Clouds: A Journey into Creativity as I approach 50

skydiver falling through circular clouds

The Dream That Started It All

Clouds is my first story. In early October of 2024 I had a dream of a skydiver falling. The space, peace and vastness of the dream stuck with me throughout the following day. After work I still couldn’t get the dream out of my head, so I did what any curious individual would do: had some wine, and wrote down the following:

I'm afraid of heights but I'm here on my own, of my own free-will I enjoy the view from way up here grounding seems ironic, but it is my reason to view my smallness from the clouds to feel my own fragility I jump and enjoy the view

Yes, I’m terrified of heights.

From Words to Visuals

The poem was just the beginning. In the following days, I found myself sketching scenese from the dream - slowly awakening skills I had as a teenager. While far from perfect, these drawings helped solidify the visual narrative I wanted to create.

bad sketches of a skydiver falling another view of the skydiver falling

Why This Matters

As I approach 50 (I’m 46 as of the published date), I’ve been revising my definition of what constitutes a meaningful life. One revelation stood out: the desire to create something that resonates with at least one other person. The thought of reaching the end of my journey without sharing my inner world became unbearable. “Clouds” represents my first step toward this goal.

The Vision

I started to refine the story shots as I saw them in my dream. When I was a child, comic books were everything, so it was really my only reference. Here’s the first draft of how I envisioned this as different panels/scenes:

Panel 1: [Medium upwards shot no ground visible clouds bright and white against an azure blue sky] Yellow plane begins to travel into view Panel 2: [Medium close panning towards the planes hatch and we begin to see our character]. Text: "I'm afraid of heights" Panel 3: [3rd person looking over character's shoulder seeing 1/4 the character, clouds below]. Text: "but I'm here on my own"

Panel 4: [close up of character hand, gripping the “oh shit” bar]. Text: “of my own free will”

Panel 5: [close up of character chest - audio will thump here]. Text: “my heartbeat echoes in empty air” Panel 6: [Medium overhead shot of plane, showing clouds downward shot]. Text: “grounding seems ironic, but it is my reason … Panel 7: [Split shot of hand releasing, feet leaning off the plane’s edge] Panel 8: [Medium shot, character begins to shrink in frame (what’s this called?)]. Text: “to view my smallness from the clouds” Panel 9: [Medium close to character who’s looking at their wrist - o2 sensor]. Text: “to feel my own fragility” Panel 10: [Medium downward shot of our character falling]. Text: “I jump” Panel 11: [POV shot looking straight down at clouds parting, earth becoming visible] Text: “and fear becomes flight” Panel 12: [Side tracking shot of character in spread-eagle position, their form beginning to blur at the edges with the wind/sky] Text: “becomes freedom” Panel 13: [Wide shot showing character pulling their chute, the canopy blooming open like a flower against the sky] Text: “becomes peace” Final Panel 14: [Extreme wide shot, tiny figure floating serenely under fully deployed canopy, caught in a shaft of sunlight breaking through clouds]

My initial thought was to refine this draft into prompts that had the technical names of these shots using OpenAI/Claude/Gemini.

I saved the following:

Panel 1: [Low angle shot] Camera positioned below, pointing upward at empty sky with cumulus clouds. Yellow plane enters frame. [This establishes setting and creates anticipation]

Panel 2: [Tracking shot] Moving alongside plane, transitioning to [Dutch angle] as we see character through hatch [Dutch angle helps convey unease/tension]

Panel 3: [Over-the-shoulder shot] Character in foreground (1/4 frame), looking down at cloud layer below [Creates viewer connection with character’s perspective]

Panel 4: [Extreme close-up (ECU)] on white-knuckled hand gripping safety bar [Emphasizes tension/fear]

Panel 5: [Close-up] on chest/torso area with slight motion blur to suggest heartbeat [Sound design note: heartbeat audio sync]

Panel 6: [Bird’s eye view] or [High angle shot] of plane against cloud layer [Emphasizes scale and isolation]

Panel 7: [Split screen] or [Diptych]: Left panel: [ECU] of hand releasing grip Right panel: [Close-up] of feet at edge [Creates parallel action tension]

Panel 8: [Dolly out/Pull back shot] Character becoming smaller in frame as camera appears to move away [Shows isolation/scale]

Panel 9: [Close-up] on wrist/O2 sensor [Technical detail adds authenticity]

Panel 10: [High angle shot] Looking down at falling character [Begins action sequence]

Using these prompts, my results from Sora, Hailuo and Kling have been less than close to my original vision.

In hindsight - this was the incorrect approach. I should have (it’s on my list) fed the entire hailuo docs into o1 and gemini 1206 to generate the actual video prompts for testing.

To be continued…

Project Objectives

Most of these are aimed at my own personal development, getting myself out there and possibly failing in public

  1. Become a story teller
  2. Cultivate a consistent writing practice
  3. Learn to use midjourney
  4. Explore Rive for interactivity
  5. Experiment using Hailuoai for video generation
  6. Create more than I consume

Tools I have access or subscriptions to

  • OpenAI Plus (access to o1, projects, Sora credits, etc)
  • Gemini models via Google AI Studio
  • Midjourney Standard Yearly
  • Hailuo monthly

I’m underutilizing these tools.

Current Status: On Hold, But Not Forgotten

While the project is currently paused, it represents more than just a creative exercise — it’s a testament to the power of dreams, both literal and metaphorical, in driving personal growth and artistic expression.