Entry — 6th Byeolbyeol Hwaseong Awards, AI CF
A Guest from Mars
Mars rover ROV-01 is sent to find “a bigger Hwaseong.” It leaves a planet of zero people for a Korean city of over a million, and what it logs is not size but people's welcome.
People and scenes are AI-generated.
In short
- ConceptA rover takes the city slogan's “bigger Hwaseong” literally; its population scan climbs from 0 to 1,000,000+
- CharacterOne reference image of the robot made with Gemini; all seven scenes animated from that image
- ScenesVeo 3.8 Flash · 16:9 · several takes per scene, seven scenes of 5.5–13 s
- GraphicsExploration-log HUD, population scan, and a 72-hour return countdown that ends as CANCELLED
- SoundOriginal score written as code and rendered with FluidSynth; ambience from Veo audio plus synthesized beds
Scenes
LOG 01 · MarsExploration log, day 1. Off to find a bigger Hwaseong. 
LOG 02 · Jebudo Sea RoadArrived. The sea… opens a road for me? 
LOG 03 · Yunggeonneung pine forestFirst contact with a warm life form. No data. Feeling… good. 
LOG 04 · Dongtan Lake ParkEquipment update. Heart sticker, 1. 
LOG 05 · Tech valleyFound my kind. Here, robots build the future too. 
LOG 06 · Market festivalDifferent life forms at one table. Cannot analyze. Just… smiling. 
LOG 07 · Jeongok HarborConclusion. A bigger Hwaseong… found. A city that keeps growing, a place where everyone smiles together. Return… cancelled. This is… home.
Pipeline
- PlanA seven-line log → seven places: Mars, Jebudo Sea Road, Yunggeonneung pine forest, Dongtan Lake Park, a tech valley, a market festival, Jeongok Harbor
- CharacterGemini image · one reference (white pebble body, one blue eye, six wheels)
- GenerateVeo 3.8 Flash · image → video · 16:9 · several takes per scene
- Edit1280×720 sources cropped and upscaled to 1920×1080; the last scene slowed to about 0.77× for 13 s
- HUD & captionsExploration log, population scan, return countdown, mission panel and captions · Noto Sans CJK KR
- SoundGemini TTS narration (Puck) processed into a robot voice + original score (FluidSynth) + ambience, sidechain mix
- Ending & exportHwaseong city signature and slogan, source credits · 1920×1080 · 24 fps MP4
Prompts
Robot reference imageGemini image · 16:9 · every scene starts from this image
An ORIGINAL small Mars exploration robot character, not resembling any existing movie or game robot. Design: smooth round white body shaped like a river pebble, ONE large circular glowing soft-blue eye set in a dark lens ring on a short neck, two stubby articulated arms, six small wheels on a dusty rust-orange chassis, a thin bent antenna with a tiny red light on top, light scratches and red dust on the body. It stands on a red Martian desert at golden hour, Earth faintly visible in the dusty pink sky. Full body, 3/4 view, centered, photorealistic with cute character appeal, soft cinematic light, 16:9, no text, no logos, no subtitles.One character, seven scenes
- The same reference image starts every scene
- Every video prompt opens with the same character lock (“SIX SMALL WHEELS … NO legs”)
- A test on another model (Argon) gave the robot legs, so every scene stayed on 3.8 Flash
Text and voice kept out of the video model
- Dialogue, narration or on-screen text in a video prompt produced broken Korean captions and random voices, so all of it was left out
- Narration made separately with Gemini TTS and processed into a robot voice
- Captions and place names composited in the edit
Credits
- Hwaseong brand mark and signature: the city's official symbol files, unmodified
- Font: Noto Sans CJK KR (SIL Open Font License)
- Music: original, rendered with FluidSynth (TimGM6mb soundfont, GPL)
- Ambience: Gemini (Veo) audio and synthesized beds; no stock audio
- Made with generative AI