https://www.oylfilm.com/lab daily 0.75 2026-10-24 https://www.oylfilm.com/lab/t1emrrwov43zgd2lfrhxm8e2s5zy72 monthly 0.5 2026-10-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/82d37a53-b0f5-45ea-a421-1eed3b6a5ffa/Screenshot+2026-10-23+at+5.55.04%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. The edit is where the film really finds its personality. I use Seedance 2.5 10 and 15 second clips that have multiple cuts in them. Sometimes it’s only one cut or a single moment that I need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/eb403d68-1dc2-47ec-b3e4-9daf58a8200a/Oyl_Miller_Long-lens_cinematic_photograph_looking_straight_do_e24b716f-73df-4c95-9571-7d0d8ce6c773_2.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. I always start in Midjourney with finding my locations. It’s location scouting for the AI era. I describe the feel, textures, lighting, camera and lenses and run several generations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/a207dbd4-d5b8-469e-a491-b67978573fd9/Screenshot+2026-10-23+at+6.00.46%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. I’ll go through what I’ve generated and note my favorite frames. Sometimes I’ll take them as is, and use them as an image reference in the generative video model. Other times, I’ll keep iterating or looking for other possibilities or angles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/2450a011-792b-4a96-9121-e79e61d38d05/Oyl_Miller_Ground-level_cinematic_view_down_a_completely_empt_90a8b0bd-d294-4d7b-b9e9-7434ee617164_1.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. I always try to find some unusual angles that show the real character and textures of a location. When you prompt in ChatGPT or Gemini, what you get all has the same look. I try to push beyond that in Midjourney and find things that look more found and discovered. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/8199104f-08e5-4561-8ef6-07d97e9bf8d0/Screenshot+2026-10-23+at+6.00.58%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. Midjourney is also the best for casting. Or inventing new original characters. ChatGPT and Gemini people all have a similar look. I try to avoid that. It’s like asking a casting director to give you people that don’t look like models or actors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/9b6505bc-ea82-49b4-831e-49c18d1125c3/Oyl_Miller_Ground-level_cinematic_view_looking_between_the_wi_40a7aacd-7563-4faa-918c-dfb5d28d8151_2.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. More Midjourney explorations of angles and framing with different lenses. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/cc614741-dee2-42cc-ba48-dec1c0b23881/Oyl_Miller_Cinematic_view_over_the_yellow_shoulder_pad_and_bl_534eed35-11bc-41e4-ada9-d9a9d437249d_0.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. I like to storyboard the key moments as stills so I know where the iconic visuals are. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/834ec9fc-614e-4ecb-bc9d-5adea631f4c1/Oyl_Miller_Tight_cinematic_portrait_of_a_lean_adult_Japanese__7fef56fd-38e3-4150-8365-789535830e8c_1.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. I capture different portraits with different kinds of cameras and focal lengths. These are all research as well as original references that I can feed into the video models. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/db99dd52-9cce-4bf8-9a8d-901285104b9d/Oyl_Miller_Violent_cinematic_sports-action_frame_photographed_baece910-a5da-40db-a125-b426a96ff269_2.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/a5dcf2f7-7a51-46e2-bf62-32cfe7e7d0e2/Oyl_Miller_Spectacular_ground-level_cinematic_action_frame_of_b5b41730-9b96-44e2-a7a4-e558406cb442_0.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/ff5f0e12-e662-4be2-a041-9ae59540aa4d/Screenshot+2026-10-23+at+5.57.35%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - THE TOOLS GET BETTER. THE MOVIE STILL FIGHTS BACK. My final step, after all the tweaks and editing, is to export the video from Final Cut Pro. Then, I’ll load it into Topaz, which is the best uprez app right now. I’ll take the 1080p Seedance 2.5 footage and tune it to 4k. The results are pretty spectacular. https://www.oylfilm.com/lab/arts-amp-sciences-signs-andrew-oyl-miller monthly 0.5 2026-10-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/cedefd6a-fea6-4d65-a509-e6b78acab653/Screenshot+2026-10-20+at+8.59.26%E2%80%AFAM.png Lab - ARTS & SCIENCES SIGNS ANDREW “OYL” MILLER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/9a128411-82ab-4adf-8c63-bfaf56113203/Screenshot+2026-10-14+at+12.55.52%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - ARTS & SCIENCES SIGNS ANDREW “OYL” MILLER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/f59be9a2-9af3-468b-ad15-41e34e4618e2/Screenshot+2026-10-13+at+5.14.52%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - ARTS & SCIENCES SIGNS ANDREW “OYL” MILLER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/3f30373e-fa7f-4573-97a1-90e718c35e2c/Screenshot+2026-10-13+at+4.57.13%E2%80%AFPM.png Lab - ARTS & SCIENCES SIGNS ANDREW “OYL” MILLER https://www.oylfilm.com/lab/elon-musk-crashes-tokyo-drift monthly 0.5 2026-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/2ca50b99-712d-4aae-ab63-a2ac6bc16966/807d4284-1a7f-4acc-884f-b6c1eb8ca700.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT When I use Seedance 2.5, it’s helpful to have a character sheet like this to ensure character consistency. The model can see all of the angles and proper wardrobe. I also like to have a mix of full body shots and closeups of the face. I ask for various facial expressions, so the model doesn’t need to guess or invent too much when it comes time to generate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/845ab3ce-237a-481d-ac33-fffc991dcdcc/05678be4-176b-4601-82a4-5ef934fbe566.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT An early render of the protagonist’s vehicle. Originally it was going to be much more cyberpunk Tokyo. I think I’ll come back to this design later. It’s giving me some ideas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/e8393c9e-18c7-4d22-9708-3f4688476e15/Gothic_Punk_Character_Plate_C1_Main_Drag_Reverse_West_P1wCXggb.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT The first reference images I got with ChatGPT looked like this. It nearly made me stop trying all together. It didn’t look photographic. The colors were too strong and sweet. I couldn’t imagine a film happening here. So I kept going. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/c6c6bdea-406f-4be9-bbd3-48fb7487a091/Gothic_Punk_Character_Plate_v4_C2_Main_Drag_Relit_AnR2Pa-N.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT Then Luma’s Uni 1 took me here, which had a bit more atmosphere but still looked like a comp. If I can’t nail the setting and make it look filmic, I usually end up stopping the film. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/121b1e6a-c4d8-45b4-952b-5b67b049baac/Gothic_Punk_Character_Oyl_Miller_clean_and_bright_view_of_a_nighttime_ci_RSqn310W.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT Next I started mixing models. Feeding images from one model into MidJourney and tweaking it to run several times. Eventually, something showed some promise like this example. It’s a cool image and has some depth. But overall, it feels like a video game and not a film. Or like a blockbuster with really obvious CGI locations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/813cc8d6-1252-4d2c-a548-002c3fe92522/Oyl_Miller_Shinjuku_at_night_elevated_expressway_interchange__e4f0237a-f9a6-4967-9dee-0fc6a51baee5_1+%281%29.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT My mixing of models and leaning into MidJourney eventually got me here. Something that reminded me of my time living in Tokyo. The light from the street lights had the right tone and was affecting the surfaces in a realistic way. There was also some nice environmental haze going on that added a little bit of depth and magic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/198fd4ee-e899-4ab1-af40-810d37d54e1c/Oyl_Miller_sharp_turn_beneath_a_Shinjuku_overpass_at_night_bo_d8b8c0b2-5d11-47b7-b51d-c1c0ebfec95f_2+%281%29.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT This reference went a little too all in on the greens like early David Fincher, but I liked the taste and lensing of the image. The surfaces looked raw and lived in. Nothing too comp like sticking out here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/ad43dacc-f4fe-45bb-ab19-811a5664e4be/Oyl_Miller_Tokyo_expressway_tunnel_at_night_long_receding_amb_a46c3d0b-d4d7-4597-8d2c-d85c6a125f31_0.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT Then I got into some of Tokyo’s famous tunnels. With the distinctive orange lights and the speed blurs. Now I was starting to feel like this film could take place somewhere specific in Tokyo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/6d4d03ee-613d-467f-a48c-ab156f62865a/Oyl_Miller_rooftop_overlooking_Shinjuku_at_night_dense_city_l_8c0f7c98-63a7-40d0-8486-2e822b101340_1+%281%29.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT Once I trained MidJourney in what I was looking for, I started to go wider. And ended up with a series of tasty establishing shots that look right out of Tokyo at its most Blade Runner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/d9a77bf8-44cc-4c8d-8a84-a2adcd947046/Oyl_Miller_night_car_meet_in_Shinjuku_under_elevated_roads_mo_d453292a-ebce-4e44-b975-da397a5a0508_3+%281%29.png Lab - ELON MUSK CRASHES TOKYO DRIFT Then I dove into the city’s underbelly, where these drifters hang out, under the overpasses, bathed in that orange light and exhaust from their rides. https://www.oylfilm.com/home daily 1.0 2026-10-15 https://www.oylfilm.com/about daily 0.75 2026-10-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6acfcc4c6c3b5805437f372f/119dcc2a-8a6a-465d-a89a-853bb744e5e8/OYL+Headshot+bw+A.jpeg https://www.oylfilm.com/luma-taxi daily 0.75 2026-10-15 https://www.oylfilm.com/the-bell-and-the-blade daily 0.75 2026-10-17 https://www.oylfilm.com/proofpoint-cliff-dataman daily 0.75 2026-10-17 https://www.oylfilm.com/luma-suds daily 0.75 2026-10-17