The First Frame Says the Genre
How to show the genre in your first frame. Four stills, four prompts, Midjourney.
The prompts
Copy them, run them, change whatever you want. No signup.
cinematic film still, a colossal slowly rotating orbital ring station hanging over a cracked blue ice moon, one tiny shuttle crossing beneath its immense curve with running lights lit, hard raking sunlight warming the station's hull against the deep cold blue of the moon and the pure black of space, immense engineered scale and silence, photorealistic, shot on IMAX 70mm, film grain, cinematography in the style of Hoyte van Hoytema in Interstellar --ar 9:16 --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration, star wars, recognizable franchise
cinematic film still, a single rider on horseback moving along the floor of a colossal red rock canyon, the walls rising sheer for a thousand feet on both sides and out of frame, dust hanging in the light, warm gold late sun on the upper wall against the deep cool blue shade of the canyon floor, immense scale and solitude, photorealistic, shot on 70mm, film grain, cinematography in the style of Roger Deakins --ar 9:16 --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration
cinematic film still, a lone detective in a trench coat lighting a cigarette under a buzzing neon sign in a rain-soaked alley at night, glowing red and cyan neon reflecting in deep black puddles, steam rising from a grate, vivid neon against pure black shadow, low angle, photorealistic, shot on 35mm anamorphic, film grain, cinematography in the style of Roger Deakins in Blade Runner 2049 --no painting, illustration --ar 9:16 --raw --v 8.1 --stylize 250
Creature horror still, extreme wide, low key. Vast derelict aircraft hangar interior at night, roof torn open, steel trusses and severed cables crossing the dark upper volume. A single hard shaft of cold moonlight falls through the tear, landing as a bright pool on oil stained concrete - sole light source, ~10:1 ratio. A lone figure stands centered in the pool: amber high visibility vest over dark coveralls, arms at sides, motionless. Amber vest is the only saturated color. Twenty meters away at the pool's edge, a huge quadrupedal creature stands still - low slung, heavy shouldered, matte charcoal hide, forelimbs longer than hind, narrow eyeless head held low. Cold silver rim catches its back ridge; the rest is shadow. Drifting dust and haze fill the darkness above. Tall vertical composition, figures small in lower third. 24mm spherical, f/5.6, deep focus. Cold desaturated silver blue grade, amber accent, crushed blacks, coarse film grain. Full bleed, no borders. --no letterbox, black bars, borders, matte, split screen, diptych, triptych, collage, grid --ar 9:16 --raw
Why it works
People decide what kind of film they are watching from the first frame, before anyone speaks. Each of these four prompts names the things that belong to one genre, and the frame says that genre on its own.
This frame says science fiction. The prompt asks for orbital ring station hanging over an ice moon. A station this big does not exist yet, so the story is set in the future.
This frame says western. The prompt asks for a single rider on horseback in a red rock canyon. It never mentions a hat. The model added the cowboy hat on its own, because a horse and red rock are enough to say western.
This frame says noir. The prompt asks for a lone detective in a trench coat lighting a cigarette in a wet alley under neon. A trench coat, a cigarette and neon in the rain mean a crime story.
This frame says horror. The prompt asks for a huge quadrupedal creature standing at the edge of the light. One person stands alone in the light, and a creature waits beside them.
Before you run it
Name the things, not the mood. None of the first three prompts says “western”, “noir” or “science fiction”. They name a rider, a trench coat and a ring station, and the genre follows.
You can also name the genre outright. The hangar prompt opens with Creature horror still. Put the genre first and then name what belongs in it.
Check the settings on each one. The ring station and the rider were made with --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2, the detective with --raw --v 8.1 --stylize 250, and the hangar with --raw and no version set.
Do not count on the camera angle. The detective prompt asks for a low angle, and the camera came back at chest height. The genre still landed, so spend your words on what is in the frame.
To make it yours, keep the genre’s things and change the rest. Swap the detective for your own character and keep the trench coat, the neon and the rain.