I sat in the dark after the crash scene rendered, staring at two faces inside broken helmets. A rugged driller pressing tape to a woman’s thigh. Her brown eyes meeting his through cracked glass.
And suddenly the only song that made sense was Wonderwall.
Not the original. A slower, call-and-response version with a male voice full of desert gravel and a female voice carrying quiet strength. Three years of isolation, one leaking sunsuit, four dead crewmates, and the terrifying hope that someone might finally see you. That was the seed. That was the whole movie.
I didn’t set out to make a music video. I was just trying to honor one small moment from my own short story “Last Rocket from Planet Long Day.” But the story knew what it wanted to become.
The Spark
The key image wouldn’t leave me: him sealing the leak on her suits inner thigh, their eyes locking for the first time after years of being alone on a dying planet. That tiny act of care in the middle of total collapse felt bigger than any explosion or escape. It felt like the entire reason humans keep trying.
So I let the project become what it wanted: a short, vertical, emotional artifact. Under three minutes. Heavy on feeling, light on plot. Just breathing, eyes, touch, and that Oasis song reimagined as a conversation between two survivors.
Lab note: Sometimes the best work happens when you stop trying to tell the whole story and just stay inside the most alive moment.
The Process – How It Came Together
- I started with the song. Found a male Wonderwall cover at 78 bpm and a female one at 87 bpm. Stretched, layered, and turned them into a genuine call-and-response. The tempo difference created this beautiful tension that mirrored two lonely hearts slowly syncing up.
- We built the video around 10 lip-sync headshots + 14 atmospheric shots. The heads fill 60-70% of the 9:16 frame because this story lives in the eyes and the breath, not the scenery. Plus, that is what works. ON smaller heads, the AI can’t find the lips to animate.
- Added voiceovers to frame everything. The male intro sets the desolation. Kahira’s “Cowboy… watch the hands” drops right at the end. A quiet male bridge after the hug. Her warm outro closes it. Total runtime landed at 2:36 with room to breathe.
- Created a massive establishing crane shot of the crashed rocket glowing in the red desert at night. That single wide shot does more emotional work than ten pages of exposition.
- We leaned into the accidental light rain/dew on some desert shots. Instead of fighting it, we made it part of the story — the planet itself crying with relief when two people finally connect.
Tools & Creative Stack
- Midjourney V7 (with –oref for character consistency) – still images
- ElevenLabs for custom Driller and Kahira voices – narration
- Grok -story
- Grok Imagine – image-to-video conversion
- Kdenlive for final assembly and timing
- Midbot – process animation
Lab note: The –oref + –ow workflow in Midjourney V7 helped with continuity. Once I had strong reference faces in helmets, the consistency across 24 shots went from painful to magical. Still not perfect. But who is complaining for the low price.
What I Learned (The Real Discovery)
The deepest truth in this little film isn’t about space or survival. It’s about the moment someone sees you after you’ve forgotten what being seen feels like.
We spend so much time building grand plots and epic worlds. But the real voltage lives in the small sacred gestures: a hand sealing a leak, brown eyes through cracked glass, two foreheads almost touching while singing “you’re my wonderwall.”
AI didn’t replace the emotion. It became a collaborator amplifying it.
TL;DR: Started with one tender moment from a short story. Ended up with a 2:36 vertical music video where two lonely survivors find each other in the wreckage of the last rocket. Wonderwall never sounded more honest.
Watch Video At:
This one feels different. More intimate. More like a poem you can stand inside.
I’m proud of it. Not because it’s perfect (it isn’t), but because it stayed true to that original spark — the ache of being witnessed when you thought no one ever would again.
Steve Teare
video alchemist
TerminallyBored.Monster
Palouse, Washington USA
PS- Midbot (also known as Midjourney Automation Bulk Generator) is a Chrome extension designed to streamline and automate the process of generating, managing, and downloading images from Midjourney, particularly through the MIdjourney web interface. It acts as a productivity tool for users who need to produce large volumes of AI-generated images.
Midbot offers the following features:
- Bulk Prompt Generation: Users can upload a text file with numerous prompts. Midbot submits them automatically to Midjourney, which saves time.
- Automatic Image Downloads: It automatically downloads images and videos into organized folders.
- Video Automation: Midbot supports creating videos with configurable motion levels.
- AI Prompt Generation: The tool includes a Gemini integration to help create detailed Midjourney prompts from simple keywords.
- Workflow Management: It monitors generation progress and allows users to switch between modes.
- Error Handling: It can automatically resume if the internet connection drops or if Midjourney encounters an error.
COST
Starters – 1.99 /mo
Economical – 14.99/yr (SAVE 30%)
Full Access – 29.99/∞ Lifetime