# Crying People and places / Expression / Sadness. Checked 2026-10-13. 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 - Page: https://directorchair.ai/expression/crying - JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/expression/crying.json ## Watch out - Never ask for a smile or for an emotion by name; describe the muscles. Asked-for smiles come back generated and forced. (measured; Director Chair field notes on video prompting (client feedback, Aug 2026)) - Put the trigger first (the door slams, she reads the message), then the performance. Without a trigger the reaction has no timing. (practitioner; Dan Kieft and Higgsfield's tested prompts via Director Chair field notes on video prompting) ## Three intensities - **Subtle:** the eyes glaze and redden, the lips press together, one hard swallow - **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 - **Explosive:** the face folds completely, loud uneven sobs, the body curls forward, hands over the eyes, the shoulders heave ## Reference: Crying (Explosive) > 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: https://seedance-emotion-media-1.vercel.app/videos/06-crying.mp4 Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4 Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.jpg ## 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. Reference 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. Reference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4 ``` ### GPT Image 2.5 ``` A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting]. People 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 Exclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo. Reference 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. Reference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4 ``` ### Seedance 2.5 ``` Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 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. Reference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4 ``` ### Seedance 2.0 ``` Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 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. Reference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4 ``` ### Kling 3.0 ``` [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]. Reference 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. Reference clip (Crying): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/06-crying.mp4 ``` ## Look further - https://seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app/ : a clip of this emotion performed in Seedance 2.5 (link only) ## Goes well with - Sadness: https://directorchair.ai/expression/sadness - Relief: https://directorchair.ai/expression/relief ## Source 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 Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.