# Toad Venom: "The Origin" storyboard Direction D (client request). Date: 2026-10-09. Format: vertical 9:16, 43 s, 12 shots in the edit plus 1 prep keyframe. --- ## 1. Logline and tone **Logline:** On a silent night in the glowing frog field, a lone toadstool wanderer watches a black meteor fall from the galaxy sky, and the living ooze inside it crawls up his body and remakes him as Toad Venom. **Tone:** nocturnal, body-horror, swagger. --- ## 2. Design sheet ### 2a. BEFORE: "the Wanderer" (original character, not Nintendo's Toad) Built on the same silhouette as the final character so the start and end keyframes line up for the morph. The surface changes, the shape does not. | Part | Spec | |---|---| | Proportions | Same as the final character: chibi, about 2.5 heads tall. The cap is about 1.3 times as wide as the shoulders. Short torso, short thick legs, large three-toed feet. | | Cap | Wide rounded mushroom dome, **matte dusty bone-cream** (pale oat, about #D6CCBA). **7 to 9 flat, irregular slate-grey spots of mixed sizes** (#6E6862), scattered unevenly (no single big front spot, no symmetric layout). A hairline crack runs over the right side, there is a chip in the rim, and a little dry moss sits under the rim. No shine. | | Face | Matte pale ash-grey skin (#A9A6A0). Two **small round black bead eyes**, each with one tiny catchlight. No eyebrows, no nose, and a short flat mouth line. Expression is wary and tired, never smiling. | | Clothing | **Knee-length ragged smock of faded moss-grey linen** (#5E6650) with a frayed hem and no buttons, tied at the waist with a thin dark-brown rope. Charcoal leggings. **No vest, no white trousers, no red, no blue.** | | Feet | Bare, ash-grey, three blunt toes each. These line up with the after's three-claw feet. | | Staff | A gnarled walking staff, taller than him, made of **pale weathered driftwood grey-brown**, bare, with one knot two-thirds of the way up. He holds it in his left hand (on the viewer's right), the same hand as in the final pose. | | Posture | Slightly hunched and cautious, leaning on the staff. | | Lighting | Always dim: cold violet sky light from above, a thin orange-red rim from the horizon behind, low green under-glow from the frogs. Never fully front-lit, never bright. | **Screen time:** at most about 9 s across shots 2, 5, 6 and 7, and his face is only clearly visible for about 1.5 s (the start of shot 7, when he is afraid). Shot 2 is from behind and shot 5 shows only his feet. ### 2b. AFTER: Toad Venom (matches `layouts/toad-venom-wrap-frogfield/wrap_art_center_front_a.png`) | Part | Spec | |---|---| | Cap | Wide glossy **jet-black** mushroom dome covered in **large round raised bumps** (smooth domed discs of mixed sizes, mirror highlights on each). Thick black slime drips hang from the rim as teardrop beads. | | Face | Glossy black. Two **large white Venom-style eyes**: angular, swooping shapes, pointed at the outer top corners and narrowing toward the centre, with no pupils. A very wide mouth with **rows of sharp white triangular teeth**. | | Tongue | Long, glossy **pink-red tongue** hanging out of the mouth and down past the chin, curling toward the **viewer's left**. **Neon-green slime** drips from the tongue tip and the teeth. | | Body | Chibi, glossy black, wet-latex symbiote skin with drips running off the arms. Short stubby legs and big chunky **three-claw feet**. | | Emblem | A **white toad emblem on the chest**: a frog seen from above with its legs splayed and dripping edges, like paint. | | Pose | His right hand (viewer's left) is a clenched fist at his chest. His left hand (viewer's right) grips the staff upright. | | Staff | The same gnarled brown wood staff, now **wrapped in spiralling glossy black venom tendrils** with drips. | | Lighting | Front-lit with a soft key light so the black reads as glossy and not as a flat silhouette. Orange-red sunset rim along the cap edge. Green bounce from the frogs. 3D animated feature film look. | ### 2c. World: the frog field - A rolling field of **translucent neon-green glowing frogs** with black bead eyes, sitting among dark clover leaves and stretching to the horizon. - A **purple and indigo galaxy sky** with a diagonal Milky Way band and bright stars, and a thin **orange-red sunset glow** with dark hills on the horizon. - **Frog brightness tells the story:** the frogs are dim (low glow) in the before shots, go dark wherever the ooze passes, and surge to full brightness when Toad Venom rises. - The frogs never smile, have no visible mouths, and sit still and watchful. Keep them looking like bioluminescent amphibians (some skin texture, glassy) and **not like gummy candy** (see section 7). --- ## 3. Shot table Timeline is 43.0 s. Every clip is generated at 5 s and trimmed to the duration listed. "16:9" means the shot also works as a 16:9 cut (regenerate the keyframe at 16:9 with the same prompt; do not centre-crop a 9:16 frame). | # | Dur | In-Out | Shot / camera | One action | World | Sound / music | Title card (post) | 16:9 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 0 | - | - | Prep: model sheet | none (reference only) | grey studio | - | - | - | | 1 | 3 s | 0.0-3.0 | Extreme wide, slow tilt down | A black meteor streaks across the galaxy sky | Sky, field dim below | Low drone, crickets, a sparse low frog chorus | "EXOTIC EMPORIUM PRESENTS" (small gold serif) | Yes | | 2 | 3 s | 3.0-6.0 | Medium-wide from behind, low angle, static | The Wanderer lifts his head toward the sky | Frog field, dim | Meteor whistle rising | - | Yes | | 3 | 3 s | 6.0-9.0 | Wide, static, camera shake on impact | The meteor hits the field and a black splash erupts | Frog field, dim | Impact thud at 7.0 s, then **total silence** | - | Yes | | 4 | 4 s | 9.0-13.0 | Ground-level macro, slow push back | The black ooze crawls between the frogs toward the camera | Frogs going dark | Wet creeping squelch, single heartbeat | - | No | | 5 | 3 s | 13.0-16.0 | Close-up on the feet, static | A tendril coils around his ankle | Clover, frogs dark | Heartbeat doubles, riser starts | - | No | | 6 | 5 s | 16.0-21.0 | Full body, front, slightly low, slow push in. **START+END morph** | The ooze surges up and covers his body, and the toad emblem blooms | Frog field, dim | Riser plus crackling slime | - | No | | 7 | 5 s | 21.0-26.0 | Head and shoulders close-up, static. **START+END morph** | The ooze floods the head: the cap turns black and bumpy, the eyes go white, the grin splits open | Sky behind, soft | Riser peaks at 25.5 s, then 0.5 s silence | - | No | | 8 | 3 s | 26.0-29.0 | Extreme close-up of the mouth, fast push in. **START+END** | The jaws snap open and the tongue unrolls | Out of focus | **DROP at 26.0 s**, wet slurp, low growl | - | No | | 9 | 3 s | 29.0-32.0 | Medium close-up of hand and staff, tilt up. **START+END** | Venom tendrils spiral up the staff | Frog glow behind | Beat continues, a tendril whip sound on each bar | - | No | | 10 | 4 s | 32.0-36.0 | Low-angle wide, slow push in. **START+END** | He rises from a crouch into the hero pose and the frogs light up | Frog field at **full glow** | Beat plus a choir-pad swell | - | Yes | | 11 | 3 s | 36.0-39.0 | Close-up in darkness, very slow push in | Light slides across the cap and the white eyes narrow | Pure black | Bass slam on the title hit at 36.5 s | **TOAD VENOM** (TOAD multicolour, VENOM white with a blue splash) | Yes | | 12 | 4 s | 39.0-43.0 | Static plate, subtle 2.5D parallax | Frog glow pulses behind the jar | Field at night, empty | Tail-out, one low hit, then fade | EE caduceus (top), jar render (centre), crown wordmark (bottom), "21+ only", license number | Yes | **9:16 safe area for every keyframe:** keep the subject between 15% and 80% of the frame height. The top 14% and bottom 20% sit under the Instagram Reels interface and are kept for titles added in post. **Keyframe size:** if gpt-image-2 will not output 9:16 directly, generate at 1024x1536 (2:3) with the subject centred and extend the top and bottom to 1080x1920 by outpainting, or crop only the sky and ground. --- ## 4. Keyframe and motion prompts Attach the named reference images to every gpt-image-2 call. Use the same seed for all START/END pairs where the tool allows it. For each START/END pair, generate the END from the START (attach the START as the first reference) so the framing and pose stay identical. ### Shot 0: BEFORE model sheet (prep, not used in the edit) **Attach:** `layouts/toad-venom-wrap-frogfield/wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (silhouette, proportions and staff only). > Character model sheet, three views side by side (front, three-quarter, back) of one original small chibi mushroom-headed wanderer, standing on a plain dark charcoal-grey studio floor against a dark grey backdrop. Match the exact body proportions, cap size, stance and staff silhouette of the attached reference, but change every material and colour as follows. Wide rounded mushroom-dome cap, matte dusty bone-cream colour, with seven to nine flat irregular slate-grey spots of mixed sizes scattered unevenly, a hairline crack over the right side, a small chip in the rim and a little dry moss under the rim, no shine. Matte pale ash-grey face, two small round black bead eyes with one tiny catchlight each, no eyebrows, a short flat mouth line, a wary tired expression, not smiling. Knee-length ragged smock of faded moss-grey linen with a frayed hem and no buttons, tied with a thin dark-brown rope belt, charcoal leggings, bare ash-grey three-toed feet. He holds a tall gnarled walking staff of pale weathered grey-brown driftwood in his left hand. No vest, no white trousers, no red, no blue, no red-and-white spotted cap. Moody, low-key, soft top light, 3D animated feature film render, adult and somber, not cute. Vertical 9:16 composition. No text, no lettering, no labels, no logos, no watermark. Save the best result as `BEFORE_ref.png` and attach it to shots 2, 5, 6S and 7S. --- ### Shot 1: "Something falls" (3 s) **Attach:** `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (sky and field only). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic extreme wide shot of a vast night sky above a rolling field. The sky fills the upper two-thirds: a deep purple and indigo galaxy with a bright diagonal Milky Way band of violet and magenta dust and scattered sharp white and blue stars, matching the sky in the attached reference. Along the bottom third, a thin last band of orange-red sunset glow sits behind low dark hills on the horizon. Below it lies a dark rolling field filled with thousands of small translucent green frogs sitting among dark clover leaves, glowing only faintly, dim and muted, like embers almost out. In the upper right of the sky, a small black meteor, an oily black droplet shape, falls diagonally toward the field, trailing a thin streak of neon-green sparks and faint smoke. The mood is still, lonely and ominous: something is wrong in the air. No characters visible. Cold, dark colour grade, deep shadows, slight haze over the field. 3D animated feature film render, cinematic, adult horror mood, not cute. Keep the important detail between 15% and 80% of the frame height. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The black meteor streaks diagonally from the upper right toward the horizon, leaving a fading green trail. The stars twinkle. The camera tilts down slowly. The frogs stay still. --- ### Shot 2: "Alone" (3 s) **Attach:** `BEFORE_ref.png`, `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (world only). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic medium-wide shot from behind and slightly below a small lone chibi mushroom-headed wanderer standing in a field of dimly glowing translucent green frogs and dark clover at night. He is seen from the back three-quarter view, small in the lower middle of the frame, leaning on a tall gnarled pale driftwood staff held in his left hand. Match the attached character sheet exactly: wide matte dusty bone-cream mushroom cap with seven to nine flat irregular slate-grey spots, a crack and a little moss at the rim, a knee-length ragged faded moss-grey linen smock with a rope belt, charcoal leggings, bare ash-grey feet. His shoulders are hunched and his head is tilted slightly down. Above him fills the frame: a purple and indigo galaxy sky with a diagonal Milky Way, and a thin orange-red sunset glow on the far horizon giving his cap a faint warm rim light. A tiny green streak of a falling meteor is visible high in the sky. The frogs around him are dim and motionless. Lonely, uneasy night, cold colour grade, deep shadows. 3D animated feature film render, adult and somber, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The wanderer slowly lifts his head to look up at the sky. The green meteor streak grows brighter overhead. The camera is static. --- ### Shot 3: "Impact" (3 s) **Attach:** `BEFORE_ref.png`, `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (world only). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic wide shot of a dark field of dimly glowing translucent green frogs and clover at night, under a purple galaxy sky with a thin orange-red sunset glow on the horizon. In the middle distance, centre frame, an oily black meteor is a moment from hitting the ground: a glossy black droplet the size of a boulder, wrapped in a hot neon-green glow and trailing green sparks and smoke, casting harsh green light across the frogs and clover beneath it. In the lower left foreground, the small wanderer from the attached character sheet stands in dark silhouette with his back to camera, wide mushroom cap outlined by green light, leaning on his tall gnarled staff. The frogs nearest the meteor are lit sharply green, and those farther away are almost dark. Tense, frozen moment before impact. High contrast, deep shadows, slight haze, cinematic depth of field. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The meteor slams into the field and a dome of glossy black liquid splashes up. A shockwave ring spreads outward and the frog glows go dark in a widening circle. Brief camera shake. The wanderer flinches. --- ### Shot 4: "It crawls" (4 s) **Attach:** `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (frogs and clover only). Optional: `images/round6-2026-10-09-tongue/venom_world_c.png` for the tendril shapes only; ignore its print style, pipes and background. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic ground-level macro shot inside a field of translucent green glowing frogs and dark clover leaves at night. A thick living mass of glossy jet-black symbiote ooze crawls along the ground toward the camera, filling the lower middle of the frame, with thin black tendrils reaching forward between the frogs and black droplets beading on its surface. The ooze is wet, mirror-glossy and reflects the green light. The frogs it has already passed have gone completely dark and grey, and the frogs ahead of it, near the camera, still glow neon green in sharp focus. In the soft out-of-focus background, upper middle of the frame, stand the bare ash-grey three-toed feet and the bottom of a pale driftwood staff belonging to a small figure, with the hem of a ragged moss-grey smock. A thin orange-red horizon glow and purple sky show at the very top of the frame. Creeping dread, low and close, shallow depth of field, high contrast. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The black ooze creeps steadily toward the camera, with tendrils feeling forward between the frogs. Each frog it passes dims to dark. The camera pulls back slowly at ground level. --- ### Shot 5: "Contact" (3 s) **Attach:** `BEFORE_ref.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic close-up at ankle height of the bare feet of the small wanderer from the attached character sheet, standing in dark clover at night. Two bare matte ash-grey three-toed feet, the frayed hem of a knee-length faded moss-grey linen smock and charcoal leggings at the top of the frame, and the base of a tall gnarled pale driftwood staff planted in the clover beside the right foot. From the lower left, a single glossy jet-black symbiote tendril, as thick as a finger and wet like liquid latex, rises out of the clover in an S-curve and has just touched the side of the left foot, with a black droplet hanging from its tip. The frogs around the feet are dark and grey. A faint green glow comes from frogs farther back, out of focus, and there is a thin orange-red rim light along the edge of the feet. Tense, intimate, creeping dread, shallow depth of field, deep shadows. 3D animated feature film render, adult body-horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The black tendril coils quickly around the ankle twice and tightens. The foot jerks back but is held in place. The camera is static. --- ### Shot 6: "Engulf" (5 s, START + END morph): centrepiece part 1 **START: attach** `BEFORE_ref.png`, `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (framing and world). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic full-body shot from the front and slightly low, of the small chibi mushroom-headed wanderer from the attached character sheet, centred in a field of dim translucent green frogs and dark clover at night. Exact match to the character sheet: wide matte dusty bone-cream mushroom cap with seven to nine flat irregular slate-grey spots, a hairline crack and moss at the rim; matte pale ash-grey face with small round black bead eyes wide with fear; a knee-length ragged faded moss-grey linen smock with a rope belt, charcoal leggings, bare ash-grey three-toed feet. He stands frozen, looking down at his legs, right hand raised in alarm, left hand gripping a tall gnarled pale driftwood staff. A pool of glossy jet-black symbiote ooze surrounds his feet and has climbed up both legs to the knees, wet and mirror-glossy, with tendrils reaching up toward the smock hem. Behind him: a purple galaxy sky, a thin orange-red sunset glow on the horizon rimming his cap. The frogs are dark near him. Soft cold key light from the front so every detail reads. 3D animated feature film render, adult body-horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **END: attach** shot 6 START image (first), `wrap_art_center_front_a.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic full-body shot from the front and slightly low, with framing, camera, background and pose identical to the first attached image. The small chibi mushroom-headed figure stands centred in a field of dim translucent green frogs and dark clover at night, but now his entire body from the feet to the neck is covered in glossy jet-black symbiote skin, like wet liquid latex with mirror highlights and drips running off the arms. The smock and leggings are gone, absorbed into the black. The feet have become chunky glossy black three-claw feet, matching the second attached reference. On the centre of his chest a white toad emblem has formed: a frog seen from above with its legs splayed and dripping paint-like edges. His right hand is a glossy black fist raised near his chest, and his left black hand grips the same plain pale driftwood staff, still unwrapped. His head is still the original wide matte dusty bone-cream cap with flat slate-grey spots and the pale ash-grey face with small black frightened eyes, with black ooze just reaching the chin. Purple galaxy sky, orange-red horizon rim light, soft front key light. 3D animated feature film render, adult body-horror, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The black ooze surges upward over the body from the knees to the neck, swallowing the smock. The glossy surface spreads like liquid and the white toad emblem blooms on the chest. Slow push in. --- ### Shot 7: "Becoming" (5 s, START + END morph): centrepiece part 2 **START: attach** shot 6 END image (first), `BEFORE_ref.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic close-up of the head and shoulders of the small chibi mushroom-headed figure from the first attached image, centred, the camera straight on at eye level. His wide matte dusty bone-cream mushroom cap fills the upper half of the frame, with seven to nine flat irregular slate-grey spots, a hairline crack on the right side and moss under the rim. His face is matte pale ash-grey, with small round black bead eyes wide open in fear and a short flat mouth line, no eyebrows. His shoulders are covered in glossy jet-black symbiote skin, and the black ooze is climbing over his chin and cheeks in wet tongues, while thin black tendrils have started to creep over the rim of the cap from below. Black droplets cling to his face. Out-of-focus background: a purple galaxy sky and a thin orange-red horizon glow behind the cap, giving it a warm rim light, and faint green frog glow from below. Soft front key light. Tight, claustrophobic, body-horror moment. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **END: attach** shot 7 START image (first), `layouts/toad-venom-lid-top/head/lid_head_a.png`, `wrap_art_center_front_a.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic close-up of the head and shoulders, with framing, camera, scale and background identical to the first attached image, but the head is now fully transformed to match the second attached reference exactly. A wide glossy jet-black mushroom-dome cap covered in large round raised glossy bumps of mixed sizes, each with a mirror highlight, and thick black slime drips hanging as teardrop beads from the rim. Under the cap, a glossy black face with two large white Venom-style eyes, angular and swooping, pointed at the outer top corners, with no pupils. A very wide grin with the mouth closed, showing two rows of sharp white triangular teeth clenched together, with a thin line of neon-green slime between the teeth. No tongue visible yet. Glossy black shoulders with drips. Out-of-focus purple galaxy sky behind, an orange-red rim light along the cap edge, green under-glow from below, and a soft front key light so the black reads as glossy, not flat. Menacing and confident. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** Black ooze floods up over the face and cap. The grey spots swell into glossy black bumps, slime drips from the rim, the small eyes stretch into white Venom eye shapes, and a jagged toothy grin splits across the face. Camera static. --- ### Shot 8: "The tongue" (3 s, START + END): the drop **START: attach** shot 7 END image (first), `lid_head_a.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic extreme close-up from slightly below of the lower face of the transformed glossy jet-black mushroom-headed creature from the attached images. The two large white angular Venom-style eyes sit at the top of the frame, partly cut off. The lower edge of the black bumped cap and its hanging black slime drips frame the top corners. The centre of the frame is a very wide closed grin: two rows of sharp white triangular teeth clenched tight, with neon-green slime oozing between them and one green drip starting to fall from the lower teeth. The glossy black skin around the mouth shows mirror highlights and wet texture. The lower 40% of the frame is the dark glossy chin and chest, fading to soft out-of-focus green frog glow. Orange-red rim light on the right edge, soft front key light. Tense, coiled, about to burst. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **END: attach** shot 8 START image (first), `lid_head_a.png`, `wrap_art_center_front_a.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic extreme close-up from slightly below, with framing, camera and lighting identical to the first attached image, but the jaws are now thrown wide open, matching the mouth in the second attached reference. Rows of sharp white triangular teeth line a huge open mouth, with a dark red interior. A long, glossy, wet pink-red tongue hangs out of the mouth and down past the chin, curling toward the viewer's left, with a ridged wet surface and highlights. Neon-green slime drips from the tongue tip and strings between the upper and lower teeth. The two large white angular Venom-style eyes sit at the top of the frame, narrowed and fierce. The black bumped cap rim and black slime drips frame the top corners. Glossy black skin with mirror highlights, an orange-red rim light on the right edge, green glow from below. Powerful, aggressive, adult, not cute. 3D animated feature film render. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** The jaws snap open fast and the long pink tongue unrolls out and down. Green slime strings stretch and drip. Quick push in, then hold. --- ### Shot 9: "The staff" (3 s, START + END) **START: attach** shot 6 END image (first), `wrap_art_center_front_a.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic medium close-up of a small glossy jet-black symbiote hand gripping a tall gnarled walking staff in the centre of the frame. The staff runs vertically through the whole frame, made of plain pale weathered grey-brown driftwood with a knot in the upper third. It is bare, with no wrapping. The hand is chunky and glossy like wet liquid latex, with mirror highlights, and black drips run from the wrist down onto the wood, where a thin film of black has just started to spread from the fingers. Behind, out of focus: a field of translucent neon-green glowing frogs and dark clover, a purple galaxy sky at the top, and a thin orange-red horizon glow. Soft front key light, green bounce light from below, and an orange rim light on the edge of the staff. Calm and ominous, a moment before something happens. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **END: attach** shot 9 START image (first), `wrap_art_center_front_a.png`. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic medium close-up, with framing, camera, hand and background identical to the first attached image, but the tall gnarled staff is now wrapped from the hand to the top of the frame in spiralling glossy jet-black venom tendrils, coiled tightly around the wood like vines, matching the staff in the second attached reference. Brown wood shows between the coils. Thick black slime drips hang from the coils as teardrop beads, and one thin tendril curls off the top. The glossy black hand still grips the staff in the same place. Mirror highlights on every coil. Out-of-focus field of translucent neon-green glowing frogs and dark clover behind, a purple galaxy sky at the top, and an orange-red horizon glow. Soft front key light, green bounce from below, orange rim light on the staff edge. Dark, powerful, finished weapon. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** Black tendrils spiral up the staff from the hand toward the top, coiling tight and dripping. The camera tilts up, following the wrap. --- ### Shot 10: "Rise" (4 s, START + END): hero beat **START: attach** `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (first), `images/round8-2026-10-09-movie/movie_nogear_b_mix.png` (front lighting). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic low-angle wide shot of the exact glossy black symbiote mushroom character from the first attached reference, crouched low on one knee in the centre of a field of translucent green frogs and dark clover at night. His head is bowed so the wide glossy jet-black mushroom cap with large round raised bumps and hanging black slime drips faces the camera and hides most of the face, with only the lower edge of the white Venom eyes and a glint of sharp teeth visible. The white dripping toad emblem shows on his chest. His left hand grips the tall gnarled staff, wrapped in spiralling glossy black venom tendrils and planted in the ground beside him, and his right fist rests on his knee. The frogs around him are dark and grey, unlit. A purple and indigo galaxy sky with a diagonal Milky Way fills the upper frame, with a thin orange-red sunset glow on the horizon rimming the cap. Soft front key light keeps the black glossy. A coiled, ominous pause. 3D animated feature film render, adult and menacing, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **END: attach** `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (first), shot 10 START image. > Vertical 9:16 cinematic low-angle wide shot that recreates the first attached reference image as closely as possible, reframed vertically. The small chibi glossy jet-black symbiote mushroom character stands tall in the centre of the frame in a vast field of brightly glowing translucent neon-green frogs and dark clover. Wide glossy black mushroom cap with large round raised bumps and teardrop slime drips, large white angular Venom-style eyes, a wide mouth of sharp white teeth, and a long pink-red tongue hanging out toward the viewer's left with a neon-green slime drip. A white dripping toad emblem on his chest. His right fist is clenched at his chest, and his left hand holds upright a tall gnarled staff wrapped in spiralling glossy black venom tendrils. Glossy wet-latex body with drips, chunky three-claw feet. The frogs now glow at full brightness all around him. Behind: a huge purple and indigo galaxy sky with a diagonal Milky Way and an orange-red sunset glow on the horizon rimming the cap. Front-lit, glossy, heroic and menacing. 3D animated feature film render, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** He rises from the crouch to standing and lifts his head. The frog field glow surges back on in a wave spreading outward from his feet. Slow low-angle push in. --- ### Shot 11: "Title" (3 s) **Attach:** `images/round7-2026-10-09-teaser/toad_teaser_eyes.png` (darkness and lighting), `lid_head_a.png` (the face design). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic teaser close-up in near-total darkness. The face of the glossy jet-black mushroom-headed symbiote creature from the second attached reference emerges from pure black in the upper half of the frame, lit only by a thin cold rim light that traces the edge of the wide black mushroom cap and catches the tops of a few large round glossy bumps and two hanging slime drips. The two large white angular Venom-style eyes glow softly out of the dark, pointed at the outer top corners and narrowed. Below them, a wide grin of sharp white triangular teeth catches a faint highlight, with a single thin neon-green slime drip. Everything else falls off into deep black. The lower half of the frame, from 50% to 85% of the height, is empty pure black, kept clear for a title added later. Low-key, high-contrast movie teaser poster lighting, as in the first attached reference. Glossy, wet textures. 3D animated feature film render, adult horror mood, not cute. No text, no lettering, no logos, no watermark. **Motion:** A slow band of rim light slides across the cap from left to right, and the white eyes narrow slightly. Very slow push in. Everything else stays in darkness. --- ### Shot 12: End card plate (4 s) **Do not generate the jar.** Composite the real render (`mockups/jars-2026-10-09/toad_venom_v6/hero.png`, or a 9:16 re-render of the same 3D mockup) onto this background plate in post. Video models garble label text and change the jar shape. **Attach:** `wrap_art_center_front_a.png` (world only). > Vertical 9:16 cinematic background plate, with no characters and no products. A dark, flat, moss-covered stone sits in the lower-middle foreground, centred at about 60% of the frame height, empty and clean on top, like a pedestal, lit by a soft front key light and a faint green glow from below. Around and behind it stretches a field of translucent neon-green glowing frogs and dark clover, softly out of focus with a shallow depth of field. They glow at medium brightness, warm and calm after the storm. The upper half of the frame is a deep purple and indigo galaxy sky with a diagonal Milky Way band and sharp stars, with a thin orange-red sunset glow on the far horizon behind low dark hills. A faint drifting haze of neon-green spores in the air. The upper 35% of the frame is mostly sky, kept clean for a logo, and the bottom 20% is dark clover and shadow, kept clean for small legal text. Premium, dark, luxurious mood, cinematic depth. 3D animated feature film render. No text, no lettering, no logos, no products, no jar, no watermark. **Motion (plate only):** The frog glows pulse slowly, the spores drift upward and the stars twinkle. The camera holds static. Add a 2.5D push on the composited jar in post. --- ## 5. Titles, logos, jar and music ### Where the brand appears | Time | Element | Placement | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | 0.3-2.8 s | "EXOTIC EMPORIUM PRESENTS" | Centre, 40% height, small gold serif, fade in and out | Sets the movie-trailer tone. Type only, no logo yet. | | 36.5-39.0 s | **TOAD VENOM** title | Lower half of shot 11 (55-78% height) | TOAD in the multicolour red/yellow/green/blue letters, VENOM in white 90s comic letters with the navy/royal-blue spiky splash, as on the jar. Slam in on the bass hit with a 2-frame white flash on the eyes. | | 39.0-43.0 s | EE caduceus logo (`brand/lid_top_ee_caduceus_padded.png`) | Top, 15-30% height | Gold on the sky, with a subtle glint sweep. | | 39.0-43.0 s | Jar render (`mockups/jars-2026-10-09/toad_venom_v6/hero.png`) | Centre, standing on the moss stone, 35-72% height | Cut it out cleanly, add a contact shadow and a green rim light from the frogs to sit it in the plate, and a slow 2.5D push of 3-4%. | | 39.0-43.0 s | Exotic Emporium crown wordmark (`brand/lid_top_crown_logo_padded.png`) | Below the jar, 72-80% height | Small, gold. | | 39.0-43.0 s | "21+ ONLY" and "Lic. No. C__-_______" (licensee number) | Bottom, inside 80-86% height, plain white small type | **The license number is required on California cannabis ads.** Get the real number from the client. | No logos appear in shots 1-10. The brand stays out of the horror so the end card lands clean. ### Music and sound - **Genre:** dark cinematic trap / horror phonk hybrid: distorted 808s, a low male choir pad, metallic hits. **No chiptune, no 8-bit, no playful or bouncy sounds**, because they read as made for kids and as a Nintendo reference. - **Tempo and key:** 140 BPM (half-time feel), F minor. Pick the track first, then nudge the cuts onto bar lines. - **Cue sheet:** - 0.0-6.0 s: low drone, crickets and a sparse, deep frog chorus. The meteor whistle rises from 3.5 s. - **7.0 s: impact thud**, then the frog chorus and crickets cut out completely. 2 s of near-silence (wind only). - 9.0-16.0 s: wet creeping squelches, one heartbeat at 9.5 s, then a doubled heartbeat from 13.0 s. A riser starts at 14.0 s. - 16.0-25.5 s: the riser builds under crackling, stretching slime sounds (like latex and wet leather), with a reversed cymbal into 25.5 s. - 25.5-26.0 s: **hard silence** (half a second, black ooze sound only). - **26.0 s: THE DROP** lands on the first frame of shot 8, as the jaws snap open: 808 plus distorted bass, a wet slurp, and a low non-verbal growl (no dialogue). - 29.0-36.0 s: the full beat. A tendril whip sound on each bar in shot 9, and a choir swell under the frog-glow wave in shot 10. - **36.5 s: bass slam** for the TOAD VENOM title. - 39.0-43.0 s: the beat drops out. A sub tail plus one low hit as the jar lands, then fade to black at 43.0 s. - Mute the audio that Veo or other models generate. All sound is designed in post. --- ## 6. Production order (recommended) 1. Shot 0 (BEFORE model sheet). Lock it with the client before anything else, because every before shot depends on it. 2. Shots 6 START, 6 END, 7 START, 7 END, 8 START, 8 END. This is the centrepiece: test it first, and if the morph fails, the fallbacks below change the plan. 3. Shots 9 and 10 pairs, then 11, then the atmosphere shots 1-5 (the easiest), then the 12 plate. 4. Animate: use **Kling in start+end frame mode** for 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, and **Veo or Seedance** with a start frame only for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11 and 12. Generate 3-4 takes per shot and keep the best. 5. Edit to the music, then add titles, logos, the jar and legal type, then grade everything to one colour look (crush the blacks, keep the gloss highlights). --- ## 7. Risks and fallbacks ### Hardest shots for current video models | Shot | Risk | Fallback | |---|---|---| | **6 Engulf** | The model crossfades or dissolves instead of making the ooze climb. The smock may flicker, the staff may change, and the body may lose its shape. | (a) Add a **middle keyframe** (ooze to the waist, smock half absorbed) and chain two 3 s morphs: START to MID to END. (b) **Reverse trick:** start from the END frame, prompt "the black symbiote skin melts and drains down off his body into the ground, revealing a moss-grey smock", then play it backwards. Draining is easier for models than climbing. (c) Post fallback: grow an animated black luma-matte wipe upward over the START image and dissolve to END inside the matte, with a slime overlay. | | **7 Head morph** | The face and identity drift, the model invents an in-between creature, the bumps pop in at random, or the eyes do not land as Venom shapes. | (a) Lock the camera and keep the head perfectly still in both frames (same scale and position). (b) Middle keyframe: cap half black, with one white eye forming. (c) **Beat-cut:** hold START for 2.5 s with the ooze crawling (start-frame-only clip), then hard-cut on a heartbeat with a 4-frame slime splash covering the lens, and reveal END with a slow push. A cut hides the morph and still plays as a transformation. | | **8 Tongue** | The tongue appears from nowhere, comes out at the wrong length, splits into two tongues, or the teeth melt. | (a) Make the START frame's mouth slightly open with the tongue tip visible behind the teeth, so the model only extends it. (b) Cut straight on the drop to END and use a fast push-in plus a slime drip (start-frame-only). The drop sells it. | | **9 Staff wrap** | The coils appear randomly or the staff bends and warps. | (a) Prompt it as a single tendril pouring upward instead of many coils. (b) Cut from START to END on the beat with a whip sound and a 2-frame motion blur. | | **10 Rise** | The pose or the character drifts between crouch and stand (cap shape, tongue direction, which hand holds the staff). | (a) Use a start-frame-only clip from END with "the frog field lights up" and a push-in, dropping the rise. (b) Shorten it to 3 s to reduce drift. | | **4 Ooze crawl** | The ooze teleports, or the frogs morph and multiply. | Use Veo for liquid physics. Keep the frogs static, and dim the frog glow in post with tracked masks if the model ignores it. | | **11 Title** | The model brightens the frame or reveals the whole body. | Use the keyframe as a still with a post-only light sweep and a push-in. | ### Consistency and look risks - **The Wanderer drifts toward Nintendo's Toad** (models default to a red-and-white cap and a vest). Always attach `BEFORE_ref.png` and keep "no red-and-white spotted cap, no vest" in every before prompt. Reject any frame with symmetrical big round spots or a white face. - **Glossy black reads as a flat silhouette** in night scenes. Every after prompt asks for a soft front key light, and in the grade the gloss highlights must stay visible. - **Gibberish text and signage** appearing in frames: every prompt says "no text". Paint out any that appears before animating. - **Jar label:** never generated. Always composite the real render. ### Compliance (California, 21+): flag for the client's compliance reviewer (this is not legal advice) - **Attractive to people under 21:** California bans cannabis ads that use cartoon characters or content known to appeal mainly to people under 21. A chibi 3D character is exactly that kind of risk. Mitigations built into this board: the before character is weathered and frightened, from behind or in shadow, with about 1.5 s of clear face. The tone is horror throughout, with no bright daytime and no comedy beats. The music is trap/horror with no chiptune, nothing is consumed, and there are no claims. The client should still have the final cut reviewed. - **The frogs look like gummy candy** in the current art (translucent, glowing, rounded). A candy look next to a cannabis product is a known red flag. In video, render them with more glassy amphibian texture and keep them still and watchful. - **Placement:** for California, ads may run only where at least 71.6% of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 or older. On Instagram, set the account or post to a 21+ age restriction. **WhatsApp status cannot be age-gated**, so share it only with known adult business contacts. Meta also restricts cannabis promotion and may remove organic posts, so do not boost this content as a paid ad. - **Required on the end card:** the licensee's license number. Recommended: "21+ ONLY". Do not add effect, health or potency language, and do not lean on the "toad venom" psychedelic association in captions or copy. ### Trademark resemblance still present (flag to client) - **Marvel / Sony "Venom" (high):** the product name "VENOM", the 90s Venom-comic lettering, and the character's white angular eyes, rows of teeth, long tongue and chest emblem layout together copy Venom's protected look. The art changes (mushroom, toad emblem) do not remove the risk while the name and lettering stay. - **Nintendo "Toad" / Super Mario (medium):** the multicolour TOAD lettering echoes the Super Mario logo style, and the chibi mushroom-cap proportions with round cap discs echo Toad. The before character in this board is redesigned (bone-cream cap with irregular spots, moss smock, no vest), but the after cap's big round discs still echo Toad's spot layout. Avoid any Mario sounds, pipes, coin or power-up imagery in this cut. The Mario-world venom posters (`round6`) are deliberately **not** used here. - **Recommended:** a trademark check on the "TOAD VENOM" name and lettering before any public posting.