Until the Light Fades

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  Until the Light Fades

Inspiration

I didn’t start this project with a specific reason or story in mind.
I just wanted to capture something about the fragility of life — how every moment quietly fades, yet remains beautiful.
Maybe it came from my own wish: that one day, when my life ends, I can say “it was a good life.”
This film became a gentle reflection of that feeling.

What it does

This short film portrays the fleeting moment of a woman’s life flashing before her eyes — a “soumatou”, or life reflection at the edge of death.
Using AI tools such as Kling, Suno, and ElevenLabs, it recreates the delicate stream of memories that quietly pass through her mind:
her youth, motherhood, time spent with her grandchild, and finally, the light at the end.

How we built it

I used AI image generation tools Lovart and Midjourney to create reference visuals and tone boards.
The final video sequences were created using Kling, with attention to cinematic transitions, soft lighting, and calm pacing.
Each scene was carefully crafted to support the emotional flow of the narrative. I used Suno to create the background music that gently supports the emotional tone of the film.
The BGM was designed to be subtle and ambient, complementing the quiet visuals without overwhelming them. All dialogue was generated using ElevenLabs.
The use of AI voices allowed us to convey emotional nuance while maintaining a consistent tone throughout the film. I chose each tool for its ability to support the gentle, reflective tone of the piece.

Challenges we ran into

One of the most difficult parts was capturing the atmosphere of different time periods in Japanese life — like the 70s, 80s, or early 2000s.
I tried to express each era through background design and color tone, but AI tools often produced modern or mismatched styles.
For example, youth, newlywed life, and time with the grandchild each had a different emotional color —
so I had to carefully adjust the lighting and palette to match the feeling of the era I wanted to show.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm proud that I was able to portray the abstract idea of “soumatou” — the flash of memories before death — with quiet beauty and emotional depth.
Even while working alone and using multiple AI tools, I managed to maintain a consistent tone that feels gentle and poetic. I also succeeded in letting silence and atmosphere take the lead over dialogue or action.
This allowed the story to be felt, rather than simply told. Finally, I'm especially proud of how I used ElevenLabs to generate all character voices.
It allowed me to express subtle emotional shifts — especially in the final line, “It was a good life...”

What we learned

I learned that emotional storytelling doesn’t need many words — just silence, light, and feeling.
Even when things didn’t turn out exactly as planned, focusing on atmosphere helped me tell the story in my own way.

What's next for Until the Light Fades

This film feels complete as it is, but it opened up new ideas for how I might explore memory, emotion, and time in future projects.

Built With

• adobe-creative-suite
• chatgpt
• elevenlabs
• gemini
• kling
• lovart
• midjourny
• photoshop
• suno