--- title: "Creative direction, the whole course" description: "8 modules and 87 lessons. Deciding what the work looks like before anybody makes it." canonical_url: "https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction" md_url: "https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction.md" access: "partly public" --- # Creative direction Deciding what the work looks like before anybody makes it. 8 modules, 87 lessons. Lessons marked free can be read by anyone; the rest are for members. ## 01. Art direction 12 lessons. 1. [What an art director actually does](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/what-an-art-director-actually-does) (free) 2. [The difference between art direction and design](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/the-difference-between-art-direction-and-design) 3. [Building a visual argument](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/building-a-visual-argument) 4. [Choosing a single idea and holding it](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/choosing-a-single-idea-and-holding-it) 5. [Directing other people's craft](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/directing-other-peoples-craft) 6. [Art direction across a whole campaign](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/art-direction-across-a-whole-campaign) 7. [Working with a copywriter](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/working-with-a-copywriter) 8. [Presenting a look before it exists](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/presenting-a-look-before-it-exists) 9. [Feedback, and how to give it to a photographer](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/feedback-and-how-to-give-it-to-a-photographer) 10. [The art director on set](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/the-art-director-on-set) 11. [Judging the work against the brief rather than against taste](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/judging-the-work-against-the-brief-rather-than-against-taste) 12. [Art direction with generated images](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/art-direction/art-direction-with-generated-images) ## 02. Moodboards and references 10 lessons. 1. [What a reference is for, and how to choose one](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/what-a-reference-is-for) (free) 2. [The moodboard that is actually a brief](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/the-moodboard-that-is-actually-a-brief) 3. [Finding references that are not the obvious ones](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/finding-references-that-are-not-the-obvious-ones) 4. [Collecting in a way you can find again](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/collecting-in-a-way-you-can-find-again) 5. [Reading a reference properly](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/reading-a-reference-properly) 6. [The difference between reference and plagiarism](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/the-difference-between-reference-and-plagiarism) 7. [Boards for a client and boards for a crew](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/boards-for-a-client-and-boards-for-a-crew) 8. [Killing a board you love](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/killing-a-board-you-love) 9. [Reference as a prompt](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/reference-as-a-prompt) 10. [Keeping a library across projects](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/moodboards/keeping-a-library-across-projects) ## 03. Casting 11 lessons. 1. [What casting decides about a brand](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/what-casting-decides-about-a-brand) (free) 2. [Writing a casting brief](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/writing-a-casting-brief) 3. [Street casting](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/street-casting) 4. [Agencies, and how a booking works](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/agencies-and-how-a-booking-works) 5. [Reading a portfolio and a polaroid](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/reading-a-portfolio-and-a-polaroid) 6. [The callback](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/the-callback) 7. [Usage, exclusivity and what you are buying](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/usage-exclusivity-and-what-you-are-buying) 8. [Rates, buyouts and the numbers that surprise people](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/rates-buyouts-and-the-numbers-that-surprise-people) 9. [Diversity, and doing it without tokenism](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/diversity-and-doing-it-without-tokenism) 10. [Children, animals and everything that needs a licence](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/children-animals-and-everything-that-needs-a-licence) 11. [Casting a generated face](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/casting/casting-a-generated-face) ## 04. Styling 11 lessons. 1. [What a stylist does on a shoot](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/what-a-stylist-does-on-a-shoot) (free) 2. [Building a look](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/building-a-look) 3. [Fit, and why it decides everything](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/fit-and-why-it-decides-everything) 4. [Colour on a body](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/colour-on-a-body) 5. [Sourcing, borrowing and the returns problem](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/sourcing-borrowing-and-the-returns-problem) 6. [Prop styling](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/prop-styling) 7. [Food styling](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/food-styling) 8. [Hair and make-up direction](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/hair-and-make-up-direction) 9. [The fitting](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/the-fitting) 10. [Continuity across a day](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/continuity-across-a-day) 11. [Styling for a generated model](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/styling/styling-for-a-generated-model) ## 05. Set design 11 lessons. 1. [What a set has to do in a photograph](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/what-a-set-has-to-do) (free) 2. [Location or build](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/location-or-build) 3. [The cyclorama, the sweep and the tabletop](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/the-cyclorama-the-sweep-and-the-tabletop) 4. [Surfaces, and why they matter more than props](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/surfaces-and-why-they-matter-more-than-props) 5. [Colour and paint on set](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/colour-and-paint-on-set) 6. [Scale, and what the camera does to it](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/scale-and-what-the-camera-does-to-it) 7. [Props, and the difference between dressing and clutter](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/props-and-the-difference-between-dressing-and-clutter) 8. [Practical effects: water, smoke, wind](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/practical-effects-water-smoke-wind) 9. [Budgets, crew and the build day](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/budgets-crew-and-the-build-day) 10. [Striking a set and what happens to it](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/striking-a-set-and-what-happens-to-it) 11. [Set design inside a prompt](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/set-design/set-design-inside-a-prompt) ## 06. Shoot direction 11 lessons. 1. [Planning a shoot with a shot list](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/the-shot-list) (free) 2. [Boards and previsualisation](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/boards-and-previsualisation) 3. [The call sheet](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/the-call-sheet) 4. [Running a day](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/running-a-day) 5. [Directing a model](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/directing-a-model) 6. [Directing a photographer](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/directing-a-photographer) 7. [Coverage, and the frames you will need later](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/coverage-and-the-frames-you-will-need-later) 8. [Tethering, selects and the client on set](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/tethering-selects-and-the-client-on-set) 9. [What to fix now and what to fix after](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/what-to-fix-now-and-what-to-fix-after) 10. [Weather, delay and the plan that survives neither](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/weather-delay-and-the-plan-that-survives-neither) 11. [The wrap, and what leaves with whom](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/shoot-direction/the-wrap-and-what-leaves-with-whom) ## 07. Storytelling and short video 11 lessons. 1. [What a brand story actually is](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/what-a-brand-story-actually-is) (free) 2. [The founder story, and when to tell it](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/the-founder-story-and-when-to-tell-it) 3. [The shape of a fifteen-second story](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/the-shape-of-a-fifteen-second-story) 4. [The hook, and the first two seconds](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/the-hook-and-the-first-two-seconds) 5. [Scripting a reel](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/scripting-a-reel) 6. [The two-column script](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/the-two-column-script) 7. [Storyboarding for a phone screen](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/storyboarding-for-a-phone-screen) 8. [Captions and words on screen](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/captions-and-words-on-screen) 9. [Briefing a creator](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/briefing-a-creator) 10. [Thinking in series](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/thinking-in-series) 11. [No. 4's first reels, worked through, then yours](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/storytelling/no-4-reels-worked-through-then-yours) ## 08. Campaign direction 10 lessons. 1. [What turns an advertisement into a campaign](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/what-makes-a-campaign-rather-than-an-advertisement) (free) 2. [The idea that survives every format](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/the-idea-that-survives-every-format) 3. [Writing the campaign line](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/writing-the-campaign-line) 4. [Channel, and what each one can carry](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/channel-and-what-each-one-can-carry) 5. [Adapting without diluting](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/adapting-without-diluting) 6. [The asset matrix](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/the-asset-matrix) 7. [Launch sequencing](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/launch-sequencing) 8. [Measuring a campaign honestly](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/measuring-a-campaign-honestly) 9. [Campaigns that ran too long](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/campaigns-that-ran-too-long) 10. [Running a campaign with a generated asset base](https://www.aitastebud.com/learn/direction/campaign-direction/running-a-campaign-with-a-generated-asset-base)