A 25-second Pixar-style Diwali short. The last strip of sunlight is sliding down the wall, and a couple has to light every diya before it disappears. They race, fumble with matches, burst a bag of rangoli powder, dance, and end the night with sparklers on the balcony. Made with Seedance 2.5 in OpenArt. Here is the full prompt and every step.
What you need
- One clear image of each character: him and her. A full-body image with the face visible works best.
- Optional: one image of the room, if you want the apartment to match a reference.
- An OpenArt account.
How to make it
- Open OpenArt and go to the video generation tool.
- Choose the video model Seedance 2.5.
- Set the duration to 25 seconds (or the longest available), the aspect ratio to 16:9 and the highest resolution you have.
- Upload one image of each character, plus the room image if you have one.
- Paste the video prompt below and tag each character image with @ where the prompt says Him and Her.
- Generate, watch it through, and regenerate any single shot that drifts.
Video prompt
14 shots in 25 seconds, from the fading sunlight to the fireworks. Copy it in full.
Duration: 25 Seconds
Style: High-End 3D Animated Family Film, Pixar-inspired Cinematic Quality, pure festive joy, fast and energetic
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Quality: 4K Ultra HD, 24 fps
Reference: Use the attached reference images for both characters and for the apartment. Match their faces, proportions, outfits, materials and room design exactly.
Visual Style: Ultra-detailed characters, big expressive faces, golden-hour sunset turning to Diwali night. All light comes from real diya flames, warm string lights, sparklers and fireworks: honey gold, marigold orange, deep maroon, cream, sage green and terracotta. Floating embers, sparkling bokeh, soft bloom. No neon, no fluorescent or electric-blue or hot-pink lights.
PACING (VERY IMPORTANT)
Rapid, punchy edit: 14 shots in 25 seconds, each shot 1-2.5 seconds, never longer. Hard cuts on the beat, whip-pans, snap zooms, match cuts and quick speed ramps. Constant motion in every shot. Only two brief slow-motion moments (one beat each), then straight back to speed. Every shot shows a different action; no repeated gestures.
CHARACTER CONSISTENCY
Maintain the exact same characters throughout the entire video:
1. Him: A tall, lanky, laid-back man with a long face, a big expressive nose, sleepy half-lidded amber eyes, thick dark arched eyebrows, messy dark curly hair streaked with grey, round gold-framed green-tinted goggles pushed up on his head, a salt-and-pepper goatee and mustache, big ears with gold hoop earrings, layered thin necklaces, a cream textured jacket with a fuzzy collar and white shearling cuffs, a white ribbed tee, wide brown cuffed trousers, braided leather bracelets, silver rings and tan suede strap sandals with white socks. Diwali touch: a small orange marigold garland around his neck. Sleepy-cool on the outside, secretly a showman.
2. Her: A bright, energetic young woman with big round blue eyes, rosy freckled cheeks, a tiny beauty mark, wavy shoulder-length dark-brown hair, small silver hoop earrings, a silver pendant necklace, an oversized dusty-rose fuzzy sweatshirt, light faded-blue wide-leg cropped jeans and cream sneakers. Diwali touch: a small marigold flower tucked behind her ear. Fast, fearless and full of fun.
LOCATION (match the reference image): The sunlit bay-window apartment with sheer linen curtains, red-brick buildings outside, honey wooden floors, jute rug, sage-green sofa, round wooden coffee table, cream bouclé armchair, bed with terracotta knit throw, plants, terracotta pots and wooden bookshelf. Festive additions: tray of unlit clay diyas, marigold garlands, warm string lights, a cloth bag of colored rangoli powder, a box of sweets, sparklers and a small balcony outside the bay window. Neighboring brick buildings outside begin to twinkle with festive lights as the evening deepens.
STORY: The last strip of sunlight is sliding down the wall. The couple must light every diya before it vanishes. They race, they fumble, they dance, and the night explodes into light.
SHOT LIST
SHOT 1 (0-1.5s): Extreme close-up of the last strip of golden sunlight sliding down the wall toward the floor. A dhol hit lands on the cut.
SFX: Heavy dhol hit, a bell chime.
SHOT 2 (1.5-3s): Door bursts open. Her skids into the room in her sneakers carrying a huge tray of clay diyas, slides across the honey floor and stops dead at the sofa without spilling one. Him is asleep on the sofa. Her slaps a marigold onto his forehead.
SFX: Sneaker squeak, quick tabla run.
SHOT 3 (3-4.5s): Close-up of Him's eyes snapping open. His goggles drop from his head onto his eyes. Snap zoom to his shocked face as he looks at the fading sunlight.
SFX: Comic "boing", record-scratch beat.
SHOT 4 (4.5-6s): Wide. Her flips a matchbox high in an arc. Without looking, Him catches it behind his back and spins to his feet like a magician.
SFX: Whoosh, a catch slap, a cool guitar twang.
SHOT 5 (6-7.5s): Low angle, coffee table. Her slides diyas down the table like a bowling lane. Him whips a lit match along the row, and each diya flares as it passes in a chain.
SFX: Rapid ting-ting-ting, flame whooshes.
SHOT 6 (7.5-9s): Her tosses a long marigold garland across the room. It spirals through the air and Him leaps over the sofa arm, catching the end and pinning it to the bookshelf. The garland drapes perfectly.
SFX: Swoosh, a springy leap, a satisfying thud.
SHOT 7 (9-10.5s): Her sprints for the window with the rangoli powder bag, trips over the rug and the bag bursts. Speed ramp to slow motion: a huge cloud of saffron, maroon, cream and sage powder blooms through the sunbeam.
SFX: A bag pop, the sound drops to a soft hush with a shimmer.
SHOT 8 (10.5-12s): Back to full speed. Both come out of the cloud, coughing and laughing, covered in powder. The settling powder lands on the floor in a perfect rangoli pattern.
SFX: Cough-laugh, a magical sparkle, drums kick back in.
SHOT 9 (12-14s): Signature shot. Her lights the final diya. A wave of golden light rips through the room diya to diya: bookshelf, window sills, plants, garlands, string lights popping on in sequence. The camera spirals through the room riding the wave. The curtains glow like honey.
SFX: Rising harp glissando, a bell cascade, a dhol roll.
SHOT 10 (14-15.5s): Quick-cut dance. A dhol beat drops and they burst into a goofy, joyful dance. Him does loose, long-limbed shuffles with a head bob, goggles bouncing, while Her spins with her sweatshirt sleeves flying.
SFX: Full dhol and tabla beat, laughter.
SHOT 11 (15.5-17s): Her tosses a laddoo across the room, Him leaps and catches it in his mouth, and his cheeks puff up. Her fist-pumps.
SFX: Whoosh, a chomp, a cheer.
SHOT 12 (17-19s): A neighbor's rocket whistles up past the window outside. Both freeze and exchange a grin, then sprint for the balcony, Her grabbing sparklers and Him vaulting the coffee table.
SFX: A rising whistle, running feet, a drum fill.
SHOT 13 (19-21.5s): Balcony. They light sparklers and spin them in huge glowing circles. Hundreds of golden trails hang in the air as they draw a giant heart and then a star. One beat of slow motion on the sparks, then back to speed.
SFX: Crackling fizz, a shimmer, a joyful strum.
SHOT 14 (21.5-25s): Wide aerial pulling back and up over the rooftops as fireworks explode across the whole evening sky in gold, copper and soft red. Neighbors wave from windows and balconies, and brick buildings glitter with lights. Cut to the balcony: Her rests her head on Him's shoulder, a single diya flame glowing in front of them, fireworks reflected in their eyes. The screen fades to soft gold.
SFX: Booming fireworks, a swelling choir and dhol celebration, then one soft bell.
CAMERA & ANIMATION REQUIREMENTS
- Fast cinematic editing with whip-pans, snap zooms, low-angle shots, match cuts, spiral swoops and quick speed ramps.
- Big, expressive, funny facial animation and energetic full-body acting.
- Consistent character, outfit and apartment identity in every shot.
- Detailed 3D textures: marigold petals, clay diyas, powder clouds, fuzzy sweatshirt, bouclé, linen, corduroy, suede, wood grain and sparkler smoke.
- Warm flame light, soft bloom, glowing bokeh and cinematic depth of field.
- Realistic flame, spark, powder and firework physics, with safe, gentle handling of fire.
- No character redesigns or sudden appearance changes.
AUDIO DESIGN
High-energy festival score at a fast tempo: dhol, tabla, sitar riffs, bansuri flute, harp chimes and a warm choir. Quick comic stings on the funny beats. The chain-of-light moment is a rising wave, and the ending is a big warm celebration settling into one soft bell.
NEGATIVE: no neon or fluorescent colors, no electric or LED-blue lights, no robot vacuum, no pets, no extra characters, no logo or text on screen, no repeated actions, no slow static shots, no changes to the characters' faces or outfits, no scary or dangerous fire, no realistic photo style.
IMPORTANT: Preserve the story, character appearances, setting and shot order. Do not introduce additional characters or unrelated events.Settings
Platform: OpenArt
Video model: Seedance 2.5
Length: 25 seconds, 24 fps
Aspect ratio: 16:9
References: 1 image per character, plus the room (optional)Tips
- Use clean, well-lit character images. The model copies faces and outfits from them, so blurry references give drifting faces.
- The pacing section matters. It is what keeps the cuts fast; without it the model drifts into long, slow shots.
- Keep the negative line about neon and blue light, so the whole film stays lit by diyas and fireworks.
- Change the room, outfits or festival details to make it your own, and keep the shot list structure.
Want a festive film like this for your brand? Tell me about your project.