Lis Luis

Short film · Directed with AI

Starring Dory Fatale: her revenge era

My sweet senior dog, Dory, survived an attack by two loose dogs. She made it because my boyfriend and two neighbors ran in to save her. When she recovered, I threw her a party and made a 24-minute "Eras Tour" of her life to play there.

This was the finale: her Reputation era. Neo-noir, L.A. Confidential lighting, and a femme fatale who is also the detective.

  • Finale of a 24-minute party film
  • Neo-noir, 1940s grain
  • Midjourney · ChatGPT · Canva
The final cut, shown here without its soundtrack. At the party it played to a track from Taylor Swift's Reputation.

The storyboard

I wrote the story and planned it shot by shot before generating anything: the setup, the shadows on the wall, Animal Control arriving, and Dory driving off in a car with a KARMA plate.

Close-up of Dory in a turned-up trench collar, rain behind her. Extreme close-up of Dory's eyes over a dark collar. Black-and-white alley: a small dog faces two large dog shadows on a brick wall. Dory in a long coat walks past the shadows of two cowering dogs. Dory in a fedora watches Animal Control officers lead the dogs to a van. From behind, Dory in a trench coat beside a vintage convertible as the van drives off. Dory's face reflected in a rain puddle full of streetlights. Dory lounging on the hood of a black convertible with a cigarette holder. The convertible drives away in the rain, its license plate reading KARMA. Dory's face in the car's side mirror, city lights behind.

How I directed it

AI video drifts. Faces change, extra characters appear, the camera wanders. So I wrote every prompt like a shot list for a crew that takes everything literally.

Lock both endsGive it the exact first and last frame, so every shot cuts cleanly into the next.
One camera moveA tilt or a push-in, described start to finish. Nothing else moves unless I say so.
Name what can't changeHer face, markings and anatomy stay fixed. So does the KARMA plate, spelled out letter by letter, because AI loves to rewrite text.
Start frame: Dory beside the convertible as the van leaves.Start frame
End frame: Dory's reflection in a puddle.End frame

Shot: from the street to her reflection

My prompt

Begin exactly on the supplied start frame. The figure remains still beside the black vintage convertible as the Animal Control vehicle slowly disappears into the rainy distance. Hold for a brief beat. Then the camera slowly tilts downward toward the rain-soaked pavement at her feet. Follow the glowing streetlight reflections across the wet street until her reflection gradually becomes visible in a large dark puddle. The real figure moves out of frame as the camera settles completely on the water. Raindrops strike the puddle, creating gentle ripples that subtly distort her reflected face and silhouette before becoming still enough to reveal the exact supplied end-frame reflection. Cigarette smoke drifts faintly across the reflected image. Slow, elegant, dreamlike 1940s film noir cinematography, mysterious and introspective, deep blacks, warm streetlight reflections, subtle film grain. Preserve the exact character design and canine anatomy in the reflection. No morphing, no additional animals or people. End precisely on the supplied reflection composition.

Start frame: Dory seated in the black convertible in the rain.Start frame
End frame: the convertible from behind, plate reading KARMA.End frame

Shot: Karma drives away

My prompt

Begin exactly on the supplied start frame with the character already seated inside the black convertible. Hold briefly as rain falls and smoke drifts upward. The car begins to move smoothly forward. As it pulls away, the camera remains behind and gradually shifts toward a low rear three-quarter angle, allowing the convertible to pass ahead of the camera. The rear of the car becomes the focus as it accelerates gently through the rain, arriving naturally at the exact supplied end-frame composition. Water sprays softly from the tires and red taillights glow across the wet pavement. Preserve the exact vehicle design and character appearance. The rear license plate must remain exactly as shown in the supplied end frame: KARMA, spelled K-A-R-M-A, with no alteration or additional text. Do not distort, rewrite or change the license plate. Smooth cinematic movement, vintage film noir, rain, glowing reflections, subtle film grain. No morphing, no additional characters or animals. End exactly on the supplied end frame.

Start frame: Dory in the car's side mirror.Start frame
Generated shot

Final shot: the last look

My prompt

Begin exactly on the supplied frame. The camera makes one very slow, perfectly smooth cinematic push-in toward the character's eyes. No other camera movement. Keep the character completely stable and centered as the eyes gradually fill the frame. Rain and distant lights continue moving subtly in the background. Preserve the exact face, markings and expression. No cuts, no shaking, no rotation, no perspective shift, no new objects or characters, no morphing. One continuous steady zoom toward the eyes. End on an extreme close-up of the eyes, holding the gaze for the final beat.

Story, storyboard and direction by me. Shot prompts developed with ChatGPT, frames and motion generated in Midjourney, edited in Canva.