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Prompt Mortem

The Graveyard Grok Imagine Case #002

Published 3 Nov 2026

[Case study] Video

Grok Imagine: Wrong Man, Right Jacket, Unscheduled Exorcism

A ten-second character entrance became an unsolicited ghost story. Grok copied Callum’s jacket and accessories while losing his facial identity, then interpreted a slow camera push-in as a second, floating incarnation of the wrong man. Promising mansion. Unexpected haunting.

Foundation model

Grok

SpaceXAI · Imagine

Provider

ArtCraft

Recorded cost

USD 0.92

92 credits · USD 0.092/s

Generation clips

1 clip

10s

Resolution

1280×720

24 fps

Outcome

Failure

The assignment

Objective

Test whether Grok can turn a multi-angle character reference into a coherent ten-second cinematic scene, preserving facial identity while following timed actions, camera direction and dialogue.

Expected outcome

One recognisable Callum enters the mansion, drops his bag, runs a hand through his hair and notices Edmund’s portrait. The camera slowly moves closer as he delivers his insult with a small crooked smirk, before he walks past. Natural movement, consistent identity and no cuts—or supernatural manifestations.

// Generations

Attempt 01

Callum's Xmas spirit

  • Video generation

Grok Imagine · ArtCraft · USD 0.92 · 10s · 1280×720

Input / Instructions

Original input

artcraft_3eqcqnz2sscx1y13y45qxbn2jqhpkj0j.png

Reference image · PNG · 1024×1536 · 2.47 MB

The Haunting

Download original

Original prompt

Duration: 10 seconds. Photorealistic cinematic live-action, 24 fps, 16:9.

CHARACTER: Callum Ward, 26. Use the supplied character reference as the exact facial identity. Preserve his grey-blue eyes, dark messy hair, eyebrow piercing, facial structure, stubble, lean muscular build, tattoos and silver chain. No facial changes.

SCENE: Entrance hall of Coldharbour, a grand but ageing English country mansion. Late afternoon. Cold daylight filters through tall windows. Dark oak panelling, old portraits and a sweeping staircase.

ACTION:
0–3s: Medium shot. Callum enters wearing his battered black leather jacket, dark T-shirt and jeans, carrying a worn duffel bag. He looks around with obvious contempt.
3–6s: He drops the bag onto the floor, runs one hand through his hair, then notices a large portrait of Edmund Harcourt.
6–8s: Slow camera push-in. Callum looks at the portrait, gives a small crooked smirk and mutters in a natural, slightly rough London English accent: "Still a miserable old cunt, then."
8–10s: He shakes his head, gives a quiet humourless chuckle, puts his hands in his pockets and walks past the portrait.

CAMERA: Single continuous shot. Subtle handheld realism, natural focus transitions, restrained camera movement. Realistic weight, anatomy, eye movements and facial microexpressions. Precise dialogue lip-sync.

AUDIO: Footsteps on wooden flooring, soft leather movement, duffel bag hitting the floor, quiet room ambience, natural spoken dialogue. No music.

IMPORTANT: Maintain exact character identity across every frame. No exaggerated expressions, morphing, face changes, artificial gestures, random dialogue or scene cuts.

Generated result

artcraft-m_398r95s06f5cbscwet9pn8zhf5s2t8.mp4

MP4 · 4.81 MB

Download original

Supporting evidence

Technical record
Credits
92

// Dissection

The autopsy

Overall observations

The opening broadly follows the requested action and establishes a suitably gloomy mansion. Callum enters carrying a bag, drops it and runs a hand through his hair.

Unfortunately, the man already looks unlike the supplied character. The leather jacket, dark hair, piercing and chain survived; the facial identity did not.

Around halfway through, the requested camera push-in becomes a ghostly superimposition. A second, enlarged version of his face fades into the foreground while the original figure remains behind him. The floating double performs its moment, develops an increasingly uncanny grin and dissolves again.
And the haunting isn’t confined to the visuals. The audio adds its own unnerving atmosphere, pushing the whole thing further into ghost-story territory. I asked for footsteps, rustling leather, a bag hitting the floor and one casually muttered insult. Somehow we’re conducting a séance.

The floating duplicate is merely the visual confirmation that something has gone terribly wrong at Coldharbour.

Grok went A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story on me.

What worked

  • Convincing mansion atmosphere, with dark wood panelling, a sweeping staircase and an imposing portrait.
  • Broad adherence to the opening actions, including the bag drop and hand through the hair.
  • Recognisable wardrobe and accessory cues from the reference.
  • Delivered the requested 16:9 format at 24 fps, approximately ten seconds long.

What failed

  • Facial identity does not faithfully match the supplied character sheet.
  • The camera push-in is replaced by an enlarged, superimposed duplicate of the character.
  • Two versions of the subject appear simultaneously, breaking spatial and shot continuity.
  • The restrained crooked smirk becomes a much broader, uncanny grin.
  • The ghostly dissolve contradicts the requested naturalistic, continuous live-action shot.

// Before the next run

Production implications

This take is unusable for the intended scene. Matching clothes and accessories cannot compensate for casting a different face, and the duplicate character breaks the shot completely.

The setting is promising, but this result does not provide the identity consistency or camera control I need for character-led filmmaking. Fixing it would require replacing substantial footage rather than making a minor edit.

// Final assessment

The verdict.

I supplied an entire character sheet. Grok kept the jacket and hired someone else.

Then, when asked to move the camera closer, it summoned his spirit into the foreground while his body waited politely in the background.

The mansion looks good. Several opening actions are recognisable. But I need my character to remain my character—and preferably occupy one body at a time.

Failed. Exorcist required.

Not fit for my production workflow

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