# Is AI a Tool? w/Sarah May Bates and Susan Song  - Just Shoot It 516

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/just-shoot-it-a-podcast-about-filmmaking-screenwriting-and-directing-174212/is-ai-a-tool-w-sarah-may-bates-and-susan-song-just-shoot-it-516
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/just-shoot-it-a-podcast-about-filmmaking-screenwriting-and-directing-174212/is-ai-a-tool-w-sarah-may-bates-and-susan-song-just-shoot-it-516.md
Podcast: [Just Shoot It: A Podcast about Filmmaking, Screenwriting and Directing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/just-shoot-it-a-podcast-about-filmmaking-screenwriting-and-directing-174212)
Published: 2026-02-26T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/justshootit/episodes/on-being-an-ai-director-wsarah-may-bates-and-susan-song-just
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/60ca715c16c352001ac64b21/e/699fd177ed94f5e3267fcd03/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/just-shoot-it-a-podcast-about-filmmaking-screenwriting-and-directing-174212/episodes/is-ai-a-tool-w-sarah-may-bates-and-susan-song-just-shoot-it-516
Duration seconds: 4869

## Resource

Sarah May Bates https://www.sarahmaybates.com / is an AI director, and she’s been getting lots of work! And Matt and Oren dive deep into how she makes that happen. She’s joined by actor Susan Song. Sarah has a clear line for AI usage. And it comes down to what are you in this for? Do you love the organic aspect of filmmaking and discovery, where what you plan isn’t always what you get? Like, in a good way. Because if you’re not, you might prefer the robotic precision of AI. But be careful of being tricked into believing that’s what brands want, especially the top brands you want to work for. At the end of the day, Sarah believes human oversight is at the core of what creatives do. Like, why would you want to have AI write your script, or even your email? That’s what you do, and that’s what makes you who you are! Here’s the golden rule: if the medium is leading, then you are failing. What does that mean? Don’t fall into the trap of creating AI for the sake of filling the request. Instead, Sarah recommends letting the creative work find what it wants to be! This is the episode you want to hear as an actor, filmmaker, or anyone in the industry looking for some sense of purpose, foundation, and compass for what’s happening in AI! Connect with Sarah at https://www.yaywithme.com Connect with Susan on IG @sujjang012 --- Help Matts' film: https://wefunder.com/badfeeling Help our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/JustShootItPod Matt's Endorsement: Send Help https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8036976/ Nick Lutsko's song for the Manscaped Super Bowl Commercial  https://www.local3news.com/local-news/update-chattanooga-artist-nick-lutsko-composes-song-for-national-super-bowl-commercial/article_dd5d9cd0-9c5a-4565-a1af-1dfe3d1ffdda.html Sarah's Endorsement: The UPA Cartoon "Rooty Toot…

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