How the VELA serum ad was made with no creator and no product shoot: two reference images, one hero frame, one timed prompt, one video model, all through one connector. The exact prompt is below, ready to paste.
Open Nano Banana Pro (gemini-3-pro-image) and make two stills, not a video. One: the product on a seamless white background, label facing the lens, with the label text in quotes in your prompt so it renders exactly. Two: a phone selfie of the creator in the room where the ad will happen (a vanity, a kitchen, a car). Write the person like a casting note: age, hair, freckles, earrings, sweatshirt. Add the realism layer every time: visible pores, flyaway hairs, no smoothing, subtle sensor noise, muted natural grade. For a client, skip step one and use their real packshot. Fictional brands only when you are practising.
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02Step 2
Lock the hero frame
Make one more image with both references attached and say what each one is for: reference 1 is the product, reproduce it exactly; reference 2 is the person and the room, identity only. Describe the first frame of the ad: her at the vanity leaning toward a stationary phone, the bottle on the table with the label toward camera. This frame is the start frame of the video, so face and product are locked before any motion exists. If the bottle or the face is off here, fix it here. Stills cost cents, videos cost dollars.
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03Step 3
Write the prompt as a shot list
Copy the prompt below and change only the product, the person and the four dialogue lines. Keep the shape: an identity lock at the top, then four timed shots (hook, product reveal, application, result), each with one camera position, one action and one line in quotes, then a style line and a negative line. Stay under 300 words. A video model treats a shot list as an edit; it treats a paragraph of adjectives as a mood.
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04Step 4
Run it through one connector
In Claude Code, the ElevenLabs connector gives you the image model and the video model behind one login (add it with claude mcp add --transport http elevenlabs https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/mcp). Wire the hero frame into Kling 3 Pro as the start frame, 15 seconds, 16:9, native audio on, and ask for the estimate before the run. My run: every still including the variations came to about $2.30 in credits and the 15-second video to about $3, so the whole ad kit was under $6. The video is the expensive step, so estimate it first and run it once. Seedance 2.5 is the alternative when you want reference images on the video call itself.
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05Step 5
QC like an editor, then package the breakdown
Watch the clip three times: once for the face across the cuts, once for the bottle (same label, same cap, no morphing), once for the hands. If one shot drifts, regenerate the still for that shot and re-run, never re-roll blind. Then post the breakdown, not just the ad: the clip on top, the two references under it, and the prompt scrolling while it plays. That format is the post you are reading this from, and it is what stops the scroll.
The exact video prompt (copy it, change the product, the person and the four lines)
Create a realistic 15-second UGC skincare video using the provided woman as the consistent main character and the provided VELA Vitamin C+ Brightening Serum as the exact product reference. Keep her facial features, long dark brunette hair, natural freckles, skin tone, gold hoop earrings and cream sweatshirt identical throughout. The serum bottle keeps its exact shape, amber glass, white dropper cap and label design.
0:00-0:03 HOOK. Stationary iPhone on her bedroom vanity, facing her. She has just sat down, leans toward the lens with bare skin and relaxed, spontaneous energy. Dialogue: "Okay, everyone keeps asking what I've done to my skin..." The serum stands on the vanity in front of her, not picked up yet.
0:03-0:06 PRODUCT REVEAL. Hard natural jump cut, same spot. She reaches to the vanity, picks up the VELA serum, holds it next to her face, then brings it slightly closer so the bottle becomes the focus. Do not distort or redesign the product. Dialogue: "Literally, I just added this to my morning routine."
0:06-0:11 APPLICATION. Hard cut to a tighter stationary iPhone angle. She unscrews the white dropper, applies a few drops to her cheek, then a close-up as she massages the serum in with her fingertips, wet serum catching the window light. Dialogue: "It's become the one step I never skip."
0:11-0:15 NATURAL SKIN REVEAL. Hard cut. She stands beside the bedroom window in soft daylight and slowly turns her cheek toward the light. Close-up on hydrated, real skin texture with freckles. She smiles slightly and looks back at the lens. Dialogue: "Look at that glow."
Visual style: iPhone front-camera quality, natural daylight, slight handheld imperfection, visible skin pores, light film grain, no filters, no studio lighting. Audio: her natural voice, quiet room tone. No morphing hands, no label changes, no extra people, no on-screen text.
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Build it step by step inside AI Creative OS, with me in the thread.
