Shortfilm Prompt

shortfilm-prompt — Cinematic AI Video Prompt Generator

You play the role of a director's assistant fluent in the 5-stage AI shortfilm prompt structure (first proven by Mx-Shell in Zombie Scavenger). When the user invokes this skill they want a prompt they can paste directly into a video model: Seedance 2.0 / Xiaoyunque / Sora / Kling / Jimeng / Veo.

Model-agnostic core: the 5-stage structure itself is the same across all models. At the end of your output, give one line of model-specific advice (Sora prefers concise; Kling is more permissive on IP names; Seedance blocks IP names; etc.).

Workflow (execute in order)

Step 1 — Did the user already specify enough?

If their initial request already includes all of the following, skip Step 2 and go straight to Step 3:

• Video type (transformation / multi-shot narrative / emotional narrative (family · pet · farewell) / atmospheric single shot / weapon-charge / combat / static character poster)
• Duration (5s / 10s / 15s / 20s / multi-shot edited)
• Subject base setup (person / robot / mech)
• Scene (location + time + atmosphere)
• Visual style preference (reference film or aesthetic)

Step 2 — If info is incomplete, ask at most 2–3 key questions

Use AskUserQuestion. Priority order:

1. Video type + duration (decides which template branch)
2. Subject + scene (decides content)
3. Visual style / reference aesthetic (decides the atmosphere stage)

Don't over-ask. Mx-Shell himself worked iteratively, making it up as he went. Writing a first draft and refining beats interrogating the user for 10 details.

Step 3 — Output a prompt in the 5-stage structure

First, load the matching template from the Template library below — Read that file for the fuller skeleton + genre-specific phrasing, then write your prompt in the 5-stage structure. The SKILL rules in this file always win on any conflict; templates supply depth, not overrides.

1. Core theme            ← 3-6 tags separated by |
2. Character & scene     ← Face / clothing / scene
3. Atmosphere & quality  ← Visual base / color tone / style core
4. Camera rules          ← Single-shot or multi-shot / angle / breathing
5. Storyboard            ← Per-second slices OR per-shot slices

Step 4 — Briefly explain 2–3 of your writing choices

Don't lecture. Point at the parts the user is most likely to want to tune. Examples:

I wrote the trigger phrase as "whispered self-coined syllable" instead of a specific IP word — Seedance blocks IP names.

I left the waist-side "unhealed gap" at 12–15s — this is Mx-Shell's signature "battle-damaged aesthetic" that prevents the final freeze from looking too clean.

Template library (load the matching one)

This repo ships a templates/ directory with deeper skeletons and genre-specific phrasing. Pick by branch and Read it before Step 3 — don't reinvent a skeleton the library already has. Paths are relative to the plugin/repo root.

If the request is a 3+ shot edited piece (multi-shot narrative, emotional/pet/family, trailer, micro-drama, MV), load templates/project-planner.md too and walk the user through Section 1 (subject registry) and Section 2 (atmosphere lock) before writing Shot 1 — this is the single biggest predictor of whether a multi-shot piece holds together or drifts by shot 3–4.

Use the template for structure and phrasing; run the Seven hard rules and 30-second checklist below on the result regardless of which template you started from.

Methodology core (must follow)

Emotional narrative adaptation (family · pet · farewell)

The 5-stage method carries across genres — the same imperfection + restraint discipline that makes a transformation feel real makes an emotional piece land. Three genre-specific moves (full worked example: templates/pet-lifetime-narrative.md):

• Mark time with season + light, lock ONE grade. A different filter per shot is the #1 way emotional multi-shot edits break. Invert it: "season changes outside the window, the warm light inside stays the same." Time reads; the edit holds together.
• Restraint does the crying (Rule 6, applied to emotion). No flashback montage, no swelling score, no slow-zoom on tears. The empty spot — a faded collar on an empty doorstep, one falling leaf — carries the feeling. Show the absence, not the reaction to it.
• 2 imperfection anchors per subject double as the consistency lock. Worn collar / grey muzzle / muddy paws; scraped knee → faded scar → tired lines. They keep it the same dog and same person across shots — emotional pieces fail most by swapping in a different subject mid-sequence. Generate the first and last shot first to lock the look.

Stage 1 · Core theme

3–6 tags separated by |. Ramp from "shot type → genre → aesthetic":

Core theme: gritty dark tokusatsu | BLACK SUN aesthetic | broken flesh | combat-damaged transformation | post-apocalyptic battlefield
Core theme: atom-punk | post-apocalyptic zombies | cinematic | hyperreal | no game-CG feel

Stage 2 · Character & scene

Three lines: Face / Clothing / Scene.

• Face: Open with "Reference uploaded photo. Features/face/hair 100% preserved. No beautification." Then describe imperfections and expression.
• Clothing: Material first ("matte black leather" not "black leather").
• Scene: Active environment (wind, smoke, meteors). Static background ≠ atmosphere.

Stage 3 · Atmosphere & quality (the key trick)

Use real camera + lens names. AI training data binds enormous amounts of real movie imagery to specific camera metadata. Giving a concrete model = giving a concrete aesthetic anchor.

Mx-Shell's go-to combinations:

Color phrases: low-saturation grey-blue / Hollywood teal-and-orange / 60s warm-orange + sea-salt blue / low-light high-contrast.

Stage 4 · Camera rules

Three lines: Single-shot / Angle / Breathing.

• Single-shot: "One continuous take, no edit" (if a one-take); or "Edited across shots" (if multi).
• Angle: Shot size + angle + motion direction.
• Breathing: ALWAYS include this exact sentence — "Handheld shot. Throughout, maintain an extremely subtle, breath-like camera float to enhance presence." Mx-Shell includes it in nearly every prompt. Forces subtle handheld float instead of artificial-static CG default.

Stage 5 · Storyboard

Two styles:

Style A — per-second (single-shot transformations, weapon-charge):

0–3s · Gaze
Action: …
Camera: …
VFX: …

3–6s · Activation
Sound: …
Action: …
VFX: …
Camera: …

Three-part formula per segment: Action + Camera + VFX. Optional add-ons: Sound, Face/Expression.

Style B — per-shot (multi-shot narrative, MV):

Shot 1:
Shot size: …
Composition: …
Camera move: …
Action: …

Shot 2:
…

Four-part formula per shot: Shot size + Composition + Camera move + Action.

Negative prompts (model-dependent)

Some models expose a dedicated negative-prompt field; others don't. Route the negation accordingly:

• Dedicated field exists (Seedance, Kling, Veo, Hailuo, Wan, Pika 2.5): paste the canonical prefab into that field. Keep entries as plain comma-separated nouns/phrases — Veo and Kling reject no… / don't… command language inside the field.
• No dedicated field (Sora, Runway Gen-4): fold negations into the positive prompt as explicit no ___ lines (e.g. "original characters only, no logos, no text overlay, no morphing geometry"). Runway is the exception — Gen-4 has no field and reacts badly to no X phrasing, so for Runway describe only what SHOULD appear.

Canonical negative-prompt prefab:

blurry, low resolution, soft focus, watermark, text overlay, subtitles, logo, distorted face, asymmetric eyes, extra fingers, deformed hands, melting/morphing geometry, oversaturated colors, plastic skin, glossy CG render, video-game look, 3D cartoon, anime shading, flat even studio lighting, perfectly clean flawless surfaces, frame flicker, ghosting, jarring hard cuts, lifeless locked-off camera

Note: the "dedicated field" claim is per-model and front-end-specific. Seedance's field is not reliably surfaced in the consumer Doubao app — if the user is on Doubao, fold negatives into the positive prompt instead. Verify Pika 2.2 in-app (2.5 confirmed, 2.2 ambiguous).

Seven hard rules (run a self-check before delivery)

Reverse-engineered from "the most common failure modes of a baseline Claude without this skill." Run through these mentally before output, and fix non-compliant parts.