By Will Nava
I bet you could tell a pretty good story in two minutes. Telling a story without words is harder — but as filmmakers, we have help. Movement, color, framing, editing, music, all working together to tell a story. The Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival challenged our team of three artists to use these tools to tell a story and build a world, with as many handcrafted things as possible. Our film Aiko’s AI Code was one of eight two-minute shorts that screened at Maker Faire Bay Area 2025, and we had fun making it together. So, as our movie’s “director,” I’m pleased to be your guide as we explore the making of Aiko’s AI Code!
Act 1: The Plan
So, how did all this start? I love movies. I love the process of filmmaking, I love animation, and in 2025, I had the goal to do something movie-related with a story I’d written. But what would that something be? I had no idea, until early May when I saw a post about the Two-Minute Film Festival. I didn’t even know what a Maker Faire was, but it looked cool, and a two-minute short film was the perfect challenge to get me motivated — so I went for it! I planned my time to cover the three stages of filmmaking: pre-production (planning, sketching), production (building, filming), and post-production (editing, effects). At the time, it was a foolproof plan.
My hope was to make this short both fun and meaningful. The story would have a message of cautious optimism, telling makers to be mindful of the intent and spirit behind what we make. Artificial intelligence was (and is) on my mind as both an artist and a tech enthusiast, and the title Aiko’s AI Code was one of the first things I decided on — Aiko being a character from my story who became the focus of the film. The plot: Aiko, a cyberspace ninja, conjures a bot to help her navigate the internet — but when her program starts attacking her, she’s made to realize that her creation is a reflection of herself.
Enter CJ, my mom, and the first person I told about my plan. She generously offered to create an Aiko doll for stop-motion animation, but I was a little hesitant. At the time, my plan was actually to make the short using hand-drawn animation — on my own. Then I realized that to make something meaningful for Maker Faire, I should really embrace the “Maker Spirit.” That meant embracing the handmade feel, and embracing teamwork. CJ and the doll were in.
Next we needed a world for the doll to live in. Enter my friend Lauren, who suggested decorating an industrial-themed cardboard set with pipes made of bendy straws. Just like that, we had a set decorator. The team was assembled and ready to get creative! It was now time to start building.
Act 2: The Build
I wanted the setting of the story to feel big, like a large, empty factory or warehouse, inspired by the shipyard buildings where Maker Faire Bay Area would be held.
With the Aiko doll coming in at 8-inches tall, a set that was true to scale would be pretty big. We set out to make three walls out of old cardboard, each about 2.5-feet wide and tall, painted by Lauren to look like concrete and metal, with windows made of tracing paper to diffuse light, as well as four “concrete” Styrofoam floor panels to complete the old-factory vibe.
Lauren Meichtry (set design, set dressing, story): “That day when I was trying to paint concrete — when I was trying to mix all the different colors and organically come up with some kind of rusted material and mossy concrete material — that was fun. That pushed me, because I was like, ‘What can I make out of just basic paint colors? How can I make this resemble different textures and materials?’ It’s all just Styrofoam and cardboard and plastic straws and stuff, so that was a good challenge!”
The Aiko doll was also coming together, starting with a wireframe skeleton that was then padded and costumed in “ninja style.” Aiko’s gloves are made with electrical tape over wire, and the soles of her shoes are made of craft foam. The head is a separate piece that slots into the neck — we were worried about damaging the head while trying to adjust it. This way, I could slide the head off to adjust the wire underneath, and it would all slide back together thanks to a plastic tube inside the head.
The doll’s hair was the most challenging part. I was worried that actual doll hair might easily fray, so instead we decided to use strips of textured black paper. I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out! CJ arranged the strips into a stylish hairdo, and also applied marker to the strips to give Aiko’s hair an almost-shimmering quality in sunlight.
The other standout piece of Aiko’s ensemble was her reflective sword, a tiny katana that played a big part in the film. The hilt is paper wrapped around a toothpick that was then inserted into the blade — two layers of shiny cardboard glued together, finished and detailed with silver paint.
Meanwhile, I was distracted building out the story; my writer side got the better of me. My story had become two stories: one about making from the heart, and the other about teamwork (Aiko was originally part of a team, and I was looking for ways to include them). But I wasn’t focused on my real-life team, and they were looking for my input. I needed to be a better director, and that meant taking the time to engage with my team. I refocused and cut the story down to the core idea: Aiko and the robot. Aiko’s friends and the teamwork plot line were out.
Lauren: “The cool thing about our dynamic is that we really enjoy working together, and we keep each other accountable. We motivate each other, and will give each other a gentle push: ‘Hey, just checking in, where are you at? What do you need help with?’ We changed the project by brainstorming; that’s just what naturally happens sometimes when you brainstorm. I feel like the project’s changes had a natural flow, and that it was for the better.”
There was of course another reason to trim things down: The movie could only be two minutes long! How was all that extra story going to fit? For the more ambitious storytellers, a two-minute time limit might seem limiting or challenging — but it can also be inspiring! A short time or small scope can help you find that core idea to focus on and develop, making it stronger.
Simplifying things turned out to be the right move. Busy work schedules and health problems meant we couldn’t meet as often. I wondered if we could finish in time. We hadn’t even started to figure out the robot yet!
Then, CJ found an odd piece of cardboard while unpacking a new vacuum cleaner. The way it folded made it look like a four legged creature, and I instantly knew that was our robot. I completed the design with two small cardboard boxes, and CJ wire-rigged and hot glued it all together to create a poseable puppet. (I really like the iridescent eye that can turn a happy green or an angry red depending on the angle!)
CJ Nava (doll and puppet making, costumes, props, character design, set building): “To see what was done with three people on such a rudimentary level makes me think, ‘What would that have looked like if we had better tools?’ We made a robot out of old supplement boxes. If we had taken the time to access a 3D printer, you could have had a real robot. I love what we did! But what would that have looked like with just a few invested nuances and a little bit better tools and supplies?”
Lauren: “I think by keeping it kind of simple, we were able to focus on the creation part and the story and not be so fixated about everything having to look a certain way — it just has to vaguely resemble stuff and we’re fine! People can pick up on a lot with a very little amount of context clues, they can put things together. Everything doesn’t have to be photorealistic. I think that took the pressure off, just having fun with the materials.”
The robot was the last thing to be finished. Time had flown by. I had to start filming!
Act 3: The Shoot
From here on out I was on my own. I had all the pieces, now I had to put them together — sort of. Instead of actually putting the set pieces together, I decided to keep them separate and work with a modular set. That way, I could rearrange the walls for better angles and lighting, and even turn the “concrete floors” into “concrete walls” if needed. This proved helpful given my filming situation — everything was filmed from my bedroom windowsill. Each morning, I would set up the set in the window and get a few shots while the light was good.
The shots of Aiko “conjuring code magic” are favorites of mine, and they were the only special effect I wasn’t sure how to do. I ended up using wired ribbon, coiled tightly around Aiko’s arm to start. Then, with each frame, I loosened and expanded the coils slightly.
I was flying blind — since it was stop-motion, I had no way of knowing how it looked until I pieced it all together. I felt like I was in Old Hollywood, shooting on film, waiting for “dailies” to see how a shot turned out. Across multiple takes, I think I adjusted that ribbon more than 300 times — it definitely gave me an appreciation for stop-motion animators. Once I got into the flow of it, the process was fun!
I also enjoyed the challenge of editing. Each evening, I moved the photos to my computer and lined them all up in a video-editing software, but that alone wasn’t enough. As the saying goes, timing is everything, and the timing needed to be adjusted for each shot — sometimes each frame — for it to feel right. For example, I sometimes repeated specific frames to emphasize a moment or image. One by one, finished shots were added to the final mix and laid over the music until finally, a few days before the deadline, everything was completed.
Two months later, watching our film with an audience at Maker Faire Bay Area, I heard a voice from behind me — someone I’d never met — say, “This is pretty good!” And as rewarding as that was, it was even more rewarding to hear that my teammates were proud of it.
Lauren: “When I first saw it, it reminded me of the early Gumby-era kind of style which I really like, because it’s just very playful. It was cool to see it actually come to life!”
CJ: “I enjoyed just being in that creative energy with other people. To be able to share that process and come out with something that carried a message that I appreciated was a good experience.”
Just as Aiko sees herself reflected in her robot, I saw our team reflected in this little movie. As I finished it, my focus shifted from telling my story to showcasing the awesome work of my collaborators.
I think what I’m most proud of is how my story created an opportunity for others to create and collaborate — and that’s what the Two-Minute Film Festival does, too. If it wasn’t for Maker Faire, this wouldn’t have been made, at least not in the same way, and not as collaboratively.
Lauren: “I really liked when we would all be in the studio together just making stuff, all three of us. That was really fun, because even when we were doing separate things, we’d have music playing while we built little pieces of the set, with all of us engaged in creativity. I think that was my favorite part, us actively making stuff around each other.”
CJ: “Relax and enjoy the process, and you will find your creativity will excel even more. It’s okay to laugh, it’s okay to get off schedule. Loosen up, go to work, and have fun!”
You may think making a two-minute short film will be easy, or maybe you think it seems challenging. Either way, if you love movies like I do, it’s worth doing. Get making, and get filming! I hope to see your short film at the next Maker Faire!
A big Thank You to the folks at Make: for running this film festival and creating opportunities for others to create, and for inviting me to write this article!
And an even bigger Thank You to CJ Nava and Lauren Meichtry, my filmmaking crew who made this film worth making!
The Team
William Nava
@avanlliw on Instagram and YouTube
CJ Nava
@cjnava.art on Instagram
Lauren Meichtry
@Likem_design on Instagram
Will Nava is a young maker who works as a freelance artist and music composer, and Aiko’s AI Code was his first film. He’s currently working on CODED, a film that blends live-action and animation; Dimension Cafe, a series of shorts with Lauren Meichtry; and a sci-fi world building project called “Mother Moon.” He lives in Chico, California.
Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival
Does making your own movie sound fun? Michael Corrie filmed A Thing in a single afternoon, and it was selected alongside Aiko’s AI Code as a Judges’ Favorite and screened at Maker Faire Bay Area 2025! Submissions are now open for the 2026 Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival, and the deadline is still weeks and weeks away on August 24, 2026. You can do it!