The Genjutsu workflow, step by step

The Genjutsu workflow in six steps

• Pick the shot. One clean take, 3 to 30 seconds, with the subject clearly visible and a camera move you can live with.
• Prepare references. 3 to 6 images per element you want to change: full body, face and detail. Clean backgrounds beat busy photos.
• Choose the mode. Motion Transfer when the whole scene is rebuilt; Object Swap when one element changes.
• Write the prompt. Element, reference, must-stay - one or two sentences. Templates are in the prompt guide.
• Generate and read the result honestly. Compare source and output side by side before you change anything.
• Change one variable per retry. If a run fails, adjust either the prompt or one reference. Changing both tells you nothing.

Before you upload: the five minute prep

Most failed recasts were decided before the upload. Five minutes here saves a credit or three.

• Trim the clip to the single shot you are actually recasting. Extra footage makes the model average the scene.
• Export a version without burned-in captions or logos. Text on the source gets treated as part of the scene.
• Name reference files by element (character-front.jpg, jacket-detail.jpg) so you attach the right one without guessing.
• Keep every reference to the same person or product from consistent angles. Mixed references produce a face that belongs to nobody.
• Decide the must-stay before you write anything: the line, the label, the punchline, the camera beat.

Choosing between the two modes

Motion Transfer is the workflow for recasting a whole scene. The movement, the timing and the camera survive, while the cast, the location and the look come from your references. Use it when the value of the shot is the action.

Object Swap is the workflow for surgical changes: swap a character, an outfit, a product or a location and leave everything else exactly as it was. Use it when the value of the shot is everything that is not changing, such as a product demo.

Reviewing a render without wasting credits

• Watch it twice at full speed before you pause. Motion problems show up in playback; detail problems show up on pause.
• Compare the output against the source clip, not against the picture in your head.
• If one element is wrong, fix that element only and keep the rest of the prompt identical, so you know what changed the result.
• Keep the prompts that worked. A prompt that produced a clean take is an asset for the next shot in the series.

Running a series instead of a single shot

For a campaign or a content series, lock your variables. Keep the same reference set, the same prompt wording and the same mode, and change only the source clip. That is what keeps a character looking like the same character across six posts.

Generate one hero take first, then batch the rest once the references are proven. If the first take is inconsistent the problem is the reference set, and no amount of prompt editing will fix it.

Where the workflow breaks

• Cut-heavy source clips: the model has no single motion to transfer.
• A reference set that mixes lighting conditions, so the output inherits the inconsistency.
• Prompts that restate the camera move that already exists in the source clip.
• Retrying with everything changed at once, which tells you nothing about what actually failed.