Debate 101: Ghosting

Inspiration

This project was inspired by the confusing, often frustrating nature of modern romance, and the need to add a humorist touch to its complexity. We used the structured format of a debate and the ridiculous logic of a gaming simulation to dissect the dating dilemma of ghosting, turning the pain of ambiguity into satire.

What it does

"Debate 101: Ghosting" is a satirical short film framed as a dating simulation game. It uses a clean gaming aesthetic and a dialogue tree system to present a core dilemma: how should the interaction end? The film is structured as a debate between Beaver Queen, who argues that ghosting is cowardice and prioritizes communication, and Beaver King, who proposes the self-preserving alternative. The film analyzes the mechanics of intentional emotional withdrawal while simultaneously visualizing the agonizing anxiety of the "real wait."

How we built it

his project utilized a focused AI pipeline to create the simulated animated world:

Generative Models: The unique animated characters and the stylized game environment were generated using Veo 3 Fast.

Voice/Sound: The dialogue tree and debate narration were created using ElevenLabs.

Post-Production: Filmora was used for final assembly, integrating the animated elements with the structured debate graphics and simulated interface.

Challenges we ran into

The main challenge was grappling with the frequently inconsistent anatomy of the animated characters while maintaining the satire:

Animated Inconsistency: We constantly faced model drift issues where the animated characters' features would randomly change—specifically, faces would sometimes turn into a beaver-like visage, and legs would become disproportionately long.

Consistency Strategy: This forced us to develop specific creative strategies to anchor the hands and feet within the frame, ensuring these extremities remained consistent even when the core facial features or leg length were prone to chaotic change.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of successfully blending satirical social commentary with an experimental gaming aesthetic. We achieved an engaging, interactive feel through the simulated debate structure, and turned significant technical inconsistencies into a strength of the film's absurdist, humorous style.

What we learned

We learned that in AI animation, maintaining consistency in extremities (hands/feet) is often as critical as facial features. The project clarified how to develop specialized prompting strategies to "anchor" specific visual elements within a generative tool like Veo 3 Fast, while embracing the humor that model instability can sometimes provide.

What's next for Debate 101: Ghosting

We plan to expand the "Debate 101" format into a series, covering other modern relationship dilemmas (e.g., benching, polyamory) and continuing to use this unique, humorous gaming aesthetic as a vehicle for social commentary.

Built With

• elevenlabs
• english
• veo3