The AI Doc Breakdown — Filmmaking in the Age of Uncertainty

Mar 27, 2026

Guest

Daysha Broadway

Guest

Davis Coombe

Guest

Charlie Tyrell

Daysha Broadway, film editor who shaped The AI Doc’s craft; Davis Coombe, documentary editor experienced in essay-led films; Charlie Tyrell, co-director known for mixed-media and animation. They discuss making an essay-style documentary around impending parenthood and AI. The team’s collaborative editorial workflow, ethical choices of featuring a co-director as subject, and the film’s handcrafted animation and practical effects are highlighted.

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INSIGHT

Film Mirrors Its Own AI Theme

The film wrestles with AI both thematically and through its production choices.
Charlie Tyrell framed impending parenthood as a narrative device to explore real-time AI anxiety and optimism.

ANECDOTE

Directors Joined During Shared Pregnancy Anxiety

Charlie Tyrell joined after Daniel Roher and Daniel Kwan proposed a documentary about AI while both were expecting children.
Tyrell and Roher were preparing for first kids and Kwan yoinked them into a fast-moving behemoth project in 2023.

ANECDOTE

Editor Hired After A Group Conversation

Daysha Broadway was invited after a chance Zoom where Daniel appeared and later sat at a table discussing AI and parenting.
Paul Rogers' studio talk convinced Quan she 'got it' and later she learned she had the job.

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In this episode, No Film School host GG Hawkins speaks with director Charlie Tyrell and editors Davis Coombe and Daysha Broadway about The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. The conversation explores how the team shaped an essay-driven documentary around AI, parenting, authorship, and uncertainty, while also breaking down the collaborative editorial process, the ethics of making a film in real time about a rapidly changing subject, and the analog craft choices that gave the project its tactile visual identity.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests discuss...

How The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist uses a filmmaker’s journey into impending parenthood as a narrative device for exploring AI anxiety and optimism
Why the team chose an essay-documentary structure while still grounding the film in Daniel Roher’s on-camera perspective
The challenges of shaping a documentary whose subject kept changing during production as AI news evolved in real time
How Charlie Tyrell, Davis Coombe, and Daysha Broadway each found their way into filmmaking and documentary storytelling
The creative and ethical complications of having a co-director also function as a subject within the film
How the filmmakers balanced accessibility, complexity, and emotional honesty while making a movie about a massive technological shift
The editorial collaboration behind the film, including remote workflows, shared creative decision-making, and leaving ego at the door
Why the team intentionally avoided using AI in the film’s creative workflow
How Premiere Pro Productions, transcription tools, Blender, After Effects, Dragonframe, stop-motion builds, and practical effects supported the film’s handmade aesthetic
Where the guests currently land on the spectrum between AI optimism and AI anxiety as working filmmakers and editors
Why the guests believe the biggest question is not just what AI can do, but how people choose to use it

Memorable Quotes:

“It actively wrestles with it in real time, both thematically and in the way that it was made.”
“Everyone kind of just left their ego at the door and showed up to do the work.”
“Filmmaking only brings suffering.”
“I don't feel like AI is the big bad. To me, the people are the big bad.”

Guests:

Resources:

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
Synopsis: From the Academy Award-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny, a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created and what’s at stake if we get it wrong.
For resources and ways to join the apocaloptimist community, visit theaidocgetinvolved.com

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