Category: AI Filmmaking

  • How to Direct Complex AI Action Shots with ChatGPT & Seedance 2.5 (Without Ever Opening Blender)

    On this page you will find the prompts, graybox video, and environmental reference (and the AI video tutorial!). Remember to add a character sheet or photo. You can also download this ZIP file.

    Generate the video on OpenArt and use this discount code for 15% off: AIVS15

    CHATGPT / BLENDER REVIEW ROOM PROMPT

    Use this prompt to get ChatGPT to create pre-visualization animations. Make sure you have Blender installed and are using ChatGPT’s desktop Work tab with “On your computer” selected:

    I want to create a reviewable previsualization for an AI-generated video. I have Blender installed on this computer.
    
    Story: [Describe the action in a few sentences.]
    Target length and format: [For example, 20 seconds, 16:9]
    Visual references: [List any storyboard, character, location or prop files.]
    Essential geography and physical constraints: [Who or what moves where? What must remain connected, open, visible or separate?]
    Key action beats: [List the moments that must happen in order.]
    
    Build a simple Blender previz with a continuous camera path and readable timing. Prioritize staging, motion, scale, physical contact and clear sightlines over realistic rendering. Make the moving elements visually distinct so I can tell what each shape represents. Include an action version with a simple character proxy and an environment-only version using the same camera and timing.
    
    Render both previews and create a local browser review room where I can play and scrub them, step frame by frame, switch versions, attach notes to exact frames, and download the current frame, videos and feedback. Keep editable source files and each revision in a clearly named folder. Open the review room when it is ready.
    
    Before calling the previz finished, check the key events and likely continuity failures against the rendered frames. When I leave feedback, revise the scene and show me the updated preview. Later, help me choose a small set of reference frames and write prompts for my image and video models using their official documentation.

    GRAYBOX ANIMATION / PREVIZ (Environment Only Camera Motion)

    (click the three dots in the lower right to download it)

    SEEDANCE 2.5 ALPINE ESCAPE PROMPT

    Generate a cinematic, photorealistic live-action Alpine escape in one continuous 30-second, 16:9 shot.
    
    Reference roles:
    
    @video1 controls camera movement, framing, timing, character blocking, spatial relationships, gondola trajectories, cable failure and impact. Follow its exact event timing and continuous camera path. The whole-second ranges below describe action phases. Use its animation as staging; rebuild the simplified scenery and surfaces as a photographed real environment. Throughout the video, the terrain should appear natural and not replicate the sharp geometry of the previz video.
    
    @image1 supplies the identity and clothing of the single woman. Replace the previz mannequin with her, maintaining her identity and outfit throughout.
    
    @image2 supplies the Alpine environment, avalanche appearance, daylight and photographic treatment. It also supplies the graphite gondola finish, glass, roof and rail details. Apply this appearance consistently to both cabins. 
    
    Her performance is driven by fear, adrenaline and determination to survive. She reacts to each new threat: eyes tracking the approaching cabin, a sharp breath before the leap, a startled gasp as her grip catches and her weight drops. While dangling, her gripping arm trembles; she looks urgently for another handhold, then toward the sound of the straining cable. During the slide, she squints against the spray, tracks the approaching pole, glances back at the pursuing cabin and commits to braking with clenched determination. Her movements are urgent and imperfect, with visible effort. Once inside, she stays braced against the cabin’s jolts as the avalanche pushes it downhill. She watches the terrain passing through the open hatch, eyes searching ahead. She releases a shaky breath, registering that she survived the fall, while remaining tense and ready to react. Keep these reactions natural and integrated into the continuing motion, without pausing the choreography.
    Match the environment reference’s lighting and photographic color treatment. Believable skin and fabric, subtle glass reflections, restrained metal wear and soft natural snow surfaces. The avalanche is a towering, connected wall of snow descending from the visible mountain, rising above the cabins and cable supports. Its dense rolling front overtakes the cable infrastructure, with broad billowing powder above a heavy moving snow mass. Translate the rounded avalanche placeholders into this continuous advancing front. Keep airborne particles restrained and surfaces naturally detailed. Preserve the functional hatch openings and connected handrails.
    
    Two matching resort gondolas travel in opposite directions on separate parallel cables. Her original cabin moves toward the avalanche; the escape cabin moves away.
    
    0–5s: Close outside her window, with her back to the camera as she watches the approaching avalanche through the cabin. She turns, looks up, spots the roof hatch and urgently climbs through it. Track upward beside her, revealing the escape cabin, the mountain slope and the towering avalanche approaching along the cable route.
    
    5–8s: She jumps across the gap between the passing roofs. During her jump, the uphill support is swallowed by the avalanche and the cable runs disappear into the advancing snow. Her waist and hip strike the escape cabin’s upper side, just below the roof edge. The impact knocks the breath from her and her body drops down the outside of the cabin. One hand catches the connected roof rail, abruptly arresting her fall. Follow her downward as her weight loads the gripping arm and her legs swing against the glass.
    
    8–13s: She swings beneath her gripping hand and reaches unsuccessfully with her free hand. Her original cabin disappears into the avalanche behind her. Hanging from the roof rail with one hand, she repeatedly tries to pull herself up. Her gripping elbow bends under the effort, but she cannot raise herself over the edge. She draws her knees toward the cabin and presses her boot soles against the window, searching for enough friction to push upward. Her boots slip down the smooth glass, dropping her weight back onto her straining arm and swinging her body outward. Her free hand searches urgently for another hold. Preserve the reference framing that makes its engulfment visible. Follow the camera’s developing reveal of the strained suspension and loaded cable.
    
    13–17s: At the moment shown in the video reference, the taut load-bearing cable snaps. Its broken ends recoil and fall slack as the cabin loses support. Follow her accelerating descent as she releases her grip and falls below the cabin. Hold the suspenseful interval with the landing surface out of view, then reveal the steep powder slope approaching beneath her. Preserve the separation and falling trajectories shown in the reference.
    
    17–19s: She makes contact along the steep downhill powder slope, carrying her momentum down the incline through one somersault rather than stopping on impact. The cabin strikes the slope behind her and rotates onto its side, its roof opening facing downhill. Her roll resolves into a seated, boots-first slide, leaning backward with her boots pointing downhill toward the retreating camera.
    
    19–21s: Immediately after the roll, she uses her hands to steer narrowly past the fixed downhill support pole. The following cabin passes the same pole: its projecting open hatch lid strikes the pole and tears free. The detached lid flies screen right, tumbles back uphill relative to the continuing cabin, then disappears into the pursuing avalanche. Preserve the reference’s contact point and debris trajectory. The woman clears the pole without colliding with it.
    
    21–23s: Continue her seated, boots-first downhill slide. Keep the woman in the foreground, the cabin following uphill behind her and the avalanche behind the cabin. Maintain the following gap until she deliberately brakes. She glances back and aligns herself with the now-unobstructed roof opening.
    
    23–25s: She plants both boots to brake. The cabin catches up as she slows, and she tucks backward through the roof opening in one quick continuous motion, shoulders and back entering first as she draws her legs inside. Follow her through the opening onto the solid opaque interior floor. Preserve the overturned cabin’s orientation.
    
    25–28s: Inside, she braces against the continuing jolts. Snow packs against the exterior of the intact side windows, turning their view white. Interior air remains clear, with her clothing, seats and solid floor visible in dim diffuse light. The torn-off hatch lid remains absent; the entry opening stays open and unobstructed.
    
    28–30s: Continue the reference’s leftward camera move, framing the open roof-hatch aperture. Snow-covered terrain and trees pass outside, revealing that the cabin continues downhill, pushed by the avalanche from behind. Snow stays packed against the side windows while the downhill-facing opening remains clear. She watches the passing terrain through the opening, breathing hard, still shaken and alert. Her expression shows tentative relief while she remains braced for another jolt. Keep her gaze directed toward her surroundings, with no smile or look into the camera.
    Maintain the reference’s continuous camera path, natural motion blur, believable weight and physical contact. No added cuts, slow motion or decorative camera moves.
    Sound: wind, metal strain, cable snap, powder landing, cabin impact, the pole striking and tearing off the hatch lid, avalanche roar becoming muffled inside the cabin, and her ragged breathing. No music, dialogue or text.

  • Prompts for AI Short Film “Calamity”

    Here are the prompts and images I used to create “Calamity,” a cinematic AI short film made with Seedream 4.5 and Kling 3.0 Omni inside OpenArt Suite. Watch the full workflow — from casting Cleo to building consistent locations, staging a falling piano, and crashing a car through a cafe wall. Below you’ll find the prompts for each scene so you can adapt them for your own projects.

    I share my prompts because I think we all get better when we learn from each other!

    Prompt for Cleo

    A cinematic head and shoulders close-up portrait of a 32-year-old woman with olive skin, hazel eyes, dark hair in a rough graduated bob with deliberately, strong brows, and a calm but intense expression. Natural skin texture with subtle imperfections and faint under-eye fatigue. Shot on a 50mm lens, eye-level close-up framing. Shallow depth of field with softly blurred background. Natural, directional lighting with subtle overhead spill and gentle side contrast. Slightly desaturated color grade. Realistic skin texture with natural imperfections. Soft film grain, high dynamic range, cinematic film still, grounded realism, dramatic but understated.

    Prompt for Raven, the fortune teller

    Cinematic head-and-shoulders portrait of an older woman in her late 60s with a lined, intelligent face and steady presence. Both eyes fully open and facing forward. One eye has a cloudy, milky-white cornea — opaque and desaturated — but the eye is not rolled back, not closed, and not looking upward. The pupil remains centered and natural. The other eye is sharp and observant. Gray hair loosely pinned back. She wears a simple dark wool robe with heavy texture, understated and practical. Calm, unreadable expression with quiet gravity. Natural skin texture with visible age lines. Soft practical interior lighting from a nearby lamp, gentle shadow falloff, muted earthy palette, slightly desaturated. Realistic contemporary photography, 35mm film look, subtle film grain, shallow depth of field.

    Nano Banana Pro Character Sheet prompt

    Character reference sheet of a woman with short dark wavy hair, four full-body views in a row on a clean white background: front view, left profile, right profile, back view. She wears a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and sandals. Relaxed standing pose, consistent identity across all views. Below, three close-up portrait views: front, left profile, right profile. Clean even studio lighting, sharp detail, print-ready technical turnaround sheet.

    Kling 3 Multi-cut prompt for fortune teller scene

    1. Eye-level close-up of the fortune teller one eye clouded milky-white @Raven sitting upright across the table. She leans slightly forward, her brow furrowed with concern. The fortune teller (low, raspy voice, slight Eastern European accent, grave serious tone, slow deliberate pacing): “I am afraid to say I see nothing but calamity.”
    2. Eye-level close-up of @Cleo wearing a sage green tunic, one eyebrow raises skeptically. Cleo (warm clear voice of a young woman with a slight Greek accent moderate pacing): “Calamity?”
    3. Eye-level close-up of the fortune teller sitting upright, she taps a tarot card on the table with one ringed finger and shakes her head slowly. The fortune teller @Raven (low, raspy voice, slight Eastern European accent, somber concerned tone, slow measured pacing): “But that’s not all. Your health. I see something very negative for your health
    4. Close-up of @Cleo as she processes the news, her expression shifting from skepticism to quiet worry. She swallows and looks down at the tarot cards. No dialogue, soft ambient room tone.

    Kling 3 Multi-cut prompt for piano falling scene

    1. Daytime Portland street, overcast light. Medium tracking shot following @Cleo wearing a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and flat sandals. Same outfit in all shots. She walks along a damp sidewalk with shallow puddles. Ahead are two orange traffic pylons near a street post with a bicycle locked to it. A three-story red brick building with storefront windows and an ornate roof cornice runs alongside her.
    2. Low-angle shot that tilts up from the same damp sidewalk past the two orange traffic pylons and the bicycle locked to the street post, up the three-story red brick building façade with storefront windows and an ornate roof cornice. A black grand piano hangs suspended three stories up by a thick rope. The rope snaps and the piano drops downward out of frame.
    3. Medium shot of @Cleo wearing the same plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and sandals, walking forward at the same steady pace. Behind her, the piano slams into the pavement with debris scattering. She does not react or turn around.

    Seedream 4.5 prompt in the cafe

    Cinematic interior wide shot of a street-level coffee shop, camera inside near the entrance looking toward a large picture window. @Cleo sits at a small table on the right side of frame, her back to the window and her face turned slightly toward camera. She is wearing a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and flat sandals. On the table: a coffee cup and a croissant. Through the window, a T-intersection is clearly visible: a downhill street runs perpendicular straight toward the café window, and a cross street runs left-to-right parallel to the sidewalk. A red compact car is coming downhill directly toward the café, centered in the window view on a clear collision path. Keep the middle of frame open so the car’s impact path is unobstructed. Realistic coffee shop details: menu board, pastry case or counter in soft focus, other tables and chairs, subtle reflections on the glass. Overcast daylight outside, soft natural interior fill. Muted slightly desaturated colors, 35mm film look, subtle grain, natural lens softness, no HDR, no stylized effects.

    Nano Banana edit prompt to get the car inside the cafe after the crash

    place the car’s hood inside the cafe so the bumper touches the glass pastry case on the left side of the frame and the driver’s side door is directly next to the table with the coffee

    Kling 3 prompt for initial car crash

    @image1 Wide shot from inside facing the large picture window. @Cleo sits at the small table right side of frame, her back to display case on the right, she is wearing a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and flat sandals. The red car approaches with speed, crashing through the window similar to @image2 . @Cleo stays totally unfazed despite the action happening right in front of her. The old woman driving the car reaches out the window and grabs the croissant, taking a bite. @Cleo remains unfazed.

    Kling 3 park bench phone call with her test results

    1. Daytime city park, soft overcast light. @Cleo is wearing a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and sandals sitting alone on a wooden park bench with her iphone next to her, her posture slightly slumped. A few pigeons nearby. Her iPhone vibrates causing the pigeons fly off startled. She looks down at her iphone and sighs, then lifts the phone to her ear.
    2. Closeup profile shot of @Cleo with the phone to her ear. The voice on the other end of the line says, “Hey Cleo, it’s Doctor Patel. We got your test results back. They’re… negative.”
    3. Close up portrait shot of @Cleo. She says (warm clear voice of a young woman with a slight Greek accent moderate pacing and a questioning rising tone): “Negative?” She lowers the phone then repeats peacefully and slowly: “Negative”

    Seedream prompt for Cleo’s apartment

    Wide interior shot of a city apartment, cozy and lived-in with a bohemian, artsy feel. Lots of plants (hanging pothos, potted monstera, small succulents on shelves), mismatched vintage furniture, a worn rug, stacked books, framed prints leaning against the wall, a small record player or speaker, and a soft lamp glow. A couch sits to one side. By the front door: a small table with a key dish. Late afternoon overcast window light mixed with warm practical lamps, soft shadows. Muted earthy palette (warm browns, olive greens, faded textiles), slightly desaturated. Realistic, cinematic, 35mm film look, subtle grain, natural lens softness, no HDR, no stylized effects, no text or watermark.

    Kling 3 prompt for returning home to her cat

    Single shot version

    Interior, bohemian city apartment @image1 . A normal sized cat@image2 is curled up on the couch, relaxed and sleepy. @Cleo enters through the door wearing a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and sandals. She steps in calmly, crosses to the couch and squats beside the cat @image2 , gently pets it. The cat stirs and purrs. @Cleo looks down at the cat with a small, relieved smile and says (warm clear voice of a young woman with a slight Greek accent slow pacing and clear enunciation): “Hello, Calamity.” Lip movements and facial expressions are natural and coherent. The cat @image2 purrs and @Cleo smiles. Camera direction: The camera should smoothly follow @Cleo throughout the shot ending with a close-up on @Cleo and the cat together, ending on her face and the cat’s content expression. Cinematic realism, muted earthy tones, subtle film grain, natural lens softness. No background music.

    Multi-shot version

    1. Interior, bohemian city apartment @apartment. A normal sized cat @Cat is already lying on the couch, relaxed and sleepy. @Cleo enters through the door wearing a plain black scoop neck short sleeve shirt, camo cargo pants, and sandals. She steps in calmly, crosses to the couch and squats beside the cat @Cat, gently pets it. The cat stirs and purrs. Camera direction: The camera should smoothly follow @Cleo
    2. Medium close up @apartment showing @Cat being pet by @Cleo who says (warm clear voice of a young woman with a slight Greek accent slow pacing and clear enunciation): “Hello Calamity.” The cat purrs and she smiles. The camera lingers on the companionship. Cinematic realism, muted earthy tones, subtle film grain, natural lens softness. No background music.

    And of course… Calamity

    cinematic shot of a Bengal cat on a clean plain light-gray seamless background. Shot as studio photography on a 50mm lens at eye-level. Natural directional lighting with subtle overhead spill and gentle side contrast, soft controlled shadows on the floor. Slightly desaturated color grade. Soft film grain, natural lens softness, realistic exposure, cinematic film still look, grounded realism. Print-ready technical turnaround sheet. No props, no environment, no text, no watermark.

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  • Free AI Filmmaking Course: Kling, Veo, Nano Banana

    Making a cinematic movie is more than just typing a prompt and letting AI do all the work. It involves combining multiple steps into a cohesive workflow. This free AI mini-course shows you how to create a cinematic short film using Kling and Veo.

    First, let’s watch the movie you’ll learn how to make “Discarded Companion,” created using Kling 01, Veo 3.1, and ElevenLabs.


    Learn the tools: Kling O1, Nano Banana, Google Flow

    Before making “Discarded Companion,” I started comparing Kling O1 to Google Flow. Kling O1 is an all-in-one approach to using elements to create images and video. Google Flow combines Veo and Nano Banana (image generation and editing) into one easy to use tool.

    In this discovery process, I realized the capabilities of the tools opened up the possibilities for even more realistic and engaging storytelling. If you don’t know how to use Kling or Google Flow, this should set you off on the right path to knowing the essentials.


    My in-depth AI video workflow for Discarded Companion

    After making “Discarded Companion,” I showed how I generated every character and scene in the movie. This includes how to edit clips together for longer sequences. The video contains chapters so you can find the section you’re most interested in learning about.

    Start using the AI filmmaking tools you need now!

    Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support AI Video School and allows me to keep creating free tutorials. I only recommend tools I actually use in my filmmaking workflows.