“Every night the Shadow Man comes … he taps on my window and takes me to his world”
Luma AI just dropped their first video model, DREAM MACHINE, and I couldn’t wait to dive in! I decided to really test its limits by reimagining one of my original stories, “The Tale of Oak & Willow” and turning it into an official trailer.
This project is a personal love letter to the unique aesthetic of 80s and 90s anime, which had this incredible way of blending folk tales, characters, mystical elements, and even horror elements into something magical.
What got me really excited was the idea of doing a live-action proof of concept that pulls from that same mix of Asian lore and characters, but adds in elements inspired by Eastern European folk tales and even South American influences for a story that combines all these different cultures and storytelling traditions. My goal with this is to craft a universal story—one that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries while having that same universal appeal that made those older anime so unforgettable.
Written & Directed by Davide Bianca
TOOLS USED
Images: Midjourney 6.0 + Magnific AI + DaVinci Resolve
Video: Luma’s Dream Machine
Editing: CapCut
Sound Design: Adobe Audition + ElevenLabs + Capcut
Stay inspired and stay connected
Davide
