The knight and the dragon
A full cinematic story made with AI: six image prompts, three video prompts, editing order.
Tools in this guide: Higgsfield
Free recreation guide. Every prompt included. Made with Higgsfield.
This is the full workflow and every prompt used to make the knight and dragon video. Follow the steps in order and paste the prompts exactly as written. No paid tools required to get started.
Before You Start
1. Create a free Higgsfield account. New accounts get free credits automatically. Higgsfield also runs a 24 hour unlimited trial for new users, and a referral program for extended free access. Check higgsfield.ai for current offers before you begin.
2. Open the image generator. Select Nano Banana Pro (GPT Image 2 also works) as your model.
3. Upload a clear photo of yourself. Front facing, good lighting, neutral background. This locks your face and identity across every image below.
4. Generate each image prompt below, one at a time. Review each result before moving to the next. Regenerate if something looks off, it is cheaper to fix an image now than to fix it after it is baked into a video.
5. Switch to the video generator and select Seedance 2.5. Upload the images listed under each shot, then paste that shot's video prompt. Generate each of the three shots separately, not as one long video.
6. Edit the three clips together. Order and cut points are explained at the end of this guide.
Image Prompts
Generate these six. Your own photo covers your face and identity, these six build everything else.
1. Cottage Location
RAW photo, wide epic cinematic shot of an ancient weathered stone cottage nestled into a quiet hillside at dusk, thick moss and ivy climbing the stone walls, a heavy medieval wooden door with rusted iron hinges and studded detailing, a worn flat stone step or threshold ledge at the base of the door, wide enough for a person to sit on, weathered and slightly uneven, blending naturally into the surrounding path and stonework, a single small window beside the door glowing with warm golden firelight spilling out into the blue evening air, tall wildflowers and overgrown grass sweeping around the base of the walls, a worn stone and dirt path leading up to the door, distant rolling hills fading into mist, dramatic layered dusk sky with deep blue grey clouds catching the last warm light on the horizon, cinematic wide lens, natural volumetric haze drifting through the scene, painterly natural light contrast between the cold dusk and the warm window glow, ultra detailed weathered stone texture, photorealistic, anamorphic lens character, subtle film grain, no people, no text, no CGI look, no fantasy glow effects, no lens flare artifacts, vertical portrait composition, 9:16 aspect ratio.
2. Final Keyframe: Collapsed at the Door
RAW cinematic film still, close intimate shot, a wounded knight in dark weathered armor sitting collapsed against a stone cottage door at dusk, blood staining his chest armor, head tilted back slightly, helmet resting in the grass beside him, sword sheathed at his hip, a worn stone and dirt path visible leading up to the door where he has collapsed, wildflowers crowding close on both sides of the path, warm window light glowing beside him against the cool blue dusk and dramatic cloud heavy sky, exhausted expression showing real physical strain, photorealistic, natural skin texture with visible pores and sweat, no smooth CG skin, natural film grain, anamorphic bokeh, no CGI look, no fantasy glow, no text on screen, vertical portrait composition, 9:16 aspect ratio, framed for mobile video, subject and key details centered and fully visible within the vertical frame.
3. Gaming Rig (studio shot)
RAW photo, prop only studio shot: a full PC gaming setup on a simple dark desk, laid out clearly and fully visible, no character, no hands. The desk is a plain, sturdy dark wood or matte black surface, minimal design, no branding. On it: a mid tower PC case with tempered glass side panel, subtle RGB lighting inside in cool blue and purple tones, visible internal cables neatly routed. Beside it, a flat monitor, screen off, glass fully black and reflective, thin bezels, on a simple stand. In front, a mechanical keyboard with backlit keys and a wireless mouse, cables coiled neatly across the desk surface. Beside the desk, a dark gaming chair with visible stitching and headrest. All components, desk included, share a cohesive dark, matte, brand neutral aesthetic, no visible logos or text anywhere. Pure white seamless studio background, soft even lighting, low contrast, no harsh shadows, neutral daylight white balance. Every item fully visible, nothing cropped. Photorealistic product photography style, sharp focus throughout.
4. Open Field Location
RAW photo, vast open grassland field stretching to the horizon at golden hour, camera positioned at ground level roughly waist height, facing across the field's full depth. Foreground: tall wild grass and scattered wildflowers, individual blades catching low warm sunlight. Midground: the field rolls gently, a few scattered boulders and a lone dead tree breaking the openness. Background: distant low hills fading into soft atmospheric haze, at least three distinct depth layers visible, each progressively softer and paler with distance. Sky: enormous, dominant in the frame, dramatic layered clouds catching deep gold and amber light low on the horizon, cooling to blue grey higher up, plenty of open negative space in the upper two thirds of the frame, intentional room for something massive to later occupy it. No structures, no characters, no creatures, no roads. Warm directional light, long shadows across the grass. Photorealistic, natural film grain, anamorphic lens character, no CGI look, no fantasy glow, no lens flare, vertical portrait composition, 9:16 aspect ratio.
5. Desk and Helmet in the Field
RAW photo, the same PC gaming setup, on the same dark desk, positioned in an open grassland field at golden hour instead of a studio background. A knight's helmet rests on the desk surface beside the keyboard, angled slightly, as if just set down by its owner. Warm late day light catches the helmet's worn steel and the monitor's dark glass. Tall grass and scattered wildflowers around the base of the desk and chair legs. Same cohesive dark, matte aesthetic across all objects. Photorealistic, natural film grain, no CGI look, no fantasy glow, no lens flare, vertical portrait composition, 9:16 aspect ratio.
6. Dragon Design
RAW photo, character sheet style turnaround of a single dragon, four panels on a neutral flat grey background: front view, side profile, three quarter view, close up on the head. Design: a massive, ancient looking dragon with dark iron grey and deep bronze scales, weathered and battle scarred, thick armored plating along the spine and skull, large curved horns sweeping back, leathery dark wings with visible bone structure and small tears at the edges, glowing deep amber eyes as the only warm toned element. Heavy, grounded proportions, not sleek or serpentine. Highly detailed, cracked, scarred, uneven skin and scale texture, no smooth or plastic CG surface. Consistent lighting and proportions across all four panels. Photorealistic, natural texture detail, no cartoon look, no stylized fantasy game rendering, must look like a real creature that could exist.
Video Prompts
Generate these three as separate clips in Seedance 2.5. Do not try to generate the whole story in one shot, it will compress or break.
Shot 1: The Doorstep (16 seconds)
References: your face photo, your character armor, Cottage Location, Final Keyframe.
SCENE CONTEXT: A wounded knight walks slowly along a worn path toward his home at dusk, in pain but resolved. Without stopping, he lifts his helmet from his head and drops it into the flowers beside the path. Moments later, still walking, he unbuckles his sword and lets it fall into the grass too. He reaches the door, and without trying to knock, simply stops, his body giving out, collapsing against the door, blood on his chest. Through the door, muffled, his wife's laughter and his son's laughter together, warm and unguarded. He listens. Pain and something like joy break through together, a laugh fighting through a wince. It fades. His eyes close, exhausted, not peaceful. A single tear falls. The frame holds on his still, dead face.
FORMAT: Single continuous shot, no cuts. Vertical, 9:16. Duration 16 seconds, hard ceiling, every beat must fit its window.
CAMERA: 55 degree diagonal field of view, locked for the entire shot. Starts directly behind him at shoulder blade height, arcs gradually to three quarter front during the collapse, then pushes in to near macro on his face for the rest of the shot.
AUDIO: No music, no score, no instrumental sound ever, including the final second. Only wind, footsteps, breathing, and his family's laughter. He never speaks.
TIMING:
0:00 to 2s, walk: camera behind him, tracking his slow, resolved stride. Wind moves his cloak.
2s to 3.5s, helmet: without stopping, he lifts the helmet off and drops it in the flowers.
3.5s to 5s, sword: still walking, he unbuckles the sword and lets it fall into the grass.
5s to 8s, collapse: he reaches the door, stops, no knock attempt, knees buckle first, torso drops after, settling against the door as the camera completes its arc to his face.
8s to 10s, sound: muffled laughter through the door. His closed eyes react, brow softening, then tightening with pain.
10s to 13s, pained laugh: camera pushes to near macro. A laugh tries to surface through the pain, his face caught between a wince and a smile, breath rough, eyes watering.
13s to 15s, still: the laugh fades, face slackens, eyes close slowly, not peaceful.
15s to 16s, stay: frame holds on his still face, a single tear traces down, laughter continues inside, unaware.
PHYSICS: real weight throughout, helmet and sword land with a single soft impact each, no bounce, knees buckle before torso drops.
LIGHTING: cool blue grey dusk, warm gold window light as the only warm source, deep cinematic contrast, rich blacks, 35mm grain.
CONSTRAINTS: no cuts, no music ever, the collapse is not compressed, his pain is physical not just facial, helmet and sword never reappear on his body once dropped.
Shot 2: The Gaming Rig and the Reveal (16 seconds)
References: your face photo, your character armor, Dragon Design, Desk and Helmet in the Field, Open Field Location.
SCENE CONTEXT: A knight sits at a full gaming PC setup in the middle of an open field at golden hour, playing a video game showing a dragon on screen, helmet resting on the desk beside him, expression flat and unreadable. The camera reveals, from behind him, a holy terrifying, colossal real dragon resting on the far horizon, eyes closed, asleep. He rises slowly and unhurried, puts on his helmet with deliberate, confident movements, and kicks the desk aside almost dismissively. As he does, the dragon slowly wakes, eyes opening and locking onto him.
FORMAT: Single continuous shot, no cuts. Vertical, 9:16. Duration 16 seconds, hard ceiling.
CAMERA: opens front facing, positioned just behind the monitor looking back at him. As he rises, arcs smoothly around and behind him, ending low and wide over his shoulder.
AUDIO: no music, no score, ever. Only wind, keyboard clicks, the desk toppling, the dragon waking and breathing. He never speaks.
EMOTIONAL GOAL: he is confident and cold, not urgent, not afraid, not excited. Every movement is slow and deliberate. His expression stays flat and unreadable throughout.
SCALE: the dragon's head rests directly on the ground, roughly at human eye level, its body extending far behind it. A single tooth is roughly the size of the knight's body. The knight reads as insect small beside it.
MENACE: genuinely dreadful, not majestic. Its breathing at rest is a deep sub bass rumble. Its stillness is a predator sleeping. Its eyes glow cold and ancient when they open.
TIMING:
0:00 to 2s, gaming: front facing, screen glow on his face, flat expression, in game dragon on the monitor, helmet on the desk.
2s to 3s, arc: camera arcs smoothly from front to behind him.
3s to 5s, reveal: over his shoulder, the sleeping dragon is visible on the horizon, eyes closed, immense scale.
5s to 7.5s, he rises: slow, unhurried, no reaction to the scale, just cold acknowledgment.
7.5s to 9.5s, helmet: he lifts the helmet and sets it on his head like routine. The dragon's eyes begin slowly opening.
9.5s to 11.5s, kick: he kicks the desk aside, controlled, dismissive. The dragon's eyes are now fully open, locked on him.
11.5s to 13.5s, roar builds: the dragon's jaw opens wide, tension building.
13.5s to 16s, hold: final frame, him standing, dragon fully awake and staring.
LIGHTING: golden hour warmth, shifting darker and more oppressive as the dragon wakes, deep contrast, 35mm grain.
CONSTRAINTS: vertical 9:16 throughout, no aspect ratio change, no music ever, his every movement stays slow and unhurried, his expression stays flat, the dragon starts asleep and wakes gradually before it roars, one continuous take.
Shot 3: The Roar and the Draw (5 seconds)
References: Dragon Design, your character armor with helmet on, Open Field Location. Do not include a face photo in this shot, he is facing away from camera the whole time and a face reference can pull him toward facing camera by mistake.
SCENE CONTEXT: The knight stands facing away from camera, toward the massive dragon looming ahead of him in the open field, him small in the lower frame, the dragon's head filling the space above and behind him. Its lips curl back into a snarl before it opens into a violent, guttural roar, thick sticky saliva stretching and clinging between its jaws. As the roar releases, the camera slowly zooms out from this normal framing, revealing more of the creature's true scale. The shockwave hits him, and he draws his sword in one fluid motion, spins it once with practiced control, and settles into a low, ready stance.
FORMAT: single continuous shot, no cuts. Vertical, 9:16. Duration 5 seconds, hard ceiling.
STYLE: photorealistic, live action look, no CGI look, no video game rendering, no glossy surfaces, real physical texture everywhere, natural film grain.
CAMERA: positioned behind and slightly to the side of him, over his shoulder, at the normal established framing already used in the sequence, no close up on the mouth at the start. He faces the dragon, away from camera, the entire shot, never shown facing toward camera. From this normal framing, the camera slowly and smoothly zooms out across the full duration.
AUDIO: no music, no score, ever. Only the roar, wind, and the blade drawing and moving through air.
ROAR DETAIL: before the roar, its lips curl back exposing jagged, uneven, yellow black stained teeth, several cracked, gums scarred. Thick, sticky saliva clings and stretches in ropes between the jaws as it opens, not falling like rain, clinging like mucus. Jaw and neck muscles visibly tense. The roar is violent, guttural, bass heavy, a predator's warning, genuinely threatening.
TIMING:
0:00 to 2.5s, snarl and roar: from the normal framing, lips curl back, saliva stretches between the teeth, the dragon releases a violent guttural roar. Camera begins zooming out smoothly. A shockwave rips across the grass toward him, his cloak snapping hard.
2.5s to 4s, draw and flourish: as the shockwave hits, he draws his sword and spins it once, a controlled flourish, blade catching the light.
4s to 5s, stance: he settles into a low, ready two handed grip, blade angled toward the dragon, feet planted. Hold as the final frame. No fire, no glow, just steel.
CONSTRAINTS: photorealistic throughout, no CGI look, he faces the dragon away from camera the entire shot, helmet stays on, the dragon's mouth is genuinely disgusting and threatening with real biological detail, saliva is sticky and clinging not falling like rain, the sword does not ignite or glow, one continuous take.
Editing
Cut Shot 2 right as the table gets kicked. Splice in Shot 3 immediately after. Then hard cut into Shot 1, the doorstep. The change from golden hour to a stormy dusk sky implies time has passed and a battle happened off screen, you do not need to explain it.
Every prompt above is the exact one used to make the final video. If a shot glitches, regenerate just that shot rather than starting over.
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