Prime Time: Skeleton Day

How it was made

Tap any step to see it.

1. 1What went in: Character Studio refs
2. 2The still (one per shot)
3. 3Precise fix with a Klein edit
4. 4Motion + sound effects
5. 5The finished cut

1. 

   Step 1

   What went in: Character Studio refs

   Brian and Pamela (3 real photos each), Circe's front and standing photos, all saved in Character Studio. Cast stills used 7 to 9 of these photos as Klein reference images (the first cast takes also used the 80s full-body looks, which brought back the white jacket stripes).

2. 

   Step 2

   The still (one per shot)

   FLUX 3 Image Klein

   PromptCopy prompt

   Medium-wide low-angle shot on the sunny stone steps of a whitewashed hillside town plaza, clear sky space above their heads. Three heroes stand side by side in three-quarter view, all looking up and to the right at something enormous off frame: the bald man with a shaved head and salt-and-pepper goatee from images 1, 2 and 3 (same face), a thin natural wooden toothpick in the corner of his mouth, wearing a plain solid mustard-yellow nylon jacket with no stripes and no white trim anywhere, a black tee, stonewashed jeans and white high-top sneakers; the woman with big teased side-swept dark brown hair from images 4, 5 and 6 (same face), in an emerald-green satin padded-shoulder jumpsuit with a wide black belt with a gold buckle and chunky gold geometric earrings, holding binoculars; and their adult female German Shepherd from image 7, black-and-tan saddle coat, black muzzle mask, tall upright ears, faded teal bandana with a thin orange stripe, sitting alert beside them looking up. Exactly two people and one dog. Each person has exactly two arms and two hands. A huge white vinyl inflatable foot and a giant shadow fall across the plaza behind them, striped cafe umbrellas tumbling through the air. Shot like a 1980s prime-time action TV series, high production value: 35mm film, warm sun-bleached golden grade, soft highlight halation, light film grain, slightly lifted blacks, heroic low angle. No signs, no lettering anywhere. Original design only. No logos, no brand designs.

   • resolution: 2k
   • aspect ratio: 9:16
   • num images: 2
   • output: 1536x2752
   • refs: Brian 3 real photos, Pamela 3 real photos, Circe front (7 Character Studio photos); skeleton-only shots use no refs, the deflate shot uses the hook still as its reference

   27 credits · This is the exact prompt of the cast still (shot 2, take 2). 27 images at 1 credit each (2K): 8 shots at 2 takes each plus redos for the hook (first design rejected), the cast (jacket stripes), the binocular and grin shots (stripes) and the deflate (too small). In Relax mode on a plan these would use no credits.

3. 

   Step 3

   Precise fix with a Klein edit

   FLUX 3 Image Klein

   PromptCopy prompt

   Edit image 1: remove the white stripes and white trim from the man's mustard-yellow jacket so it is one plain solid mustard-yellow color everywhere, shoulders and sleeves included. Change nothing else: keep both faces, hair, the woman's outfit, the binoculars, her hands, the toothpick, the framing, the light and the film grain exactly the same.

   • resolution: 2k
   • aspect ratio: 9:16
   • prompt upsampling: off
   • reference images: the shot 5 still

   2 credits · Left: before (white sleeve stripes), right: after. 2 edits at 1 credit each: this one, and one that shortened a toothpick that ran across Brian's whole mouth in the grin still (prompt e8_edit in howto.md).

4. 

   Step 4

   Motion + sound effects

   Seedance 2.5

   PromptCopy prompt

   The German Shepherd in the image (same dog, same markings and teal bandana) hangs on to the white valve plug on the giant inflatable skeleton's ribcage with her jaws and tugs back hard, and the plug pops out of the valve with a burst of air; she drops back down onto the rooftop terrace wall holding the plug in her mouth while a strong jet of air blasts out of the open valve and the vinyl ribs start to wrinkle and sag. The skeleton's arms flail, the harbor water below sparkles and boats bob, clouds drift. Camera medium, low angle, slight shake on the pop. Exactly one dog and one valve; the skeleton keeps its exact shape and colors. No people. Sound: vinyl stretching squeak, a loud pop, a huge rushing hiss of escaping air, the dog's paws landing; sound effects only, no music, no speech.

   • resolution: 1080p
   • aspect ratio: 9:16
   • duration: 5
   • thinking: on
   • generate audio: on
   • image url: that shot's approved still

   720 credits · This is the exact prompt of the valve shot. 9 clips x 5 s x 16 credits/s at 1080p: 8 shots plus a retake of the grin shot after the toothpick edit.

5. 

   Step 5

   The finished cut

   8 shots, 21.8 s of footage plus a 3.5 s end card, 1080x1920.