Story is one of my passions, and the creative side of that interest (as well as my one for art) is presently satisfied by making AI videos. Although I’d like the videos to be purely visual storytelling – without words – some of the ideas I have do need some script writing.
Script writing is a specialised field, and writing a narration voice over for AI video, which is still quite limited in terms of making the kinds of narrative films we’re used to, is a niche within it. When the aim is for visual story telling, the script needs to have enough words to fill in the gaps – the why an image is being shown or how it fits into the story – but not be so much that the words overwhelm the visuals or underline what is obvious.
When visual storytelling isn’t enough
Initially, I tried to tell the story of the Threadweavers prophecy without any narration, but I discovered that what was obvious to me in terms of the story (all of it) wasn’t obvious to my husband (the music composer). It needed a narration, and I really didn’t want to do one, so I discarded the project. The challenge of telling a hero’s journey style story in 6 minutes was too great as my story at that point was too complicated.
AI art videos aren’t longer than around 6 minutes – and are often shorter – because it’s hard to sustain interest with purely visual story telling. A wander through an imaginative world is often the extent of the story, as it is in Neon Noir, The Realm of the Blue Dragons, and several other of my videos, and that’s fine because animated AI art works brilliantly for bringing fantasy worlds to life. But if you want a story, rather than just presenting a world you’ve envisaged, then a narration is the best choice because though you can get characters to talk, it’s a bit odd, and for me it breaks the visual story telling.
Simplifying the story
After several days of letting the project go – always a good idea in any creative project – I decided to look at it again. I simplified the story by cutting out the usual characters one sees in the hero’s journey story structure – the mentor, the allies, and so forth – and kept just the basic plot points of the protagonist and their aim and the antagonists and their aim, and the most simple plot structure of beginning, middle and end.
My aim for the script for The Threadweaver’s Prophecy was to have as few words as possible, so I had to decide what was obvious and what needed narration. I ended up with more words than I wanted, but I accepted that some script writing was necessary in order to share the full meaning of the story. So it’s a very simple script, just a narration, a told story. I wrote scripts for visual theatre shows for 20 years and though they had some dialogue, they were also minimal, always allowing the visuals to speak for themselves.
What do you think of my script writing for The Thread Weaver’s Prophecy? Is it enough? Too much? Does it tell the story without overwhelming or underlining the visuals?
An example of the limitations of AI image to video technology
Watch as AI video magic transforms chickens into hobbits in this short video! And see how the Kling and Runway AI video generators stack up against each other. These ordinary chickens take on a magical new look, and even learn to walk backwards, thanks to the present limitations of AI image to video technology. This show why I have to discard so many of the clips we generate, which makes a video like The Threadweaver’s Prophecy expensive to make – unfortunately.
The script
In the distant reaches of the galaxy, where the cosmic winds whisper secrets and ancient stars paint the void, lies the parched world of Argentum.
The Argentians believe that the silver balls that populate the landscape are gifts from the cosmos, remnants of a celestial migration.
From these enigmatic orbs, the Argentians harvest the threads that makes the fabric that deflects the sun’s rays and keeps the Argentians cool. The largest balls shed sheets strong enough to construct huge dwellings of architectural grace.
The process of collection is sacred. Th e elders gather and chant ancient hymns, while the thread-finders, like Liora, locate the ends of the threads so the unravelling can begin. Once collected, the threads are then woven into fabric.
Beneath the scorching surface, the Argentians burrow into the earth, creating partially underground dwellings, work centres, and biodomes in which they produce their food. Within their crystalline walls, crops flourish, nourished by the precious water extracted from deep aquifers.
Millennia ago, Argentum had been a paradise of lush grasslands and towering forests. The Gothic ancestors had thrived, their cities reaching toward the sky. But greed led to their downfall. They drained the wetlands, felled the ancient trees, and burned the coal they mined from the very heart of Argentum. The once-verdant world overheated and turned to dust, and the silver balls descended, like celestial judges, to witness the aftermath.
The Gothic civilization paid the price for their folly, and now the Argentians practice meditation to quell their desires, lest greed take hold once again and lead to depleting the gifts of the silver orbs on which they rely for their continued existence.
Liora longs for adventure.
(A comet passes in the evening sky and leaves a glowing orb on the sand. Liora picks it up)
The mysterious orb directs Liora to an ancient temple where she finds murals depicting the Threadweaver’s Prophecy. The orb’s voice whispers: “The threads of the cosmic veil are fraying. Should it be torn apart, the silver orbs will return to whence they came, leaving Argentum uninhabitable. You have been chosen to travel to the nexus between worlds and weave the veil anew.”
The guiding orb dissolves into Liora’s heart, giving her the skills of a warrior and affirmation that she is indeed the threadwaver of the prophecy. Her world shifts as the prophecy reveals her purpose.
She traverses surreal landscapes and meets people from different tribes, many who support her on her quest, aware that the orbs are becoming depleted by overharvesting, thus weakening the threads of the cosmic veil.
But oligarchs, those who prosper fromaggressive harvesting, say that the veil is not fraying and that nothing should be changed.
Determined to prevent Liora from touching the veil, they wrap her in threads harvested in service of their greed and ignorance, the causes of destruction.
Pretending to bow to the oligarch’s gods does not convince them to release her, and Liora realises that to unravel the threads, she must first unravel herself and go beyond hope and fear, so she can call on the strength of the orb of wisdom in her heart.
Liora reaches the Cosmic Nexus, a swirling convergence of light and sound energy that connect the infinite realities separated by the threads of the cosmic veil.
But Guardians of the Known, sent by the oligarchs, block her path, claiming that the veil must not be disturbed, that any intervention by human hands will destroy the fabric of reality.
Liora transforms into battle mode.
She defeats the guardians of the known and slips inside the nexus, but when she touches the cosmic veil, it tears asunder, and Argentum begins to fragment. Emotions run wild, and wars break out.
Liora tries to mend the veil but fails. Horrified, she cries out for help.
A Gothic Remnant, a spectral being from the forgotten age, appears with a message. “The damaged veil cannot be repaired for it is tainted with greed. It must be dismantled then woven anewwith the threads of pure wisdom that reside in your heart.”
Liora reaches into the depths of her being, locates the luminous threads of wisdom and weaves, layer over layer until the world stabilises.
She has touched eternity.
The prophecy of the threadweaver has come to pass.
She returns home forever changed.
Let’s chat
So what do you think of my script writing for The Thread Weaver’s Prophecy? Is it enough? Too much? Does it tell the story without overwhelming or underlining the visuals? Let me know in the comments below.
And if you need some help with your writing, whatever it is, please contact me. I’d be happy to use my editorial skills to help you.
