Inspiration
She doesn't ghost her dates. She transforms them into ponies.
This concept came from asking: what's darker than Cruella de Vil's coat obsession? Someone who manufactures their own materials from people. What's more unsettling than Pinocchio's donkey transformation?
Stellar's "Jenna Ortega" had the perfect dark, atmospheric energy for this modern gothic fairy tale. The song suggested someone methodical, someone who's done this before, someone whose collection is almost complete. I knew I had to create a visual narrative that matched that energy - intimate, fashion-forward, deeply unsettling.
The song's dark, atmospheric vibe felt perfect for a gothic fairy tale. I combined inspirations from Cruella de Vil's obsession with collecting, Pinocchio's Pleasure Island transformations, and modern dating horror into one narrative.
What it does
This 2-minute AI music video tells the story of Jenna, a mysterious woman who orchestrates romantic dates with unsuspecting men. Each encounter ends with transformation - her victims become ponies in her personal collection, each retaining their human hairstyle as an absurd, unsettling detail. The video explores themes of obsession, collection, and control through a gothic lens, with a twist ending that changes everything.
How I built it
Phase 1: Character Design (1 day)
- Generated 50+ variations in Seedream 4.0 and Nano Banana
- Locked Jenna's look: short black bob, burgundy lips, gothic aesthetic
- Designed four distinct men who would transform into four distinct ponies
Phase 2: Image Generation (4 days)
- Seedream 4.0: Character consistency, 4K output for reframing flexibility
- Nano Banana: Cinematic lighting and natural proportions
- 2000+ images generated (most were iterations to maintain consistency)
Phase 3: Video Generation (1 day)
- Kling AI 2.5 Turbo: Bulk of video generation
- Seedance Pro 1.0: Backup for content policy flagged shots
- 200+ video clips generated across 98 final shots
Phase 4: Editing (2 days)
- Adobe Premiere Pro: Assembly, timing to music beats
- Adobe After Effects: Transformation effects, final polish
- Built modular sequences that could be swapped/replaced
Workflow: Listen → Design → Generate stills → Generate videos → Edit → Polish
Challenges I ran into
Character consistency nearly broke me. Maintaining Jenna's appearance across 98 shots required 10-30 regenerations per shot. Some transformation sequences took 50+ attempts to get right.
Wardrobe and set design: Since Jenna goes on multiple dates, I had to think like a wardrobe designer (appropriate outfits for each location) and set designer (coffee shop, restaurant, penthouse, cathedral nightclub, gothic laboratory, stable). Every location needed to feel grounded and serve the story.
Tool limitations: Each AI tool had strengths - Seedream for consistency, Nano Banana for aesthetics, Kling for volume, Seedance for permissive content. Learning when to use which tool was crucial.
The twist ending: Balancing revealing just enough throughout the video while saving the final revelation required careful pacing and shot selection.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
- Scale: 2000+ images, 200+ videos, 98 shots over 10 days
- Character consistency: Successfully maintained visual continuity across complex narrative with multiple characters
- Multi-role execution: Directed while wearing hats as wardrobe designer, set designer, character designer, and fashion designer (ponies' fur needed to work as cohesive coat)
- Story-driven approach: Kept every scene engaging and driving curiosity rather than just visual spectacle
- Visual details: The hairstyles remaining on transformed ponies—absurd and unsettling detail that ties the concept together
What I learned
Biggest lesson: Spend 2x time on initial character design. Get the look locked EARLY. Once production starts, that's your reference for everything.
Technical:
- 4K output = reframing flexibility
- Simple prompts work better than verbose descriptions
- Start with strong stills—video is only as good as source
- Modular workflows save you when changes are needed
- Tool strengths matter: Seedream for consistency, Nano Banana for cinematic feel
Creative:
- Story first, spectacle second (AI makes spectacle easy, story requires craft)
- Intimate beats epic for emotional connection
- Visual motifs matter (hairstyles on ponies tied everything together)
- Every location should serve the story, not just "look cool"
Production:
- Coming from traditional film/VFX background, AI production follows same structure as traditional, just solo
- Missing collaboration but gained complete creative control
- Ability to iterate until each shot is exactly right
What's next
- Creating BTS breakdown content for YouTube channel
- Sharing workflow insights with AI filmmaking community
- Applying lessons learned to next AI video project
- Exploring longer-form AI narrative storytelling
Music: "Jenna Ortega" by Stellar (used with permission)
Watch: [https://youtu.be/OgTM774tgUg]
Built With
- adobe-after-effects
- adobe-premiere-pro
- kling-ai-2.5-turbo
- nano-banana
- seedance-pro-1.0
- seedream-4.0
- topaz-video-ai
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