Ravi is an independent filmmaker prepping a short drama called Night Bus. It is about a night-shift nurse who misses the last bus and meets a quiet stranger at the depot. His outline is messy, so he opens ChatGPT and tries a concept prompt: "Turn this rough idea into a clear logline, a three-act outline, and three possible titles." He gets a version he likes, changes the title to Last Stop, and saves it.

After lunch, Ravi opens Claude to plan a two-night shoot at a small bus depot. He types scene details: Scene 4, the nurse waits under a flickering light while the stranger offers a thermos, no dialogue for twenty seconds. Claude suggests a shot list and a call sheet for eight crew members. Ravi notices the depot permit ends at 10 p.m., so he moves the wide exterior shot earlier.

For casting, he uses Gemini to write sides for the nurse and the stranger, one quiet page and one tense page. He also asks for an audition notes template. After callbacks, he compares notes with his producer and finds the actor who listens best on camera. When rain cancels the exterior bus shot, he asks Claude on his phone for three ways to keep the scene inside the depot and still end with hope. He picks the option where the stranger leaves a paper bus schedule on the bench.

By 4 p.m. Ravi has a logline, a shot list, casting sides, and a rain plan. He uses the extra hour to rehearse with his lead actor and walk the depot at dusk. Then he goes home for dinner instead of staying late with paperwork.