AI UNCHAINED / DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL
better decisions.
better films.
Practical guides to light, movement, character and story. Film craft, applied to AI images and video.
DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL / 2026-10-28
How to Hook Viewers in the First Two Seconds of an AI Video Ad
How to stop the scroll in the first two seconds of an AI video ad. Four techniques directors have used for a century, the research behind them, and copy-ready prompts for Seedance, Kling and Veo.
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DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL / 2026-10-28
How to Make AI Product Videos That Feel Premium
What makes an AI product video look expensive instead of cheap: insert shots, light that shows texture, one action per shot and a product that stays identical. Includes a 15 second shot list and copy-ready prompts.
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DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL / 2026-10-28
How to Keep a Character Consistent Across AI Video Shots
Why AI characters change face between shots, and the casting first workflow that fixes it: reference images, a character sheet, stills per shot and the reference inputs in Seedance, Kling and Veo.
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DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL / 2026-10-28
How to Make AI Video Look Real, Not Like AI
Why AI video looks like AI, and how to fix it: decide who holds the camera, use real light, get real texture and hold back. With a before and after prompt you can copy.
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DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL / 2026-10-28
AI Video Camera Movements: Which Ones Work and What They Make People Feel
Every camera move is an emotional decision. Which moves AI video models pull off reliably, what each one makes the viewer feel, and copy-ready prompts for Seedance, Kling, Runway and Veo.
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How to Direct Emotion in AI Video
Emotion words give AI characters generic faces. How to direct real performances in AI video by describing what the brow, eyes, mouth, jaw and breath do, in order, with copy-ready prompts.
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DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL / 2026-10-28
How to Tell a Story in a 15 Second AI Ad
A 15 second AI ad can carry a full story if every shot shows one thing. How to build a beginning, turn and end without dialogue, with a worked shot list and copy-ready prompts.
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How to Prompt Light in AI Images and Video
"Cinematic lighting" in a prompt does almost nothing. How to describe a real light source, its direction, hardness and colour, with copy-ready prompts for AI images and video.
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