The VFX Breakdown tab lets you identify and analyze all visual effects moments in your screenplay using AI. For each scene, AI creates a structured breakdown with shot estimates, complexity categories, cost modeling, and detailed creative and technical notes — ready to share with VFX vendors or export to ShotGrid.
What you can do
Run a full VFX analysis across the entire script or selected scenes.
Review identified VFX moments with shot counts, complexity tiers, and cost estimates.
Drill into each effect's Overview, Costs, Creative, Technical, and Approaches tabs.
Re-analyze individual scenes on demand.
Export your VFX breakdown to XLSX or directly to Autodesk ShotGrid.
Where to find it
In the top navigation bar, click Script -> VFX.
How it works
VFX analysis is powered by AI Dude, Filmustage's built-in AI assistant. From the VFX tab, click VFX AI Dude to open the chat panel and ask it to run an analysis — for the full script or specific scenes. The analysis runs in the background, so you can keep working while it processes.
For each scene, the breakdown shows whether VFX moments were identified and, if so, lists them in a table with their sequence ID, description, complexity category (A / B / C), estimated shot count, cost tier, and a hero flag for production-critical effects.
For scenes with no VFX, the tab shows "No VFX moments identified" with a brief explanation — and a button to ask AI Dude to re-analyze if you think the scene was missed.
Plans
The VFX Breakdown tab is available on the Director's Cut plan. VFX analysis via AI Dude is currently free during beta.