Before You Start: Build Your Characters
Every good film starts with consistent characters. Before generating any scenes, create a master reference asset for each character so they look the same across every shot. The directors used a three-step pipeline for all five girls: Soul Cinema for the face, Soul Cinema for the outfit, and Nano Banana Pro to fuse them into one production-ready image.
Step 1 — Build the Face
What it does:
Locks in your character's face using Soul Cinema. The same base prompt is run across multiple generations until the right bone structure, eyes, and presence are found.
The Prompt (Haru Min):
"Young Asian female (age 20), slim, very attractive K-pop idol level beauty, flawless skin, soft symmetrical features, expressive eyes. Short/mid-length slightly messy stylish hair. Outfit: futuristic mechanic techwear — shorts, layered fabrics, straps, small details, slightly worn with stickers/doodles. White studio background, soft cinematic lighting, realistic, high-end fashion style."

Try it in Soul Cinema
Step 2 — Build the Outfit
What it does:
Generates the character's outfit separately for maximum control. Any detail that matters — a belt, a bandage, a specific accessory — gets written in explicitly here before it becomes a problem across 40+ shots.
The Prompt (Haru Min):
"Mustard yellow latex crop top, long sleeves, high gloss shiny finish, fitted. Oversized baggy khaki cargo pants, multiple large side pockets, knee pad panels, tapered and gathered at the ankle, wide buckle belt at the waist. Burnt orange lace-up combat boots, chunky sole, mid-calf height. Midriff exposed. Street style meets tactical utility. Holographic glitter bandage across the nose bridge."

Try it in Soul Cinema
Step 3 — Fuse into a Master Asset
What it does:
Merges the face and outfit references into a single, production-ready character sheet. This is what Seedance checks against every time the character appears on screen.
The Prompt:
"The character from image 1 wearing this outfit from image 2. Full body shot, white studio background, soft cinematic lighting, realistic."

Try it in Nano Banana Pro
Run this pipeline once per character. Five master assets. Cast is locked.
Building the World
The directors needed three things: the abandoned city, the monster creatures, and the mechs. Each was built before a single frame of video was generated.
The City
What it does:
Establishes the primary environment — an abandoned urban plaza with eerie warmth rather than dark apocalypse energy. Claude was used to expand the mood brief into full cinematography language before generating.
The Prompt:
"A highly cinematic, photorealistic live-action still of a vast abandoned urban plaza, completely devoid of any human presence, but filled with subtle remnants of past life. The scene emphasizes emptiness through scale while introducing grounded details like abandoned vehicles and urban decay. The environment is a hybrid architectural fusion of East Asian and European design — partially collapsed glass skyscrapers with curved facades, layered balconies, and dense vertical structures merge with brutalist European concrete blocks, arched balconies, and remnants of classical stone detailing. No signage, no text, no hieroglyphs — only architectural influence. The city feels culturally mixed and globally ambiguous.
The plaza is wide and open, surrounded by towering high-rises forming a canyon-like space. Buildings vary heavily — former malls, residential complexes, business centers — all different in shape and architecture, now partially destroyed, some interiors exposed, others structurally unstable. Above is a fully open sky (no dome, no roof). Foreground and midground are populated with abandoned elements: rows of derelict cars scattered irregularly across the plaza and streets — some burned-out, some covered in dust, some partially crushed under debris. A few vehicles are overturned. Old delivery vans, compact cars, and slightly futuristic vehicles with subtle Asian design influence (shape language only, no markings). Broken streetlights, fallen traffic signs, cracked asphalt with weeds pushing through. Subtle storytelling details: car doors left open, a bicycle lying on its side, faded crosswalk markings, pieces of cloth or paper caught on debris, light vegetation reclaiming the space. Despite these elements, the composition preserves large negative space — wide empty zones between objects that emphasize isolation and scale. Nothing feels cluttered. Camera is positioned low to the ground, slightly tilted upward, emphasizing the massive vertical scale of buildings. Wide cinematic framing with deep perspective. Foreground: sharp, detailed rubble, broken glass, cracked pavement, a nearby abandoned car partially in frame. Midground: scattered vehicles and open plaza space with strong negative space. Background: towering ruined buildings fading into light atmospheric haze. Leading lines from streets, parked cars, and debris guide the eye toward a distant vanishing point between buildings. Lighting: directional sunlight cutting between buildings, soft volumetric haze, long shadows. Color grading: cold greys, steel blues, muted greens, warm rust accents. Cool base with warm highlights (teal shadows + golden light). Material detail is extremely tactile: oxidized metal, dust-covered glass, cracked paint, rubber degradation on tires, dirt accumulation, subtle moisture stains. Fine dust particles float in the air. Very light wind moves small debris and loose materials. Camera: modern digital cinema (Arri Alexa Mini LF) with anamorphic primes. 35mm → 85mm push-in. Subtle anamorphic flares, slight breathing. Deep → moderate depth of field. Light 35mm film grain. Mood: empty, melancholic, large-scale abandoned civilization — quiet but heavy. IMPORTANT: No humans, no silhouettes, no living beings. Scene must feel empty but not sterile — abandoned, not clean. Maintain strong negative space — avoid clutter. HEX VALUES: ["#5f6468", "#eaebee", "#181819", "#6f757a", "#505559", "#212325", "#34373a", "#989ca3", "#09090b", "#3d4348", "#2b2d2d", "#83878b", "#4d4c45", "#b3b4b9", "#d2d4d9"]"

Try it in Cinema Studio 3.0
The Monster
What it does:
Generates the creature design. The directors generated multiple variations, then blended the best ones together in Nano Banana Pro — a technique worth saving: combining two generations you like will give you something you could never have prompted directly.
The Prompt:
"A massive alien creature with an arachnid-like body structure, multiple long serrated limb-blades splayed wide, heavy armored carapace covered in jagged spines and organic plating. Glowing molten core visible at the chest. Textured surface mixing hardened shell, wet organic tissue, and cracked stone-like hide. Low crouching stance, front-facing, menacing. White background, soft shadow beneath, product-render style lighting. Hyper-detailed, cinematic realism."

Try it in Soul Cinema
The Mechs
Each mech got a color palette tied to its pilot's personality. When you see the mech, you should know whose it is before the cabin opens.
Reina's Mech (lavender, dark blue, silver):
"Tall narrow bipedal mech suit, white and dark navy panel armor, lightweight silhouette designed for speed and stealth. Broad angular shoulder plates, open glass cockpit in the chest revealing a female pilot seated inside. Articulated mechanical arms with humanoid hands, segmented leg joints, flat reinforced feet. Large long-barrel sniper rifle mounted on the right shoulder, heavy armor-piercing design. Paneling is smooth with subtle mechanical detailing, battle-worn but clean. Three-quarter front view, studio dark brown background, cinematic lighting, hyper-realistic."

Zero's Mech (white and teal):
"A massive angular bipedal mech suit — white and grey segmented armor panels with teal-green accent plates on shoulders and torso, dark gunmetal joints and hydraulic limbs — standing upright in a dramatic wide shot. The cockpit chest cavity is a transparent hexagonal glass pod revealing a female pilot inside seated at controls. The mech holds two semi-automatic pistols at its sides. Cinematic studio lighting, near-white background, photorealistic hard surface detail, sci-fi action game concept art aesthetic. Camera slowly orbits around the mech from front to side profile, depth of field on the full silhouette."

Try it in Soul Cinema
Directing the Animation
Almost a hundred generations went into this trailer. Hundreds more didn't make it. The directors used one simple rule to plan every shot: every character gets introduced twice — once in the cabin to establish who she is, once in action to establish what she can do.
Character Intros
Haru Min
Establishes Haru's personality through contrast. Her mech is down, monsters are approaching — and she's lying on the cockpit floor with a lollipop in her mouth, completely unbothered. The prompt doesn't just describe what she looks like. It describes how the camera behaves.
The Prompt:
"@Haru is inside a dark, utilitarian, gritty sci-fi vehicle cockpit, surrounded by metallic panels, exposed wires, and a black racing seat with subtle red accents. The scene begins with a tight medium close-up on her chest and mouth, illuminated by dim, focused ambient light that dramatically highlights the sheen of her top. The camera is static but then jolts as she unbuckles a black seatbelt, leading to a quick cut. A sudden, jarring pivot and pan quickly transitions to a tight close-up of her face, now lying on her side, framed through a narrow opening in the mech's interior. Her short, curly brown hair is messy, a sparkling silver bandage adorns her nose, a white strip rests on her upper lip, and a yellow lollipop protrudes from her mouth. Her wide eyes snap open in sudden, quirky surprise, reflecting the low, ambient light, as the camera holds static on her vulnerable yet peculiar expression. The visual style is gritty sci-fi, emphasizing detailed textures and a blend of suspense and unexpected innocence."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Zero
Zero's intro is all about scale. You don't see her first — you see the mech. The prompt covers both the exterior action shot and the cockpit reveal in a single generation.
The Prompt:
"A @Zero-mech, its right arm poised, having just caused a massive impact, stands amidst a desolate, futuristic cityscape. Towering, derelict skyscrapers loom under a bright, clear daylight sky, as dust and debris erupt violently around the mech. The harsh, direct daylight casts sharp shadows, imbuing the scene with a powerful, urgent, post-apocalyptic action mood. A low-angle wide shot emphasizes the mech's immense scale, with a strong camera shake from the impact. The perspective then shifts to a medium shot inside to a hyper-realistic, metallic, utilitarian futuristic mech cockpit, where @Zero casually reclines in the pilot's seat, looking up contemplatively. Multiple screens display holographic data within the cockpit, while the exterior view through the reinforced glass reveals the same destroyed urban landscape. The interior is lit by practical, diffused lights mixing with the bright external daylight, creating a focused, determined, and intense atmosphere. The camera transitions from a medium shot of her moving, with continued slight camera shake, to a static medium close-up, capturing her focused expression. She's saying "Spotted her. Sending a mark", conveying an intense and powerful resolve. The camera holds a steady medium close-up. The entire scene is rendered in high-fidelity CGI, cinematic, and action-movie style, typical of a dystopian sci-fi genre."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Reina
Reina looks arrogant and independent — and that's not an accident. Those traits are written directly into the prompt. Seedance understands personality language and will deliver the right emotional register if you give it the right words. The recoil detail at the end (hair blown back, hands firm) describes force moving through a body — that's what gets you a real physical reaction instead of a character just sitting there while something explodes off-screen.
The Prompt:
"A powerful cinematic sequence: The camera pushes in and tracks dynamically, from a slightly low angle, focusing on the mech's aggressive stance and its primary weapon, in a gritty sci-fi action style. Then, a sharp cut to the dark, intricate interior of the mech's cockpit, where @Reina sits confidently at the controls. She takes a long, slow drag from a cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke, her expression a mix of calm resolve and subtle anticipation. The dim, functional cockpit lighting casts dramatic shadows across her face as the camera slowly pushes in on her intense gaze, creating a cool, confident, and slightly rebellious mood as she with confident intensity, states, "I hope I will be MVP today." Cut back to a medium shot of the mech, now precisely aiming its massive cannon down the ruined street under the same subdued lighting, ready to fire. Finally, a static medium close-up shot of the woman in the cockpit, her hair dramatically blown back by the immense recoil as the cannon fires off-screen, yet her hands remain firm on the silver joysticks, and her steely, confident expression never wavers, maintaining an intense and powerful action-driven mood in this thriller."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Naomi
Naomi is the funny one. The model read the joke perfectly on the first try — because the beat, the timing, and the emotion were all written into the prompt.
The Prompt:
"A high-fidelity cinematic video featuring a @Naomi first seen in a dramatic medium close-up, her left hand resting gently on her cheek, a playful, subtly seductive smile on her lips, illuminated by soft, directional key lighting in the dark, high-tech interior of a futuristic cockpit, the shot static. The camera then cuts to a wider static medium shot, revealing her holding dual joysticks, her expression shifting to powerful determination within the brightly lit cockpit. She jokingly says: "Double penetration? Will a third one fit?""
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Mira
A machine that size moving at speed has to feel heavy. Not bouncy. Not floaty. The prompt covers the lipstick close-up, the line, and the mech run — written as one continuous sequence so the cut feels motivated.
The Prompt:
"A @Mira applies vibrant red lipstick to her full lips, her gaze direct and intense. The camera performs a smooth, cinematic push-in from an extreme close-up on her mouth and hand to a close-up on her face, revealing the subtle details of her skin and the futuristic cockpit interior with its soft, ambient console lights. Her expression is confident and slightly alluring. She says: "Sorry for being late". The scene abruptly cuts to a dynamic low-angle tracking shot, following the mech's heavy, ground-pounding strides across a desolate, debris-strewn city street and a broken wooden surface. The camera smoothly transitions to a medium close-up, tracking the mech's cockpit, clearly revealing the focused female pilot within the transparent canopy. The shot then expands into a wide, cinematic view, pulling back and tilting slightly upwards as the formidable mech runs, then dramatically skids to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust on the ruined street. Towering, dilapidated skyscrapers frame the post-apocalyptic cityscape under a harsh, backlighting sun that creates a hazy, dust-filled atmosphere and intense lens flares, amplifying the gritty, action-packed, and melancholic mood of this realistic sci-fi action epic."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Fight Scenes
Reina — Cannon Sequence
Generates Reina's firepower sequence. The goal was overwhelming scale — one woman with a giant gun deciding the fight is already over.
The Prompt:
"A dynamic close-up of the mech's now precisely aiming its massive cannon down the ruined street under the same subdued lighting, ready to fire. A massive rifle firing with a powerful recoil in the sunny, ruined city. Finally, a static medium close-up shot of the @Reina in the cockpit, her hair dramatically blown back by the immense recoil as the cannon fires off-screen, yet her hands remain firm on the silver joysticks, and her steely, confident expression never wavers, maintaining an intense and powerful action-driven mood in this mecha thriller."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Mira — The Punch
Mira saves Haru with a single decisive hit. Most people write "mech punches the monster." That's a caption, not direction. This prompt writes the physics — what force does to a body. That's what tells Seedance to generate mass, momentum, and consequence.
The Prompt:
"Generate a high-fidelity, hyper-realistic sci-fi action sequence set in @city, clear daylight. The camera quickly whip-pans to a medium shot revealing a @monster, resembling a monstrous insectoid with a fearsome maw, mid-air and attacking a massive, heavily armored @Mira-mech. As the monster lunges, the mech's powerful, drilling arm swiftly thrusts forward in a rapid push-in close-up shot, brutally impaling the monster's head with a sickening crunch and a violent explosion of dark, crimson blood and gore splattering across the frame."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
The K-Pop Sequence
Five characters, synchronized, moving as one. The music was generated separately and uploaded into Seedance as an element along with the lyrics before a single frame of movement was generated. The beat, rhythm, and energy of the song were part of the generation — not added after. The directors also learned to get out of the way: one term of actual choreography direction (K-pop) outperforms trying to micromanage every step.
Opening Formation Prompt:
"A wide cinematic shot opens on @Zero, @Mira, @Haru, @Reina, @Naomi, a K-Pop group with an edgy, futuristic aesthetic, emerging from deep shadow into a dramatic, crisp spotlight that cuts through a smoky, desolate stage. @Haru commands attention. The overall setting is a minimalist, dark studio with a smooth, dark floor, creating a stark contrast with the brilliant overhead light. As the camera slowly pushes in with a fluid, deliberate motion, the dancers begin their powerful, confident choreography, their movements sharp and synchronized, radiating an intense, high-energy atmosphere. Dynamic cuts transition from a medium full shot to a tight medium shot, capturing the lead dancer's expressive face and then quickly back to the full group, showcasing their collective power. The lighting remains stark and theatrical, emphasizing shadows and highlights, enhancing the sleek, hyper-realistic visual style of a high-production K-Pop music video in stunning 4K. The camera continues its dynamic movement, subtly panning and dollying to follow the intricate dance, maintaining an immersive, performance-driven mood."
Group Dance Prompt:
"A high-definition K-Pop music video featuring @Zero, @Mira, @Haru, @Reina, @Naomi, performing a dynamic, sharp choreography. The setting is a minimalist, dark studio with a seamless dark gray floor and walls, subtly lit by soft, rectangular overhead panels casting cool ambient tones. Dramatic low-key lighting is focused on the subjects, with front and side key lights creating strong highlights on their diverse, futuristic, and tactical-inspired outfits. The mood is edgy, powerful, and mysterious, embodying a sci-fi cyberpunk aesthetic. The camera employs a mix of static and subtly moving shots, commencing with a full-body wide shot of the group, transitioning to dynamic medium close-ups on individual members, then returning to a wider shot as the group dances. A particular low-angle medium shot focuses on @Reina, followed by close-ups on her face and upper body, before concluding with a final full-body wide shot. The cuts are sharp and rhythmic, enhancing the energetic performance, with camera movements generally comprising subtle push-ins, pull-outs, and gentle pans to maintain a cinematic, high-production quality."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
Closing Split-Screen — All Five Pilots
The new monster is coming. Five mechs. Five cockpits. One sequence.
Naomi:
"A static medium close-up from a slightly elevated angle, focusing on a determined @Naomi. Her serious, intense gaze is fixed forward, suggesting deep concentration. She is seated within the detailed cockpit of a @Naomi-mech. The scene is bathed in soft, cool-toned cinematic lighting, subtly sculpting her features and the metallic interior, creating a tense, focused, and anticipatory mood. This hyper-realistic sci-fi film aesthetic is rendered with sharp focus and detailed textures, evoking a high-stakes space opera or action genre."
Reina:
"A high-fidelity cinematic render, in the style of a modern sci-fi action film. @Reina is seated in @Reina-mech. Her gloved hands grip dual flight sticks, her dark hair slicked back, as she looks slightly upwards with a contemplative, determined gaze. The camera is a medium close-up, static shot, centered on her. Soft, diffused cool light illuminates the scene from above, casting subtle shadows and highlighting the metallic textures of the cockpit, creating a tense and anticipatory mood."
Mira:
"@Mira is seated in the metallic, futuristic cockpit of @Mira-mech, her hands gripping twin joysticks. Soft, overhead ambient light casts a neutral glow, highlighting the details of her face and the machinery, creating a tense, anticipatory mood. This is a static medium shot, centered on the pilot, rendered with cinematic realism in a sci-fi action style."
Zero:
"A high-angle medium shot of a focused @Zero seated in a @Zero-mech. Her hand rests gently on a console joystick. Soft, diffused overhead light illuminates the scene, enhancing the metallic textures and casting subtle shadows, while subtle operational lights from the cockpit add depth. The mood is calm, contemplative, and slightly tense, maintaining a realistic, high-fidelity cinematic sci-fi style. The camera is static."
Haru:
"A high-angle static shot looking down at @Haru. She holds a red lollipop in her slightly open mouth, with her tongue slightly visible, and looks directly up at the camera with a surprised or curious expression. She is seated in @Haru-mech. The scene is lit by dramatic, focused overhead lighting, casting soft shadows and highlighting the glossy texture of her top and the contours of her face against the dark, mysterious environment. The atmosphere is a blend of futuristic sci-fi tension and youthful innocence, rendered with hyper-realistic detail and a high-fidelity visual style."
Try it in Seedance 2.0
This is just the intro to Zephyr. There's a lot more to come — stay tuned.
Ready to Build Your Own?
Start with your character assets first. Consistency there is what makes every scene feel like it belongs to the same film.







