SHVMIRE - BROADWAY & CANAL ST.

The underground speaks.

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Inspiration

Broadway & Canal St. was inspired by the chaos and poetry of New York City’s underground — where philosophy, fatigue, and faith share the same train car. This project continues the mythology of my Reclusive Poet Universe, where characters like The Eulogist move through dreamlike versions of real places — blending surrealism, hip-hop, and cinematic storytelling. The title itself is both a location and a metaphor: the intersection between art and anonymity, spirituality and survival.

What it does

How to combine AI-driven animation tools (Kaiber, Runway, and Photoshop) with traditional visual composition to create consistent character motion and lighting. How to sync AI voice performance (ElevenLabs) with lip movement and music for natural pacing. The value of narrative restraint — allowing silence, sound design, and subtle motion to carry emotion rather than exposition.

How we built it

Visuals: Key frames generated and composited using Kaiber and Runway, then refined frame-by-frame in CapCut and Photoshop for motion consistency. Audio: Music composed and mixed in Ableton Live, using a blend of real instrumentation and AI-generated textures. Voice: Narration and vocal textures processed through ElevenLabs for tone-matched performance. Storyboarding: Written and blocked using text-to-image concepts, then sequenced into two animated acts. Color & Atmosphere: Inspired by film noir palettes and the muted tones of underground jazz — emphasizing shadow, reflection, and emotion.

Challenges we ran into

Maintaining character consistency across multiple AI generations — requiring JSON-guided prompting and iterative keyframe exports. Balancing the AI-generated look with hand-edited realism, to keep the universe grounded and human. Timing the visual pacing to match lyrical phrasing and subtle jazz percussion without losing narrative clarity. Rendering quality loss when transitioning between apps (Kaiber → CapCut → DaVinci) — required compression testing and adaptive export settings.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a cohesive cinematic identity — unified animation, sound, and storytelling into one emotional language that expands the Reclusive Poet Universe. Translated lyricism into visual rhythm — every camera move, cut, and frame echoes the cadence of the verse, turning poetry into motion. Maintained character consistency across multiple AI tools (Kaiber, Runway, Photoshop, and CapCut) through detailed prompt structure and manual refinement. Achieved professional-grade sound design — blending field recordings, jazz textures, and subtle ambient tones to mirror the mood of NYC’s underground. Developed a workflow for AI-assisted storytelling that balances machine generation with human authorship — every AI output was guided, curated, and reinterpreted for emotional precision. Created a fully original world aesthetic — inspired by real New York energy but reimagined through stained-glass lighting, shadowed subway tunnels, and poetic realism. Proved that small-scale independent production can reach cinematic depth using accessible tools, creative discipline, and imagination over budget.

What we learned

What's next for SHVMIRE - BROADWAY & CANAL ST.

Built With

  • elevenlabs
  • gpt
  • kaiber
  • openart
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