AI VFX Handbook

Edit this frame only where the pen is. Replace the black pen in his hand with a slim white wax candle with a lit flame, the same length and angle as the pen, held in the same grip with the same fingers. Keep his face, expression, hair, beard, shirt, pose, the room, the camera angle and the framing exactly as they are.

The flame is small and steady, with a bright yellow core and a soft orange edge. Add the warm glow it would really cast: warm light on his fingers and the candle, a soft warm lift under his chin and on his cheeks, and a faint warm pool on the wall behind him. Darken the rest of the room slightly so the flame reads as the main light.

Photoreal, same lens, grain, sharpness and colour as the original photo. No other changes, no extra objects, no text.

Video edit of the reference clip. Replace the pen in the man's hand with the lit candle from the reference image, in every frame. The candle follows his hand exactly: same grip, same position, same angle and every movement, frame for frame.

Keep his face, expression, clothes, the room and the camera completely unchanged.

The flame flickers gently and leans slightly against the direction he moves the candle, with faint heat shimmer above it. The candle's warm glow lights his fingers, the candle, his face and the wall behind him, and the light on him moves and breathes with the flame. The rest of the room sits slightly darker so the candle is the main light source.

Photoreal, same grain, sharpness and colour as the original footage. Strictly no other changes to the video: no extra objects, no change to his face, no flicker in the room, no text.

Keep this man's face exactly as in the photo: same identity, features, beard, hairline and expression, with no beautification or smoothing. Keep his exact body pose, fighting guard, gloves and the camera angle.

Change everything else. Place him standing in the centre of an international professional Muay Thai championship ring: white canvas floor, coloured ropes and corner pads, a lighting rig overhead with bright spotlights, sponsor boards around the ring apron. Behind the ropes, a packed crowd in tiered seats, softly out of focus.

Change his outfit to a professional Muay Thai fighter: shirtless, traditional satin Muay Thai shorts with embroidered waistband, ankle supports, hand wraps visible at the wrists, keeping his gloves. Give him a lean, conditioned build that suits his frame.

Adjust the framing only as much as needed to show him full body on the canvas, with correct physics: feet planted, weight on the canvas, soft contact shadows under his feet.

Relight him for the arena: hard white top light from the rig, cool blue edge light from the side, warm natural skin tones, light sweat sheen.

Photoreal, ultra-detailed, cinematic sports-drama look with deep contrast and cool steel-blue shadows. No text on screen other than the sponsor boards.

Animate the fighter from the reference image with the exact motion of the reference video: every guard shift, bounce, step, punch and head movement, matching the timing frame for frame.

Keep his face, body, outfit, gloves and the arena exactly as in the image. Keep the camera framing from the image, with a subtle handheld feel.

The crowd in the background moves naturally, standing and cheering. The rig spotlights shimmer and sweep slowly. His shorts and hand wraps react to his movement, and sweat catches the light as he moves.

Photoreal, consistent identity in every frame, feet grounded on the canvas with contact shadows. No face morphing, no extra limbs, no warped gloves, no text.

Use Image 1 (the frame from my footage) and Image 2 (the rifle).

Keep the man's face exactly as in Image 1: same identity and features, no beautification. Keep the camera angle, lens, framing and his body pose exactly as in Image 1.

Change only three things:
1. Location: a narrow concrete stairwell inside a partially destroyed building in a war zone. Cracked walls, exposed rebar, rubble and dust on the steps, daylight coming through a broken opening in the wall.
2. Outfit: modern special forces multicam combat uniform, plate carrier with pouches, tactical helmet with headset and comms mic, tactical gloves.
3. Weapon: replace the gun he is holding with the exact rifle from Image 2, at correct real-world scale, in the same grip and aim.

Lighting: hard directional daylight through the broken opening, dust floating in the light, cool shadows and warm highlights, light bouncing off the concrete onto his gear.

Photoreal, ultra-detailed, gritty modern war-film look, slightly desaturated teal-and-sand grade.

Video edit of the reference clip. Use the reference image as the look for the whole shot.

Keep the man's face, his performance, every movement, the camera motion and the timing exactly as in the video, frame for frame.

Transform his clothing into the uniform, plate carrier, helmet and comms from the reference image. Replace the gun in his hands with the rifle from the reference image, at correct scale, following his grip and aim exactly in every frame.

Replace the background with the destroyed concrete stairwell from the reference image, matching the same camera angle and perspective, with parallax that follows the original camera motion. Dust drifts through the light and small debris sits on the steps.

Relight him with hard directional daylight from the broken opening, soft bounce from the concrete, and dust catching the light around him.

Gritty, slightly desaturated teal-and-sand grade, photoreal. Keep his face, uniform and rifle identical in every frame. No morphing, no extra people, no added cuts, no text.

Video edit of the reference clip, using three reference images: Image 1 is the rifle, Image 2 is the uniform, Image 3 is the environment.

Keep the man's face, performance, every movement, the camera motion and the timing exactly as in the video, frame for frame.

Transform him into a WWII infantry soldier wearing the worn uniform from Image 2: mud-stained fabric, field belt and pouches, the same textures in every frame. Replace his weapon with the rifle from Image 1: wooden stock, correct real-world scale, following his grip and aim exactly.

Replace the environment with a muddy WWII battlefield based on Image 3: shell-damaged buildings, scattered debris, wet ground with puddles, light smoke drifting across the frame. The opening frame must match the tone and layout of Image 3, and the background must move with the original camera motion and parallax.

Lighting: overcast daylight, soft shadows, light diffused through the smoke, a little mud splash and grime on his boots and hands.

Grounded WWII realism, slightly desaturated grade, photoreal. Keep his identity, uniform and rifle stable in every frame. No added cuts, no extra characters, no reflections, no text.

Connect the images in the same order the prompt names them: rifle, uniform, environment.

Video edit of the reference clip. Keep the man exactly as filmed: his face, expression, clothes, every movement of his head, hands and steering, and the camera position, frame for frame.

Replace the car interior with the ultra-luxury sports car interior from the reference image: its steering wheel under his hands, the dashboard and screens, seats, stitching, trim and panoramic glass roof, at the correct scale and perspective for this camera angle. His hands grip the new steering wheel exactly where they gripped the old one and follow every turn.

Keep the street moving past the windows with natural motion and parallax that matches the original drive.

Relight him to match the new cabin: soft daylight from the panoramic roof, faint glow from the dashboard screens, and the colour of the leather and trim bouncing softly onto his clothes and skin.

Photoreal, same grain and exposure as the original. No changes to his face, no extra passengers, no text.

POV shot at an international Muay Thai championship. The fighter from the reference image faces the camera, calling his opponent into the fight, following the exact movement and timing of the reference video.

The camera has a slight handheld feel, as if seen through the opponent's eyes. Behind the ropes the crowd is on its feet cheering, arms raised. The rig spotlights sweep slowly across the ring and flare softly into the lens.

Sweat glistens on his skin, his shorts move with his steps, and his feet stay planted on the canvas with contact shadows.

Keep his face, body and outfit identical to the reference image in every frame. Photoreal sports-broadcast realism. No face morphing, no extra limbs, no text.

Create a character sheet of this exact person on a flat mid-grey studio background, in three panels side by side:
1. Full body, front view, standing straight, arms relaxed.
2. Full body, back view, same pose.
3. Head-and-shoulders close-up of the face, looking straight into the camera.

Same face, hairstyle, outfit, skin tone and body proportions in all three panels. Soft, even studio light with no strong shadows, neutral expression, sharp focus. Photoreal and highly detailed, with no text, labels or watermark.

Connect one or two clear photos of your character. Then crop the result into three images: face, front, back.

Video edit of the reference clip. Replace the running man with the exact character from the reference images. Change nothing else.

Identity: the reference character's face must replace the man's face completely and stay identical in every frame. Young Indian man in his early twenties, lean face, warm light-brown skin, thick messy black curly hair falling over his forehead, thick dark eyebrows, dark brown eyes, straight nose, light stubble and thin moustache, slim build. Match the reference face exactly, not a lookalike, with no trace of the original man's face, hairstyle or features.

Wardrobe from the reference: olive green button-up cotton shirt with sleeves rolled to the forearm, charcoal grey slim trousers, clean white sneakers, thin silver bracelet on his wrist. The shirt and curls react to the running motion and the sea wind, fabric fluttering naturally.

Performance: keep the original man's running motion exactly, every stride, arm swing, body lean and head movement, frame for frame. Keep his exact position, size and path in the frame, running toward the camera across the black pebble beach. Same camera, framing and timing.

Keep the environment completely unchanged: the tall black sea stack, the flock of white birds and their exact flight, the grey overcast sky, the sea and the black pebble shore.

Lighting match: soft, flat, cool overcast daylight from the grey sky, gentle top light, low contrast, cool blue-grey tones on his skin and clothes, soft shadows, matching the scene's grade. His feet touch the pebbles with natural contact shadows and pebbles shifting under each stride. Birds passing in front of him still pass in front of him.

Photoreal, seamless, same film grain, focus and motion blur as the original footage. Keep face, hands and body shape stable and consistent in every frame: no face morphing, no identity drift, no flicker, no extra limbs, no warped fingers, no cartoon or CGI look, no text.

Video edit of the reference clip. Replace both people with new characters while keeping every movement, pose, touch and camera move exactly the same.

The man becomes the exact character from the reference images. Young Indian man in his early twenties, lean face, warm light-brown skin, thick messy black curly hair, thick dark eyebrows, dark brown eyes, straight nose, light stubble and thin moustache. Match the reference face exactly in every frame, including in profile and when partly covered by her hands, with no trace of the original man's face or hairstyle. Wardrobe: olive green button-up cotton shirt with the top button open and sleeves rolled, thin silver bracelet.

The woman becomes a new, original young Indian woman who does not resemble the original actress in any way: a different face, soft oval features, long wavy dark brown hair, small gold earrings, a sleeveless gold sequinned top and gold rings, keeping the same styling mood. Her face must stay consistent in every frame.

Performance: keep both performances exactly as filmed: the forehead kiss, her head tilting back, her hands resting on his chest and then holding his face, his hand on her neck, eyes closing, the lean toward each other, and the hair moving in the wind, frame for frame. Keep their exact positions, sizes and framing, with the same camera drift and timing.

Keep the environment unchanged: the soft-focus green mountain slopes and the pale blue sky.

Lighting match: warm low golden-hour sunlight from behind them, a glowing golden rim on both characters' hair, cheeks and shoulders, with soft warm fill on their faces, matching the original exposure and colour grade. The warm light and shadows of her hands fall correctly on his face and curls, and the collar of his shirt catches the rim light.

Photoreal, seamless, same shallow depth of field, lens softness and grain as the original footage. Hands and fingers stay natural with correct finger count, and faces stay stable through every frame and every head turn: no face morphing, no identity drift between frames, no blending of the old and new faces, no flicker, no cartoon or CGI look, no text.

This prompt replaces both people. Never keep a real actor’s face in a romantic or intimate scene with someone they did not film with. If you have a sheet for your female lead, attach it as a fourth image and swap her description for "the exact woman from the fourth reference image".

Remove the person completely from this frame and rebuild what was behind them: the ground, fires, smoke, debris and building lights continue naturally through the space where they stood, with matching perspective and lighting.

Keep everything else exactly the same: framing, composition, light, colours, smoke density and grain. No person, no silhouette, no shadow of a person, no smudge or blur where they were.

Recreate this exact image at the highest quality: same composition, same objects, same lights, same colours and the same camera angle. Sharpen the detail, clean up compression artefacts and noise, and make textures crisp and natural. Do not add, remove or move anything.

I am recreating the attached video shot with an AI video model. I will give the model three references: the original video clip as the motion reference, a clean background plate with the character removed, and a character sheet of my new character.

Watch the whole clip carefully and write one generation prompt, under 2,400 characters, in plain English, with these sections in order: Setting, Character, Action with timestamps, Camera, Lighting, Look.

Rules:
- Describe exactly what happens, second by second, including where the character enters, lands, turns and what the hands do.
- Describe the camera move precisely (static, push-in, pan, handheld), and its speed.
- Use only frame directions (frame left, frame right, toward camera), never the character's own left or right.
- Refer to the references as "the reference video", "the background image" and "the character sheet".
- Describe the character only by what is in my character sheet, not by the original actor.
- End with one line of quality guardrails: consistent face, no morphing, no extra people, no text.

The instruction to stay under 2,400 characters leaves you room to add a line in Lemonpeel.

Recreate the reference video as a new shot. Follow its motion, timing, framing and camera move exactly, frame for frame. Use the background image as the environment and the character sheet as the only character.

Setting: a dramatic night scene filled with thick, drifting smoke and dust. An old gothic stone church stands in the background, outlined with draped strings of glowing yellow fairy lights. The dusty ground is scattered with small pools of burning fire. Warm, flickering orange and yellow firelight against a dark night sky.

Character: the Indian man from the character sheet. His face, clear aviator glasses, moustache and goatee stay identical in every frame. He wears the detailed tactical full-body red armour suit from the sheet, with raised muscle panels, glowing red-orange light strips and a metallic gold "E" emblem on the chest.

Action with timing:
0.0-0.8s: he drops fast from above the top of the frame and lands in the centre in a deep bent-knee crouch, kicking up a burst of dust on impact.
0.8-2.0s: he rises from the crouch, squares his shoulders to the camera and settles into a wide-legged power stance, arms slightly flared.
2.0-4.0s: he pulls a red cloth mask up over his mouth and nose with both hands and locks his eyes on the lens in an intense stare.

Camera: a smooth, continuous dolly-in for the whole shot, ending on his face and upper body.

Lighting: firelight from below and behind, warm rim on the armour, glints on the gold emblem and glasses, embers and smoke passing in front of him.

Look: photoreal action-film realism, anamorphic feel, fine grain, warm orange grade with deep shadows. Consistent face and suit in every frame, no morphing, no extra people, no text.

Video edit of the reference clip. Replace only the background and relight the performer. Do not add any creature or other character.

Keep the performer exactly as filmed: same face, red hair, full red beard, brown leather long coat, olive trousers, black boots, sword and round wooden shield. Keep his exact position in the frame, his path across the frame, his size and every movement, frame for frame. Same static wide camera and framing.

Replace the green screen and all tracking markers with the surface of Titan, Saturn's moon, built in deep layers. Foreground: out-of-focus dark ice boulders in the bottom corners of the frame. Ground: wet black ice pebbles, frost crust and reflective puddles that mirror the orange sky and reflect his legs. Midground: a black glassy methane lake with slow ripples across the back of the frame, jagged ice spires and eroded ice cliffs. Background: tall mesas and a distant ice volcano releasing vapour, fading into thick layered orange-amber haze. Saturn only as a faint pale ringed shape behind the haze. Light drizzle and low mist drifting across the ground and swirling around his boots as he moves.

Relight the performer completely so he belongs in this world. Remove the flat studio lighting and every trace of green spill on his outline, hair, beard and coat. Soft dim orange-amber skylight from above, darker exposure than the original, low contrast, no hard sunlight. Warm orange bounce from the ground on the underside of his coat and shield. Wet sheen and small droplets on his leather coat, hair, beard and shield. Dark contact shadow under his boots that moves with his feet, ice grit and mist kicked up by every step.

Photoreal feature-film look, large-format cinema camera, anamorphic lens, shallow depth of field, fine film grain, cool orange-teal grade, deep blacks. Seamless integration, no cutout edges, no flicker, no cartoon look, no text.

Video edit of the reference clip. Keep the composition, the environment layout, the camera, and the performer's position, size, face, costume, sword, shield and every movement exactly as they are. Do not add any creature or character. Only fix the lighting, grounding and colour.

Relight the performer to match the backlit scene. The glowing light source in the hazy sky is behind him, so his front, face, coat and trousers fall into soft shadow, darker than now, with low contrast. Add a warm orange rim light tracing his outline, hair, beard, shoulders and the edge of his shield. Soft orange-amber ambient fill from the hazy sky, with no flat frontal studio light. Add a faint wet sheen on his leather coat and shield, catching the rim light.

Ground him in the scene. Add a soft dark contact shadow under his boots that moves with every step, plus small bursts of ice grit and low mist kicked up by his feet as he moves. Add a faint blurred reflection of him in the wet ground and puddles, and thin low mist drifting across the shoreline around his legs, with light drizzle falling.

Shift the whole world toward Titan: reduce the Earth-like blue. Tint the ice cliffs, lake and rocks with muted amber, brown and grey-teal tones under the orange haze, with the water dark and glassy, reflecting orange. Increase the haze density with distance so the far mountains are faint silhouettes.

Photoreal feature-film look, anamorphic lens, shallow depth of field, fine film grain, cool orange-teal grade, deep blacks. No flicker, no cutout edges, no changes to his motion, no text.

Video edit of the reference clip. Keep the environment, camera and the man exactly as they are: face, costume, sword, shield, position and every movement, frame for frame. Add one colossal monster that fights him, perfectly timed to his moves below. "Frame left" means the left side of the screen as the viewer sees it.

The monster: alien creature twice the man's height, head near the top of the frame, dark frost-crusted armour plates, faint cyan veins, long segmented arms with scythe claws, heavy grounded feet. It always faces the man and never faces the camera. It never overlaps him and he never walks through it.

EXACT TIMING:
0.0-1.4s: the man stands in guard at frame left. The monster charges out of the haze from the far background toward him, growing larger as it approaches, and stays behind and beyond him in depth, never beside him.
1.4-1.8s: the man steps toward the centre of the frame. The monster arrives at frame left, directly behind where he started, towering and raising one claw high.
1.8-2.4s: the man lifts his shield above his head. At that exact moment the monster's claw comes down from above and smashes onto the shield. Ice bursts from the impact and his body dips under the weight.
2.4-2.8s: the man spins around. The monster pulls its claw back and rears up, roaring.
2.8-3.4s: the man lunges and thrusts his sword toward frame left. The sword tip strikes the monster's reaching forearm with sparks and ice spray, and the monster jerks back.
3.4-7.0s: the man holds his lunging stance and keeps thrusting toward frame left. The monster stays at frame left, facing him and trading blows the whole time. Each time his sword pushes forward, the monster swipes at him with a claw, he parries, and it staggers back one step, then lunges again. It never freezes and never stands with its arms hanging.

Lighting: backlit orange haze with a warm rim on the monster's armour. Its cyan glow falls on the man's side facing it, on his shield and on the wet ground. Both cast shadows on the ice.

Photoreal feature-film VFX, fine grain, orange-teal grade. Keep the man's hands, sword and shield stable. No morphing, no flicker, no cartoon look, no text.

Replace the timestamps with the ones you measured from your own plate. If sync is still off after two takes, split the plate at 3.4s and run each half with only its own timing lines.

Cinematic fantasy video edit of the reference clip. Keep the performer exactly as filmed: same face, red hair, full red beard, brown leather long coat, olive trousers, black boots, prop sword and round wooden shield. Keep his position in the frame, his path and every movement unchanged, frame for frame, with the same static wide camera. Do not move, resize or re-stage him.

He is in a staged fantasy duel with a giant creature on the frozen surface of Titan, Saturn's moon. The creature is three times his height and always faces him, staying close enough for its long arms to reach him. It never looks at the camera and never stands still: it breathes, shifts its weight, follows him with its head and keeps reaching for him. When he raises his shield overhead, its arm comes down from above and lands on the shield, releasing a spray of sparkling ice crystals. When he sweeps his sword toward it, the sword meets its arm with a flash of light and ice sparkles, and it sways back before reaching for him again. Its heavy steps press into the ice and stir the mist.

Creature design: smooth dark grey armour-like shell dusted with frost, faint glowing cyan lines, long segmented arms with curved tips, and a wet, glistening surface.

World: deep and layered. Out-of-focus dark ice boulders in the foreground, wet black ice pebbles with reflective puddles, a still black lake, ice cliffs and spires, and distant mesas fading into thick orange-amber haze. A faint ringed Saturn is barely visible through the haze. Gentle drizzle and low mist move with the action.

Lighting: relight the performer to match this world. Dim, soft orange-amber skylight, darker exposure, no studio light and no green tint on his outline, hair or beard. A gentle cyan glow from the creature falls on the side of him that faces it and on the wet ground. Damp sheen on his coat and shield, and natural shadows under both figures.

Style: photorealistic, large-format cinema camera look, anamorphic lens character, fine film grain, cool orange-teal colour grade, rich shadows, seamless integration. Keep hands, sword and shield steady, no flicker, no large mist bursts covering the performer, no cartoon look, no text or watermark.

Turn this frame into the reference image for SwitchX. Keep the man exactly as he is: face, hair, beard, costume, sword, shield, pose, size and position in frame.

Replace the green screen with the frozen surface of Titan, Saturn's moon, in deep layers: dark ice boulders in the foreground corners, wet black ice pebbles with reflective puddles, a black glassy methane lake, ice cliffs and spires, distant mesas fading into thick orange-amber haze, and a faint ringed Saturn high in the haze.

Relight him to match: dim soft orange-amber skylight, darker exposure, a warm rim on his outline and shield, no studio light, no green spill, a wet sheen on his coat, and a dark contact shadow under his boots.

Photoreal, large-format cinema look, fine grain, cool orange-teal grade, deep blacks.

Hyper-realistic cinematic shot of a red-haired, bearded warrior in a brown leather long coat, with a sword and a round wooden shield, fighting a colossal monster on the frozen surface of Titan, Saturn's moon. The monster is three times his height, with dark obsidian armour plates crusted with frost, faint glowing cyan veins, long segmented arms with curved claws, and a wet, dripping body. It is constantly attacking him, slamming its claws down onto his shield and recoiling when his sword strikes it, while ice shards and mist burst from every impact and footstep.

The environment is deep and layered: dark ice boulders in the foreground, wet black ice pebbles with reflective puddles, a black glassy methane lake, jagged ice cliffs and spires, and distant mesas fading into thick orange-amber haze. A faint ringed Saturn is barely visible through the haze, and light drizzle and low mist drift across the ground.

Lighting: dim, soft orange-amber skylight from the hazy sky with low contrast and no hard sunlight, a cool cyan glow from the monster spilling onto the warrior, his shield and the wet ground, a wet sheen on his coat, hair and shield, and dark contact shadows under both figures.

Photoreal feature-film VFX, large-format cinema camera, anamorphic lens, shallow depth of field, fine film grain, cold orange-teal grade, deep blacks.