AI - Director

Kuku; Mumbai; On-site; INR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Kuku in Mumbai is seeking an AI Director to lead the visual direction of microdramas. You will collaborate with an AI Architect to produce episodes entirely without traditional filming methods, focusing on innovative visual storytelling.

The role demands strong visual judgment and an understanding of emotional engagement in content, with the expectation of producing two episodes daily in a fast-paced environment. Join Kuku to redefine India's entertainment landscape.

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma from a recognized film school required.
• Portfolio demonstrating visual judgment is essential.
• Experience with iterative and fast-paced production is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Translate stories into visual decisions and communicate with the AI Architect.
• Iterate on AI-generated content to meet quality standards.
• Apply microdrama editing principles to enhance viewer engagement.

Skills

Visual judgment

Fast decision-making

Understanding of emotional architecture

Knowledge of AI video generation

Education

Degree or diploma in film direction or cinematography

Tools

Video generation tools

Audio generation tools

Image generation tools

Job description

About The Role

Kuku AI Studio is building the world's first large-scale AI-native microdrama production house making shows for hundreds of millions of viewers who watch on their phones, in short bursts, as part of their daily rhythm. We are looking for film school graduates with a directing or cinematography background who want to be among the first generation of filmmakers to work entirely within an AI-native production pipeline.

This is not a role for someone who wants to use AI as a shortcut to conventional filmmaking. It is a role for someone who sees AI as a genuinely new medium that requires the same visual intelligence and emotional judgment as traditional directing, applied to tools that did not exist three years ago.

The Partnership

Every AI Director works with one AI Architect. You are equal halves of the same production unit. You own the creative layer — the what and the why of every frame. Your Architect partner owns the execution layer — the how and the how fast. Neither of you produces anything without the other. The title reflects that two different disciplines, equal standing, one shared output.

Key Responsibilities

You and your AI Architect partner will produce complete microdrama episodes from creative brief to finished episode without a camera, a crew, or a location. You own the visual decisions, the emotional architecture, and the quality standard. Your Architect partner owns the technical execution and the generation pipeline.

Visual Direction

• Translate a story skeleton and episode brief into specific visual decisions framing, blocking, light quality, character placement, cut timing and communicate those decisions to your Architect partner as precise prompts.
• Iterate on AI-generated output until it matches the emotional and visual standard you have set, and make the call on when it is good enough to ship.
• Build and contribute to the genre pod's visual prompt library; every working pattern you find becomes reusable infrastructure for the whole team.

Microdrama Craft

• Apply microdrama editing principles to every episode: a hook in the first 3–8 seconds, escalating power dynamics in the first 45 seconds with zero exposition, and a cliffhanger close that creates an uncontrollable need to watch the next episode.
• Work from adapted beat sheets and scripts produced upstream — your job begins at the visual execution stage.
• Know the difference between photorealistic and animation visual registers and which serves which genre and emotional requirement.
• Understand that every frame serves one of two functions: emotion conversion, plot engagement; make every visual decision accordingly.

Tool and Pipeline Fluency

• Work within our AI production pipeline using video generation, image generation, and audio generation tools.
• Stay current with the AI video generation landscape; tools change every few months and the best AI Director will always know what the newest model can and cannot do.
• Flag AI failure modes and communicate workarounds to your partner and the team to improve overall output.

What We’re Looking For

• A degree or diploma in film direction, cinematography, or a related discipline from a recognised film school.
• A portfolio or reel that demonstrates genuine visual judgment; we are looking for the ability to compose a frame, not the ability to write a script.
• The instinct for what makes an audience stop scrolling; you have watched enough content on a phone to know the difference between a hook that works and one that does not.
• Comfort with iterative, fast-paced output; this role produces two finished episodes per day at full speed, which means making confident decisions quickly and not over-finishing.
• Openness to learning tools that did not exist when you were in school; directing skill transfers, tool knowledge will be built here. Genuine curiosity about AI as a creative medium, not anxiety about it.

What This Is Not

This role does not involve directing actors, managing a crew, working on location, or operating a camera. If those are the things you love most about filmmaking, this may not be the right role for you right now.

If what you love most is the visual decision—the frame, the cut, the emotional architecture of a scene—this role offers more of that, faster, than almost any entry-level conventional directing job currently available.

About Us

Founded in 2018, Kuku is India’s leading storytelling platform, offering a vast digital library of microdramas, audio stories, and short courses. Kuku aims to be India’s largest cultural exporter of stories, culture, and history to the world, with a firm belief in “Create In India, Create For The World.” We deliver immersive entertainment and education through our OTT platforms: Kuku TV, Kuku FM, Guru, and more. We continue to push boundaries and redefine India’s entertainment industry.