Tide

Inspiration

“Tide” draws inspiration from the fear, shame, and confusion many girls experience during their first menstruation. We imagined a dreamlike inner journey—an adventure through the Five Elements of the body—to transform pain and anxiety into a gentle rite of passage. Water, Earth, Wood, Fire, and Metal are not only cultural symbols but representations of feminine strength; the goddess, the farmer, the grandmother, and the mother are all reflections of the girl herself. This film speaks to every girl growing up: menstruation is not shame—it is a coded message of power from time and nature.

What it does

Tide is an AI-animated short film built around a dreamlike journey. A 14-year-old girl is drawn by moonlight and the sound of waves into the hidden landscape of her own body. As she travels through the Five Elements—ocean, earth, forest, fire, and reeds—she confronts fear, discomfort, shame, and ultimately, strength. A mirror connecting her to the future becomes the turning point of self-recognition. The film reframes a girl’s first menstruation not as a warning, but as a ceremony of arrival.

How we built it

The film was created through a full AI-animation production pipeline: A narrative structure based on dreams and the Five Elements was first developed through scriptwriting and professional storyboarding. Key scenes and visual motifs were generated using multiple AI platforms such as Dreamnina AI. The creative team applied cinematic principles and prompt engineering to maintain consistency in style, composition, and emotional rhythm. Post-production refined the film through editing, color grading, sound design, and original music, bringing symbolic imagery and emotional flow together.

Challenges we ran into

Maintaining emotional consistency was challenging due to style drift in AI-generated frames. Visualizing the Five Elements without becoming overly literal required careful symbolic design. Expressive limitations of AI-generated faces and body language meant we had to rely heavily on cinematic framing. Transitioning in and out of the dream world needed meticulous pacing to make the metaphor resonate.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Reimagined a sensitive topic—first menstruation—through a gentle, poetic AI visual language. Developed a cohesive aesthetic blending symbolism and Eastern visual tradition. Achieved deep collaboration across directors, writers, designers, and AI creators. The “Five Elements Journey” has been praised as both epic and intimate. The film has been submitted to multiple festivals and showcases as a representative work.

What we learned

AI does not replace creators—it amplifies creative intention. With precise prompting and cinematic planning, AI animation can achieve a film-level aesthetic. Abstract themes benefit greatly from AI’s ability to generate surreal visual metaphors. Team alignment, narrative rhythm, and consistent style matter more than any single tool.

What's next for Tide

Submit to more international festivals and create additional language versions. Produce a thematic series focusing on girlhood, womanhood, and bodily narratives. Experiment with offline formats such as immersive installations and exhibition screenings.

Built With

• dreamnina