The Withered Sea Project

Inspiration

The inspiration for "The Withered Sea Project" comes from discussions about whether civilizations have an end. When a civilization achieves victory, does it begin to decline? What methods do people have to prevent the cyclical pattern of rise and fall? A civilization cannot remain at its peak forever, so what should it do when it falls into decline?

What it does

In the year 2700 of the Xinglong Era, following the victory of the Fourth Stellar War, mathematician Yu Baiyun felt deeply concerned about the prospects of civilization. She devoted herself to research on group cognitive models and launched the Withered Sea Project for simulation experiments, but this plunged her into a mental crisis. Although her warnings sparked controversy and led to her exile, her research was inherited by her student Liang Moqing. Amid the clamor of victory, Yu Baiyun's reflections on civilization's spirit of exploration became a critical question hanging over Xinglong's future.

How we built it

We used Midjourney and Flux for image generation, and Kling and Conch for video production.

Challenges we ran into

This story consists entirely of dialogue-heavy dramatic scenes. How to film dramatic scenes without making them feel boring was a major challenge. I used various editing techniques to make the dramatic scenes more nuanced and refined.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I successfully made the dramatic scenes in "The Withered Sea Project" appear very nuanced and refined, which is something I didn't think I could achieve at the beginning. I employed many methods and also honed my skills in handling dramatic scenes.

What we learned

I learned how to film scenes with ordinary people. Although this is a story adapted from science fiction, most of the time the characters don't wear exaggerated costumes or exhibit exaggerated behaviors.

What's next for The Withered Sea Project

I have 25 computational universe short stories to adapt into AI films, and "The Withered Sea Project" is the second one.

Built With

• flux
• hailuo
• kling
• midjourney