ai-shortfilm-prompts

The complete methodology + prompt library + Claude Code Skill behind
Zombie Scavenger
by Mx-Shell — the AI short Hollywood director PJ Ace called
"one of the best short films I've seen in years."

中文版 →

🎬 The tweet that started it all

"This is one of the best short films I've seen in years.
Very soon, we'll stop calling it 'AI film' and just call it film."

Film name: Zombie Scavenger by MX-Shell.

— PJ Ace (@PJaccetturo),
May 10, 2026

This repository is the complete workflow behind that film, made
available because Mx-Shell himself published his prompt collection
documents and walked through his entire method on a public Douyin
livestream.

⚡ The single-line magic prompt (try it tonight)

Copy this into Sora / Seedance / Kling / Veo. Replace {{...}}:

Anamorphic widescreen cinematic. Simulated IMAX film camera +
Panavision C-series lens (35mm focal, f/4 aperture). Handheld
shot — extremely subtle, breath-like camera float throughout.
{{your scene description}}.
No score. Production audio only.

Why this works: real camera bodies + "breath-like float" anchor
the AI to actual film aesthetics — not the vague "cinematic feel"
keyword everyone else uses. Full breakdown in
methodology.md.

The story

May 2026. A 29-year-old vocational-school graduate from rural Yunnan,
China — handle Mx-Shell — used 10 days and ~20,000 RMB of
cloud credits to make a 3-minute AI short called Zombie Scavenger:
an atomic-punk robot wanders into a beachfront villa after a zombie
apocalypse, meets a confused ostrich, and starts dancing
1980s-style breakdance moves while kicking a zombie's head across
the floor.

Hollywood director PJ Ace (@PJaccetturo) retweeted the film,
calling it "one of the best short films I've seen in years" and started a
search for the author.

A few weeks later Mx-Shell went on a Douyin livestream and gave
away his entire workflow — the prompts, the camera language, the
failure modes, the reroll counts.

This repo is the result of digesting 130,000 characters of his
materials into a structured, reusable system.

What's in here

ai-shortfilm-prompts/
├── README.md              You're here. English entry point.
├── README.zh.md           Chinese version.
├── methodology.md         The 5-stage prompt structure, explained.
├── methodology.zh.md      Chinese version.
├── faq.md                 Q&A: tools, failures, costs, edge cases.
├── faq.zh.md              Chinese version.
├── credits.md             Sources & attribution.
├── credits.zh.md          Chinese version.
├── LICENSE                MIT (this work)
├── NOTICE                 Attribution + Mx-Shell ARR details (dual-licensing)
│
├── prompts/                Mx-Shell's complete original prompts.
│                           Body kept in Chinese (his authorial
│                           voice), with English header on each file.
│   ├── README.md           Index of all prompt archives
│   ├── zombie-scavenger.md             *Zombie Scavenger*
│   ├── kamen-rider-transformations.md   Kamen Rider transformation × 5 variants
│   ├── kaisa-transformation.md       LoL Kai'Sa transformation × 3 versions
│   ├── pacific-rim-gundam.md         Pacific Rim + Gundam mech-drop
│   ├── cyber-wuxia.md                Shaw Brothers + steampunk wuxia template
│   └── metal-gear-charge-combat.md   Weapon-charge + combat composite
│
├── templates/              IP-stripped generalized templates (English).
│                           Authored by jnMetaCode based on Mx-Shell's structure.
│   ├── 15s-transformation.md         15-second transformation
│   ├── multi-shot-narrative.md       Multi-shot edited narrative
│   └── atmosphere-prefabs.md         8 reusable atmosphere/look prefabs
│   ├── *.zh.md             Chinese versions of the above
│
├── .claude/skills/shortfilm-prompt/   Claude Code Skill
│   ├── SKILL.md            How Claude should generate prompts (7 hard rules + 10-item checklist)
│   ├── TESTING.md          How to run rigorous skill tests in another Claude window
│   └── examples/           5 test cases with expected outputs
│
└── .claude-plugin/         Plugin metadata (plugin.json + marketplace.json)

TL;DR — The 5-stage prompt structure

Every Mx-Shell video prompt follows the same skeleton. The order matters:

1. Core theme            ← 3-6 style tags separated by |
2. Character & scene     ← Face / clothing / environment
3. Atmosphere & quality  ← Visual base / color tone / style core
4. Camera rules          ← Single-shot or multi-shot / angle / breathing
5. Storyboard            ← Per-second OR per-shot breakdown

Three counter-intuitive rules

1. Specify real camera + lens models.
   Don't write "cinematic feel". Write
   "simulated IMAX film camera, Panavision C-series lens, 35mm focal,
   f/4 aperture." AI training data binds those exact strings to real
   movie aesthetics.

2. Describe imperfections.
   "Battle-damaged armor, paint worn off, oil in the joints, minor
   facial blemishes preserved." Perfection looks fake. The visceral
   realism comes from the flaws.

3. Leave the ending empty.
   "No dialogue. No explosion. No blinding light.
   Just a figure standing in the smoke, a meteor crossing the sky."

Full methodology in methodology.md.

Install (Claude Code)

Option 1 — Plugin Marketplace ⭐ (one-line install)

/plugin marketplace add jnMetaCode/ai-shortfilm-prompts
/plugin install ai-shortfilm-prompts@ai-shortfilm-prompts

Then in Claude Code:

/ai-shortfilm-prompts:shortfilm-prompt  Help me write a 15-second prompt for a
                                        robot transformation, green color palette,
                                        energy core in the belt buckle,
                                        post-apocalyptic jungle background

Option 2 — Try it inside this repo

git clone https://github.com/jnMetaCode/ai-shortfilm-prompts.git
cd ai-shortfilm-prompts
claude   # then type /shortfilm-prompt

Option 3 — Make it available globally (manual copy)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r ai-shortfilm-prompts/.claude/skills/shortfilm-prompt \
      ~/.claude/skills/

Option 4 — As a submodule in your own project

git submodule add https://github.com/jnMetaCode/ai-shortfilm-prompts.git \
                  .claude/skills/_shortfilm

The Skill walks through the 5-stage structure, runs a 10-item self-check,
and warns you about IP names that may be blocked by Seedance 2.0.

Compatible video models

The 5-stage structure is model-agnostic. Verified to work well with:

Sister projects (by the same author)

This is the video-prompt sibling of the AI-coding ecosystem maintained
by @jnMetaCode:

• superpowers-zh — Chinese-enhanced edition of obra/superpowers (TDD / debug / git workflow skills)
• agency-agents-zh — 211 plug-and-play AI expert personas
• agency-orchestrator — Multi-agent collaboration orchestrator
• ai-coding-guide — 66 Claude Code tips
• shellward — AI Agent security middleware
• ai-coding-trilogy — AI coding three-volume book

All projects share the same SKILL.md format. The video skill stacks
freely with any of them.

License

MIT License for everything authored by jnMetaCode
(methodology, FAQ, templates, Skill, metadata). Free for any use
including commercial — just keep the copyright notice.

Mx-Shell's original prompts and document excerpts — sourced from his
fan-group documents and public Douyin livestream that he himself
distributed — remain © Mx-Shell, all rights reserved. Archived here
for educational reference; commercial use requires contacting Mx-Shell
directly. Full dual-licensing details: NOTICE ·
attribution: credits.md.

A line worth remembering

"For creation, the equipment is not what matters.
The idea is what matters."
— Mx-Shell, May 12, 2026 livestream