{
 "slug": "crying",
 "name": "Crying",
 "category": "expression",
 "group": "Sadness",
 "media": [
  "image",
  "video"
 ],
 "checked": "2026-10-13",
 "effect": "Composure breaking; raw and very human.",
 "use_when": "Emotional storytelling, reunions, charity.",
 "phrase": "the eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move",
 "pitfalls": [
  {
   "text": "Never ask for a smile or for an emotion by name; describe the muscles. Asked-for smiles come back generated and forced.",
   "evidence": "measured",
   "source": "Director Chair field notes on video prompting (client feedback, Aug 2026)"
  },
  {
   "text": "Put the trigger first (the door slams, she reads the message), then the performance. Without a trigger the reaction has no timing.",
   "evidence": "practitioner",
   "source": "Dan Kieft and Higgsfield's tested prompts via Director Chair field notes on video prompting"
  }
 ],
 "per_model": [],
 "external_refs": [
  {
   "site": "emotion-direction",
   "url": "https://seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app/",
   "what": "a clip of this emotion performed in Seedance 2.5 (link only)"
  }
 ],
 "licensed": [
  {
   "site": "emotion-direction",
   "name": "Crying",
   "text": "The eyes and nose flush red, tears spill over the lower lid, the breath catches in visible stutters, the mouth pulls into a square shape, and the chin crumples and trembles. The shoulders begin to shake.",
   "credit": "Emotion Direction (seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app)",
   "source_url": "https://seedance-emotion-media-1.vercel.app/videos/06-crying.mp4",
   "group": null,
   "intensity": "Explosive",
   "cue": "Composure collapses",
   "shot": null,
   "family": "Sadness",
   "aliases": "cry sob grief devastated tears",
   "media": {
    "video": "/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
    "card": "/media/emotion-direction/06-crying-card.mp4",
    "poster": "/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.jpg",
    "card_poster": "/media/emotion-direction/06-crying-card.jpg",
    "width": 1280,
    "height": 720,
    "duration": 7.07
   }
  }
 ],
 "site_names": [],
 "related": [
  "sadness",
  "relief"
 ],
 "rights": "own-work",
 "evidence": "film-craft",
 "source": {
  "url": null,
  "note": "Families, intensities and emotion names from Emotion Direction (names and structure only, read 13 Oct 2026); the directions are our own words in its grammar: body parts in the order they move, ending on what holds. Rules from Director Chair field notes on video prompting"
 },
 "body": "## Three intensities\n\n- **Subtle:** the eyes glaze and redden, the lips press together, one hard swallow\n- **Medium:** the eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move\n- **Explosive:** the face folds completely, loud uneven sobs, the body curls forward, hands over the eyes, the shoulders heave",
 "shown_with": null,
 "url": "https://directorchair.ai/expression/crying",
 "markdown": "https://directorchair.ai/expression/crying.md",
 "prompts": {
  "nano-banana-pro": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "nano-banana-2": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "gpt-image": "A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting].\nPeople and framing: the eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move\nExclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "seedream-5": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "seedance-2.5": "Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].\nShot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move. The eyes and nose flush red, tears spill over the lower lid, the breath catches in visible stutters, the mouth pulls into a square shape, and the chin crumples and trembles. The shoulders begin to shake.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "seedance-2.0": "Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].\nShot 1: The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move. The eyes and nose flush red, tears spill over the lower lid, the breath catches in visible stutters, the mouth pulls into a square shape, and the chin crumples and trembles. The shoulders begin to shake.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "kling-3": "[your subject]. The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move. The scene is [your setting].\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4",
  "veo-3.1": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes and nose redden, tears run over the lower lids, the breath stutters, the mouth pulls square, the chin crumples and shakes, the shoulders start to move. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.\nReference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4"
 },
 "licence": {
  "code": "MIT",
  "text": "CC BY 4.0",
  "third_party": "Clips and card texts inside a \"licensed\" block belong to their makers and are shown with permission and credit."
 }
}