🗯️🥪 The Giant — "The boundary with a parent"
Shared conventions (specs, sound arc, brand rules, aspect reframes, AI porting notes) live in README.md. This file is the scenario.
Promotes: https://www.hivejournal.com/rehearsal-room/shared/telling-my-parents Fear-creature: 🗯️ a towering, disappointed giant parent (guilt) · Payoff: 🥪 packed lunch Logline: Telling your dad you're changing careers, you brace for a skyscraper-sized wall of disappointment — until rehearsal shrinks him back to human size, and the giant scold turns into a worried nod and a packed lunch. Persona (from the share): Dad — measures everything by achievement; you're leaving a stable, prestigious job and dreading the disappointment. The prepared line (the calm payoff turn): "I want to tell you about a big decision — and I want you to know I've thought hard about the risks."
⚠️ Tone: the joke is the size of the imagined disappointment, not the parent. Dad loves you under the worry — the payoff proves it.
The metaphor
The fear is guilt / disapproval, so the fear-creature is scale: the parent swells into a colossal, looming, head-shaking giant (or a skyscraper-tall wagging finger), the person tiny and craning up at him. Rehearsal shrinks him back to normal human size — and instead of the dreaded scolding, he gives a worried-but- listening nod and hands over a packed lunch (parental love that was under the worry the whole time). Maps to the real result: worried but listening.
Treatment (26s)
| Time | Visual | On-screen text | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:02 | A family kitchen/dining "stage" breathes to life, slow push-in | "You, about to tell your dad:" | ominous drone |
| 0:02–0:05 | The person opens their mouth — Dad rapidly swells into a towering, head-shaking giant that fills the room, casting a huge shadow over the tiny person | — | low boom + record-scratch |
| 0:05–0:09 | Giant looms, slow disappointed head-shakes; a giant finger wags; the person shrinks smaller under the shadow | "(He's 5'9". Not a skyscraper.)" | ominous rumble, chaos stings |
| 0:09–0:12 | Cut to real Rehearsal Room screen-capture, scrolling Dad's persona + approaches | "So they rehearsed it first." | rumble fades; music turns warm |
| 0:12–0:17 | Person stands calm; the giant shrinks back down to normal human size, the scowl softening into a worried, listening face | "Tried a few ways in. Saw how each might land." | warm, hopeful |
| 0:17–0:20 | Now eye-to-eye, the person delivers the prepared line | — | — |
| 0:20–0:24 | Dad considers, gives a worried nod… then quietly holds out a packed lunch (paper bag, a thermos); the person takes it | "Same dad. Different you." → "He was worried, not against you. 🥪" | gentle triumphant sting |
| 0:24–0:26 | End card on the kitchen bg + logo | "A rehearsal, not a crystal ball — but you walk in ready." → "Rehearse the conversation → hivejournal.com/rehearsal-room" | resolve |
Alt endings: Honest-funny — giant shrinks but still mutters "…and if it fails?"; person smiles: "He's listening. That's the whole win." · Meta button (+2s) — the lunch bag has a sticky note: "proud of you (don't tell your mother I said it like that)."
15-second cut
| Time | Visual | On-screen text |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:01 | Family kitchen stage, fast push-in | "POV: telling your parents the big decision" |
| 0:01–0:03.5 | Dad swells into a towering disappointed giant (hook) | — |
| 0:03.5–0:06 | Giant looms + head-shakes; person tiny in the shadow | "(He's 5'9". Not a skyscraper.)" |
| 0:06–0:09 | Rehearsal Room screen-capture | "So they rehearsed it first." |
| 0:09–0:11.5 | Person calm + line; giant shrinks to human size, softens | "Same dad. Different you." |
| 0:11.5–0:14 | Dad nods, hands over a packed lunch | "He was worried, not against you. 🥪" |
| 0:14–0:15 | End card + logo | "Rehearse it → hivejournal.com/rehearsal-room" |
CapCut text track (15s)
1. 0.0 → 1.0 "POV: telling your parents the big decision" upper-third · Fade · bold (fit width)
2. 3.6 → 6.0 "(He's 5'9\". Not a skyscraper.)" lower-third · Fade · smaller italic muted
3. 6.1 → 9.0 "So they rehearsed it first." lower-third · Slide-up · medium bold
4. 9.1 → 11.4 "Same dad. Different you." lower-third · Pop · medium bold
5. 11.5 → 13.9 "He was worried, not against you. 🥪" center · Fade · big bold, warm tint
6. 14.0 → 15.0 "Rehearse it →" + "hivejournal.com/rehearsal-room" center · Fade · emerald accent
Audio markers: 1.0 LOW BOOM + scratch · 6.1 rumble fades → warm shift · 11.5 gentle triumphant sting (README sound arc).
Veo 3 prompt sheet
Style anchor with room = "family kitchen / dining nook". Reference still of both actors (adult child + dad) for consistency; feed Shot 1's last frame into Shot 2.
SHOT 1 — Family kitchen (~3s)
Slow push-in on a warm family kitchen "stage" under a soft dramatic spotlight, dark
theatrical backdrop, faint haze, still and a little tense, no people. [style anchor]
Audio: a low ominous drone, rising slightly.
SHOT 2 — Dad becomes a giant (~4s) [start image: Shot 1 last frame]
A middle-aged dad standing in the kitchen rapidly swells into a towering, looming
giant that fills the room and ceiling, slowly shaking his head in disappointment,
casting a huge shadow over a tiny adult child craning up at him. Obviously a playful
scale VFX, dramatic but not scary. [style anchor]
Audio: a deep low boom, then a vinyl record-scratch.
SHOT 3 — Giant looms (~4s)
The giant dad looms with slow disappointed head-shakes and a wagging giant finger; the
tiny person shrinks further into the shadow, spotlit and theatrical. [style anchor]
Audio: an ominous rumble, chaotic comedic stings.
SHOT 4 — (real screen-capture, do NOT generate) Rehearsal Room telling-my-parents share.
SHOT 5 — Giant shrinks (~6s)
The person stands calm; the giant dad shrinks smoothly back down to normal human size,
his scowl softening into a worried, listening expression. Light warms from cold blue
to gold. [style anchor]
Audio: rumble fading, music turning warm and hopeful.
SHOT 6 — The line (~4s)
Medium two-shot, now eye-to-eye: the person says evenly: "I want to tell you about a
big decision — and I want you to know I've thought hard about the risks." [style anchor]
SHOT 7 — The packed lunch (~5s)
The dad considers, gives a slow worried nod, then quietly holds out a brown-paper
packed lunch and a thermos; the adult child accepts it, both a little emotional. Warm,
tender, gently funny. [style anchor]
Audio: a soft, gentle triumphant sting.
SHOT 8 — End card (build in CapCut): kitchen bg + logo + 🥪 + URL.
Midjourney stills
STAGE PLATE (Shot 1 start-frame / end card)
cinematic photograph of a warm empty family kitchen "stage" under a soft dramatic
spotlight, dark theatrical backdrop, faint haze, shallow depth of field, tender and a
little tense, premium film still --style raw --ar 9:16 --v 7 --stylize 150
--no people, text, watermark
PACKED-LUNCH KEY ART
cinematic photograph in a warm kitchen: a middle-aged dad, normal size, with a worried
but loving expression, holding out a brown-paper packed lunch and a thermos to his
adult child who accepts it, both a little emotional, golden light, premium film still
--style raw --ar 4:5 --v 7 --stylize 120 --no scary, gore, text, watermark
THUMBNAIL
cinematic photograph, low worm's-eye angle: a colossal towering dad filling a kitchen,
slowly shaking his head, casting a huge shadow over a tiny adult child looking up,
playful giant VFX, bold negative space upper third for text, high contrast, premium
film still --style raw --ar 1:1 --v 7 --stylize 100 --no gore, text, watermark
Captions / hooks
- POV: telling your parents the big decision. The disappointment is always 40 feet tall in your head. → [link]
- He's 5'9". In your head he's a skyscraper. Rehearse the conversation before you shrink. → [link]
- Turns out he was worried, not against you. 🥪 Rehearse the hard talk → [link]
- Same dad. Different you walking in. → [link]
First-frame overlays (A/B): "POV: telling your parents the big decision" · "He's 5'9". Not a skyscraper."