Character A / Character B • Seedance 2.5 • 14-second 360° orbit
1. What You’re Creating
A cinematic AI video featuring two versions of the same person standing face-to-face in a pitch-black studio void. Character A (Joy) is fully colored and laughing; Character B (Numb) is completely black-and-white and emotionally empty. They remain physically connected while the camera makes one continuous 360° orbit and returns to the opening composition, making the clip suitable for looping.
2. What You Need
- One clear identity/reference photo.
- Two character reference sheets made from the same identity reference.
- Character A / Joy sheet: happy, full-color version.
- Character B / Numb sheet: tired, empty, monochrome-oriented version.
- A video generator supporting Seedance 2.5 (the reference workflow uses OpenArt).
- 14-second video generation.
- Instagram Reels for adding the final music.
3. The Most Important Rule: Same Identity
Both character sheets must clearly be the same person. Face, facial proportions, skin tone, facial features, hairstyle, hair color, accessories and overall identity should remain consistent. The universal version does not hard-code a particular hairstyle, gender or accessory; the reference images are the source of truth.
Golden rule: Do not manually invent hair, earrings or accessories in the video prompt. Tell the model to preserve exactly what appears in @Image 1 and @Image 2.
4. Character Sheet A — Character A (Joy)
Use your original identity photo as Image 1. The following prompt is designed to preserve the reference appearance instead of forcing a specific hairstyle or outfit:
PromptCopy
Create an ultra-photorealistic CHARACTER REFERENCE SHEET of one person, 16:9, using Image 1 as the only identity reference. Keep from Image 1: the exact face, facial proportions, eye shape and colour, nose, lips, skin tone, freckles and moles, age, body build, exact hairstyle and exact hair color. Do not beautify, alter or change the face. Preserve the exact accessories and outfit shown in Image 1. Mood: happy, warm, full of life. Layout on a plain light-grey studio background: LEFT: one full-body view from the front, head to shoes, relaxed standing pose. RIGHT: a 2x2 grid of head-and-shoulders portraits showing different natural happy and laughing expressions: a soft smile, a big smile, laughing with eyes partly closed, and laughing with the head tilted back. Soft even studio light, 50mm lens look, real skin texture, sharp hair strands and fabric. Same person and same appearance in every panel. One person only. No text, no logos, no watermark, no illustration.
5. Character Sheet B — Character B (Numb)
Create the second sheet from the same identity photo. Preserve the identity while changing the mood and outfit according to your desired reference.
PromptCopy
Create an ultra-photorealistic CHARACTER REFERENCE SHEET of one person, 16:9, using Image 1 as the only identity reference. Keep from Image 1: the exact face, facial proportions, eye shape and colour, nose, lips, skin tone, freckles and moles, age, body build, exact hairstyle and exact hair color. Do not beautify, alter or change the face. Preserve the exact accessories and outfit shown in Image 2. Mood: tired, empty, emotionless. Layout on a plain light-grey studio background: LEFT: one full-body view from the front, head to shoes, relaxed standing pose. RIGHT: a 2x2 grid of head-and-shoulders portraits, all with a completely blank expression: looking away, looking down, looking straight into the camera, and a slight head tilt. No smile in any panel. Soft even studio light, 50mm lens look, real skin texture, sharp hair strands and fabric. Same person and same appearance in every panel. One person only. No text, no logos, no watermark, no illustration.
6. Check Both Sheets Before Video
- Put both sheets side-by-side.
- Confirm the face clearly belongs to the same person.
- Confirm hairstyle and hair color are consistent with the intended references.
- Confirm accessories and clothing are correct.
- Remove or regenerate any sheet that looks like a different person.
The grey studio background and sheet labels are reference-sheet elements only; they must not appear in the final video.
7. Seedance 2.5 Video Setup
- Open your Seedance 2.5 video workflow (the reference guide uses Wizstar).
- Go to the video generation area and select Seedance 2.5.
- Upload Character A / Joy sheet as @Image 1.
- Upload Character B / Numb sheet as @Image 2.
- Keep the upload order exactly the same as the prompt.
- Set duration to 14 seconds.
- Use 9:16 if the final destination is a full-screen Reel; 4:3 can also work.
- Paste the full video prompt below and generate.
8. Final Universal Video Prompt
PromptCopy
[References] <Character A (Joy)> corresponds to @Image 1. Use only Character A's face, freckles, exact hairstyle, exact hair color, exact earrings and accessories, and exact outfit as shown in @Image 1. Do not change, redesign or reinterpret Character A's appearance. Do not use the light grey studio background, the collage layout, the frame borders or the “Outfit 01” label. <Character B (Numb)> corresponds to @Image 2. Use only Character B's face, freckles, exact hairstyle, exact hair color, exact earrings and accessories, and exact outfit as shown in @Image 2. Do not change, redesign or reinterpret Character B's appearance. Do not use the light grey studio background, the collage layout, the frame borders or the “Outfit 02” label. @Image 1 and @Image 2 are the same person. The output contains exactly two people, Character A (Joy) and Character B (Numb), and nobody else. [Look — locked for the whole video] Pitch-black studio void, no walls, no floor line, no props, pure black in every direction. One soft key light from above/slightly in front, gentle rim light, fixed lighting while camera moves. Full-frame cinema camera, 50mm lens, shallow DOF, both faces sharp, fine film grain, deep clean blacks, soft highlight roll-off. Character A (Joy) is in full natural color: preserve the exact skin tone, hairstyle, hair color, facial features, earrings, accessories and clothing from @Image 1. Character B (Numb) is completely black-and-white: grey skin, grey hair, grey clothing, zero color, monochrome photograph inside a color film. Character B's exact hairstyle, hair shape, facial features, earrings, accessories and clothing from @Image 2 must remain unchanged; only the color is removed. Same lighting as Character A (Joy), only color removed. [Generation Goal] One continuous 14 sec take. Medium shot, Character A (Joy) and Character B (Numb) close, face to face, holding each other. Character A (Joy) grips the shoulders of Character B's clothing with both hands; Character B (Numb) loosely holds the lapels/upper front of Character A's clothing. Never let go / never step apart. Exactly one full 360° orbit at chest height, slow constant speed, both centered. Character A (Joy) and Character B (Numb) stay in place, camera travels. [Stage 1 — 0-3.5 sec] Side profile: Character A (Joy) right, Character B (Numb) left, faces close. Character A (Joy) bursts into laughter, head back, mouth open, eyes squeezed shut; Character B (Numb) stares blankly. Camera quarter turn, sees Character B's face over Character A's shoulder. [Stage 2 — 3.5-7 sec] Continue same grip/positions, Character B (Numb) monochrome. Character A (Joy) leans into Character B (Numb), shoulders shaking, giggling, forehead almost touching Character B's cheek. Character B (Numb) unchanged: relaxed jaw, flat mouth, slow single blink, empty gaze. Opposite side profile, Character B (Numb) right, Character A (Joy) left. [Stage 3 — 7-10.5 sec] Same grip/positions. Character A (Joy) laughs hard, wipes a tear with one knuckle, grabs Character B's clothing again, laughs up at Character B (Numb). Character B (Numb) only swayed slightly, no facial reaction. Camera behind Character B's shoulder, sees Character A (Joy) laughing. [Stage 4 — 10.5-14 sec] Same grip/positions. Character A (Joy) throws Character A's head back in a big open-mouthed laugh. Character B (Numb) keeps an empty emotionless face. Camera completes circle and returns exact opening side profile, Character A (Joy) right, Character B (Numb) left. [Maintain Consistency] Exactly two people for the full 14 seconds: Character A (Joy) and Character B (Numb). Character A (Joy) is always in full natural color and always laughing in varied ways. Character B (Numb) is always black-and-white and shows no emotion at all: no smile, no tears, no frown. Character A's and Character B's exact faces, hairstyles, hair colors, facial features, earrings, accessories and clothing remain consistent with @Image 1 and @Image 2 throughout the entire video. Do not change, redesign, regenerate or reinterpret either character's appearance. Character A's and Character B's grip, body positions and left/right placement stay consistent. The background stays pure black. The camera never stops, reverses or cuts. No additional people, characters, faces, objects or props. [Audio] Character A's (Joy's) real, breathy, varied laughter, fabric rustle, otherwise silence. No music, no dialogue.
9. What Happens in the 14 Seconds
| Time | Camera | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3.5s | Opening side profile | Joy throws the head back laughing; Numb stays blank. |
| 3.5–7s | Quarter-turn / over-shoulder | Joy leans in and giggles; Numb blinks once. |
| 7–10.5s | Opposite side / behind shoulder | Joy wipes a laughing tear; Numb barely sways. |
| 10.5–14s | Returns to opening | Joy gives one more big laugh; camera matches the starting side. |
10. Why the Black-and-White Effect Works
Character B should lose color, not lighting. Keep the same key light, rim light, shadows, highlights and falloff used for Character A. The phrase “only the color is removed” helps prevent Character B from looking like a flat grey cut-out.
11. Making the Video Loop
The final camera position deliberately returns to the exact opening side profile: Character A on the right and Character B on the left. Because the start and end compositions match, the Reel can loop with less visible discontinuity.
12. Adding Music in Instagram
- Export the generated video with no added background music.
- Open Instagram and create a Reel.
- Add the generated video.
- Use Instagram's music/audio selector to choose the desired sound.
- I used this one: Andrea Vanzo - Soulmate x Amélie x Interstellar x Passacaglia
- Start with a slower emotional section of the track if you want the contrast between sad music and Joy's laughter.
- Lower the original video audio if the music should dominate, but keep a little laughter if you want the laugh to remain audible.
13. Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Character B gets color back | Reinforce: “completely black-and-white”, “zero color”, and “only the color is removed.” |
| Character B looks flat or sticker-like | Keep the same-lighting instruction and explicitly preserve shadows, highlights and rim light. |
| Characters swap clothes | Verify @Image 1 is Character A/Joy and @Image 2 is Character B/Numb. |
| Camera stops or reverses | Keep “slow constant speed” and “never stops, reverses or cuts”; regenerate if needed. |
| Full 360° is incomplete | Regenerate or trim the end if necessary; timing can vary between generations. |
| Character B smiles | Keep “no smile, no tears, no frown” and “empty emotionless face.” |
| Grey studio background appears | Keep the instruction not to use the reference-sheet background. |
| Reference-sheet label appears | Keep the explicit ban on “Outfit 01” / “Outfit 02” and remove labels from the source sheets if possible. |
| Face identity changes | Regenerate the character sheets from the same original identity reference and compare them side-by-side. |
14. Universalization Rules
- Use Character A (Joy) and Character B (Numb) instead of gendered pronouns.
- Do not hard-code a hairstyle, hair color, earrings or accessories unless you intentionally want them fixed.
- Use “exactly as shown in @Image 1/@Image 2” as the appearance source of truth.
- Keep Joy/Numb as role names: Joy = color + laughter; Numb = monochrome + emotionless.
- The template can therefore be reused with male, female or mixed-gender references without rewriting the whole video prompt.
- Always upload the sheets in the same order referenced by the prompt.
15. Quick Checklist
- ☐ Same identity in both character sheets
- ☐ Character A/Joy sheet uploaded first
- ☐ Character B/Numb sheet uploaded second
- ☐ Seedance 2.5 selected
- ☐ Duration set to 14 seconds
- ☐ 9:16 selected for a full-screen Reel, if desired
- ☐ Full video prompt pasted without changing the image mapping
- ☐ Exactly two characters
- ☐ One continuous 360° orbit
- ☐ Character A = full color + laughing
- ☐ Character B = black-and-white + emotionless
- ☐ Pitch-black environment
- ☐ No cuts, stops or reversals
- ☐ End composition matches opening
- ☐ Music added afterward in Instagram
16. Final Word
The whole effect rests on one idea: same person, two feelings. Keep the identity locked in both sheets, let Joy stay loud and colorful, and let Numb stay quiet and grey. If the camera completes its full circle and lands back on the opening frame, the loop feels endless — and the contrast does the storytelling for you.
