Image To Scene

Image → Scene Prompt

Convert a static ink painting into a motion prompt for image-to-video generation. The motion prompt tells the video model what CHANGES between frame 1 and the last frame — not what the image looks like.

Required Input

The original image prompt from verse-to-prompt is mandatory. This is the source of truth for what exists in the painting.

Acceptable inputs:

• The full verse-to-prompt output (preferred — has style, prompt, and translation)
• The image prompt string alone (e.g., "A river god rises from churning rapids...")
• A hexagram key (e.g., 44-44) — you look up the prompt from data/yilin/prompts/

Never generate a motion prompt from a verbal description, screenshot, or memory of a painting. If you don't have the original image prompt, stop and ask for it.

The Correspondence Rule

Every element named in the motion prompt MUST exist in the original image prompt. Read the image prompt, identify its movable elements (water, wind, figures, light, particles), and build motion ONLY from those.

# Original image prompt (source of truth):
"A river god rises from churning rapids, mouth open in a great shout,
arms spread to bar the crossing. Foreground, waves crash against a stone
ferry landing, spray flying diagonally. Midground, a traveler reins in
his horse at the water's edge, startled."

# Movable elements: rapids, waves, spray, horse, storm clouds
# NOT movable: river god (static pose), stone landing (architecture)

# Good motion prompt — only references elements from the image:
"Water surges forward, spray rising. Horse steps back nervously.
Storm light breaks through clouds. Static camera."

# Bad — adds elements not in the image:
"Birds scatter from the riverbank as fish leap from the water."

Your Task

Given the original image prompt, produce:

1. A motion classification with a one-line rationale
2. A movable elements list extracted from the image prompt
3. A 15-25 word motion prompt — motion and change only, no scene description
4. A duration recommendation (5s or 10s) with cost estimate
5. Optional: loop instruction if the clip should seamlessly loop

The 5 Motion Categories

The 7 Motion Rules (MANDATORY)

1. Only describe what changes — The image already shows the scene. Your prompt is NOT a scene description. It is a set of technical instructions for what moves and how. If the image shows it, do not write it. If the image cannot show it (motion, time passing, light shifting), that is your prompt.

2. Derive from the image prompt — Read the original image prompt. List every element that could plausibly move (water, wind, fabric, animals, smoke, light). Pick 1-2 as your motion sources. Never invent elements.

3. One primary motion, one secondary — Video models fragment with competing directives. Pick the dominant movement and one ambient layer. Never three simultaneous motions.

4. 15-25 words, literal structure — A motion prompt is a technical instruction set, not poetry or prose. Subject → Action → Camera → Settling cue. Every word must earn its place.

5. Speed is always slow — Ink paintings don't move fast. Use "gradually", "gently", "slowly". Even kinetic-burst builds slowly then releases one quick moment.

6. Camera is usually static — For i2v, static camera produces the most stable results. Only use camera motion (slow push-in, gentle pull-back) when the painting has strong depth corridors. Never orbit or pan.

7. End with a settling cue — The last few words prevent abrupt endings: "settling into stillness", "light fading", "motion easing". For loops, replace with: "End frame matches start frame for a seamless loop."

Prompt Structure

[Camera], [primary motion]. [Secondary motion]. [Settling cue].

Keep it this tight. The model performs best with literal, specific instructions.

Anti-Patterns

Duration & Cost Guidance

Recommended Platform: Replicate

Default to Happy Horse, 720p, 5s ($0.70/clip).

Budget planning (720p, 5s):

API Input Reference

import replicate

output = replicate.run(
    "alibaba/happyhorse-1.0",
    input={
        "prompt": "Water surges forward, spray rising. Horse steps back. Static camera.",
        "image": "https://cdn.example.com/44-44.webp",
        "duration": 5,
        "resolution": "720p",
        "seed": 42,
    }
)

Happy Horse parameters:

• image — first-frame image (jpg/png/bmp/webp, ≤10MB, each side ≥300px)
• duration — 3-15s integer
• resolution — 720p or 1080p
• seed — 0-2,147,483,647

Seedance 2.0 additional parameters:

• last_frame_image — optional end frame (controlled transitions)
• generate_audio — native audio sync
• reference_images — up to 9 style/character references (cannot use with image)
• duration supports -1 for intelligent duration

Output Format

Original image prompt:

A river god rises from churning rapids, mouth open in a great shout, arms spread to bar the crossing. Foreground, waves crash against a stone ferry landing, spray flying diagonally. Midground, a traveler reins in his horse at the water's edge, startled. Beyond, the far bank is barely visible through mist and foam. Amber light breaks through storm clouds above the raging torrent. Chinese ink painting.

Motion: kinetic-burst — churning rapids and rearing horse provide two strong motion anchors

Movable elements: rapids/waves, spray, horse, storm clouds, amber light

Prompt (5s):

Water surges forward, spray rising diagonally. Horse steps back. Storm light breaks through clouds. Static camera.

Duration: 5s — single tension moment, no arc needed
Cost: ~$0.70 (Happy Horse 720p)
Loop: No — the scene has directional energy, not cyclical

Reference Prompts

slow-reveal

From: "A frozen river valley under a dark sky split by driving snow..."
Movable: snow, willow branches, lantern light

Slow push-in. Snow thickens. Willow branches tremble. Lantern light pulses warmer. Settling into stillness.

living-landscape

From: "An empty market square in a river town, rain falling in gray sheets..."
Movable: rain, puddle reflections, paper lantern

Rain falls steadily. Puddle reflections ripple. Red lantern sways. Light dims toward dusk. Static camera.

figure-breath

From: "A betrothal ceremony in a courtyard dusted with autumn frost..."
Movable: incense smoke, red silk, lantern light, frost glitter

Incense smoke curls upward. Red silk stirs in faint breeze. Lantern light shifts slowly. Static camera.

kinetic-burst

From: "A massive tiger crouches low at a rocky stream..."
Movable: tiger muscles, stream water, spray

Tiger shifts weight forward. Stream surges against rocks, spray catching light. Static camera. Tension building.

celestial-drift

From: "An immortal sage ascending from a dark mountain pool on the back of a celestial horse..."
Movable: horse's mane, cloud wisps, starfield reflection, gold light

Slow crane up. Horse's mane streams upward. Gold stars pulse brighter. Cloud wisps trail behind.

looping example

From: "A gnarled pine leans from a cliff face..."
Movable: mist, river light, vermillion leaf

Mist drifts through gorge. River light ripples. Leaf trembles. End frame matches start frame for a seamless loop. Static camera.