The short story and film production of “The Resolve” has come to an end. A new film is already on the horizon. I originally planned for “The Resolve” to participate in the Vacat Award. Still, I’ve now decided that the second film, “The Whithered Sea Project,” will be the one to join in the Vacat Award.
The short film “The Whithered Sea Project” from the Computational Universe is currently in the preparation stage, so today seems like a perfect time to discuss what needs to be done during the preparation phase of an AI film. For a short film like “The Whithered Sea Project,” which runs 8 minutes, I need more than ten days for production. Still, the preliminary preparation has already been underway for months through technical exploration.
Of course, you don’t need to prepare for that long because the technology is becoming increasingly simplified, and you can get started quickly. The reason I barely produced any films in the second half of last year was because I have a persistent pursuit of technology. I don’t believe that technology becomes unimportant after technological democratization.
To start making an AI film, you can begin by brainstorming story ideas. The brainstorming process can be entirely focused, with you sitting in front of your computer and writing down all related inspirations. It can also allow your brain to multitask, such as suddenly getting inspired while taking a walk. It’s best not to rely on ChatGPT or other large language models at this stage.
After you have your initial concept, you can refine it. This means filling in details for your idea, such as specific plot points, character backstories, and story twists. At this point, you can start using large language models to help you think of angles you hadn’t considered before. However, don’t rely too heavily on them, as current technology levels haven’t yet reached that point.
Next, depending on your needs, write a novel if you’re writing a book, write a script if you’re writing a script. In AI film production, two stages take the longest: preparing the script and generating images. Script creation is actually like image generation – everyone has their own methods.
Next, envision the overall style of your film. This is usually a good time to create mood boards. This involves finding a feel for visual design style; you can use image board tools like Pinterest to search for a particular aesthetic. This feeling should permeate the entire film production.
In AI film production, finding this feeling is also helpful because you can design a set of unified style prompts to make the content appearing in your scenes more consistent. Unified style is the foundation of art. You can also use Shotdeck to find styles from other films as references.
After discovering this feeling, you can start designing prompts for your characters, then create LoRA for each one individually. Character LoRA is a method for maintaining consistency; however, there are also multi-reference approaches. These can all make your characters appear stably throughout various parts of your film.
After designing characters, you then start designing scenes. Both scenes and characters should be consistent with the style you previously envisioned. For example, “The Resolve” is set in a steampunk world, where both the characters’ clothing and the scenes incorporate elements of steampunk.
At this point, the preparation stage is complete. Some creators adopt the approach of generating images first, then videos. However, due to the current emergence of video generation tools and multi-reference capabilities, I suggest combining image and video generation. This makes it easier to find your groove.
“The Whithered Sea Project” tells the story of the day when the Xinglong civilization defeated the Arithmian civilization, and female mathematician Yu Baiyun prophesies that civilization will lose its spirit of exploration. After conducting extensive research, she discovers that the essence of exploration lies not in the unknown but in the tolerance for the unknowable. Through simulating an experiment of a known universe – the Whithered Sea Project – she finds that once the world becomes completely knowable, civilization loses its vitality. To better understand this phenomenon, she connects her consciousness to the experiment…
This story is very Chinese in style, and it also explores philosophical questions such as the paradox between the spirit of exploration and the “known,” rational tyranny and psychological collapse, the boundaries between consciousness and reality, and the eternal thirst for meaning. For my previous story, “The Resolve,” I published both the novel and the creative process on my public account.
Some friends feel that this experience of seeing the creative process gives them a sense of watching a film being made. This time, I will also update my creative process synchronously. Many years ago, when I was working on the fan economy website Ratafire, I believed that being able to see the creative process was a beneficial experience.
I look forward to “The Whithered Sea Project,” which officially launches today.
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