Premium Only Content

"I forgot what I wanted because I got it. And, gosh, I wish I could want again."
"I forgot what I wanted because I got it. And, gosh, I wish I could want again."
Here's my entry for @ClaireSilver12's contest "Back to School." #ClaireAIContest.
I focused on conveying an emotion and capturing the essence of an era, mostly an idealized one with visual codes borrowed from "college" TV shows and movies I enjoy. I have written a complete wrap-up of my experience, but TL;DR:
- Masking techniques
- Depth maps and camera movements
- @StabilityAI's technology
- ComfyUI
- @midjourney
- @LeonardoAi_
- @Magnific_AI
- @pika_labs
- @Blender
- @3DAIStudio
- @suno_ai_
- @elevenlabsio
I spent a lot of time experimenting. The hardest part was rejecting many shots because they served more as technical demonstrations rather than contributing to the narrative. I discussed this with Dina (@Ethereal_Gwirl) and expressed that I didn't want my piece to look like a demo reel.
That being said, each shot includes a technical twist. For example, in the first shot, I initially used birds generated in Blender. However, they lacked grit and were too perfect, so I ran them through AnimatedDiff and then brought them back into the shot, giving them a more vintage look.
In this piece, I have worked extensively on masking techniques. I used the methods demonstrated by @mickmumpitz in his "AI rendering V2" video (link below).
Nearly every shot incorporates depth maps to create dynamic camera movements. I utilized @LeonardoAi_ and displacement modifiers in Blender.
All the images were generated in ComfyUI. Sometimes, I would generate images in Midjourney and use ControlNet to replicate the composition using my Loras (I trained one specifically for this contest). Each image was improved using @Magnific_AI (I always started with it like you would start your day with a cup of coffee).
The girl in the first shot was animated using @pika_labs. Other shots relied on SVD, which does an awesome job (though you have to interpolate like crazy).
The cafeteria shot received special treatment: I created a desk using @3DAIStudio, roughly composed the shot in Blender, rendered a "freestyle only" version of it, and used ControlNet's LineArt processor to get the final render in ComfyUI. However, when I couldn't achieve the exact desired result, I turned to Midjourney, using my ComfyUI image as a reference with --iw 3. And it worked perfectly.
The voiceover was created using @elevenlabsio. ChatGPT helped ensure my text was error-free; otherwise, I didn't solicit its assistance.
I composed the music in Ableton Live. Just as I was finishing, I received a message from @suno_ai_ offering early access to their new features, including the ability to create a song from any sound. I used my track as input, then downloaded the track Suno provided and blended it into my original composition. The resulting texture is quite impressive.
At the end of the process, I used After Effects and Da Vinci Resolve for post-processing and editing, and @topazlabs for upscaling.
It was really fun experimenting with new techniques and taking the time to try new things. Thank you for the opportunity, Claire.
-
LIVE
Phyxicx
2 hours agoRumble Halo Night w/ Rumble Spartans! - 7/26/2025
30 watching -
7:12
nospeedlimitgermany
2 days agoAudi TT 1.8 T Roadster | 180 PS | Top Speed Drive German Autobahn No Speed Limit POV
281 -
LIVE
Dragoon_B
1 hour agoDragoon - Counter Strike - Premier Grind
26 watching -
LIVE
CODZombieGod115
3 hours ago🔴LIVE - Janus Towers DLC 4 Hype | Black Ops 6 Zombies
49 watching -
53:25
SouthernbelleReacts
4 days agoMy Reaction to 12 Monkeys (1995) | Time Travel, Madness & Bruce Willis Brilliance
741 -
9:04
Blackstone Griddles
1 day agoDouble Western Smashburgers on the Blackstone Griddle
6101 -
3:30:54
Barry Cunningham
6 hours agoTULSI GABBARD AND DAN BONGINO SOUND ALARMS! CNN MISREADS EPSTEIN EFFECT! AND MORE!
116K95 -
22:09
MYLUNCHBREAK CHANNEL PAGE
10 hours agoThe 5 Eyes Are Watching You - Pt 1
23.2K34 -
LIVE
Spartan
4 hours agoSpartan - Pro Halo Player for OMiT | Scrims vs Tenrai then ranked (probably)
205 watching -
10:12
WhaddoYouMeme
1 day ago $0.08 earnedHe Calculated the End—and Says It’s Almost Here
1.67K9