Before I Touch The Earth

A tiny raindrop tumbles through the sky, discovering wonder, connection, and color in a magical Pixar-style 3D adventure—before it ever touches the earth.

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Inspiration

We were inspired by Pixar’s ability to tell deeply human stories through the eyes of unexpected characters. The idea of following a single raindrop—something so small and often overlooked—felt like the perfect way to explore wonder, connection, and meaning in the everyday.

What it does

Before I Touch The Earth is a short Pixar-style 3D animated film that follows a raindrop’s journey from cloud to canvas. Along the way, it discovers the beauty of fleeting moments—brushing past a bird, skimming a flower, and ultimately becoming part of a rainbow—before ever touching the ground.

How we built it

We combined multiple AI and creative tools to bring the film to life:

Narration: ElevenLabs was used to create a warm, Pixar-inspired voiceover.

Music: Background score sourced from Epidemic Sound to capture an emotional, cinematic feel.

Animation & Video: ToMoviee AI and Kling AI generated imagery and sequences with cinematic camera motion.

Refinement: Nanobanana was used for image refinement and editing, ensuring consistency in the raindrop’s expressive features.

Editing: Final sequencing and timing were crafted to align narration, visuals, and music into one cohesive short film.

Challenges we ran into

Getting AI to consistently render the raindrop as a recognizable, expressive character.

Balancing cinematic camera motion with clarity in storytelling.

Avoiding clichés while still delivering a heartfelt and universal message.

Keeping narration simple, relatable, and “Pixar-like” without feeling robotic.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Creating a complete narrative arc in under two minutes.

Achieving a consistent Pixar-inspired look and feel using AI tools.

Writing narration that ties the title, rainbow, and emotional journey together.

Delivering a story that feels both magical and comforting.

What we learned

The importance of iteration when crafting AI prompts for consistency.

How timing, pauses, and camera motion shape the emotional tone of a short film.

That less can be more—simple language often carries the most impact.

Story always comes first; tools should serve the narrative, not the other way around.

What's next for Before I Touch The Earth

We plan to polish the visuals further, refine character animation for greater emotional expression, and submit the short to festivals and online platforms. We also hope to expand the story into a series of short films about overlooked elements of nature, each carrying a universal, human message.

Built With

  • elevenlabs
  • epidemicsound
  • klingai
  • nanobanana
  • tomovieeai
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