# Determination People and places / Expression / Drive. Checked 2026-10-13. Resolve settling in; the person is going to do it. - Use when: Sport, founders, the turn in a story, call to action. - Phrase: the eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod - Page: https://directorchair.ai/expression/determination - JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/expression/determination.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 jaw sets, the gaze fixes forward - **Medium:** the eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod - **Explosive:** the fists close, a sharp exhale, the body rises from the chair, the first step forward is already taken ## Reference: Determination (Medium) > The eyes lift and lock forward, a deep breath expands the chest, the jaw sets visibly at the hinge, the eyes narrow, and the shoulders roll back. One sharp nod completes the change. Credit: Emotion Direction (seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app). Source: https://seedance-emotion-media-2.vercel.app/videos/16-determination.mp4 Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.jpg ## Prompts ### Nano Banana Pro ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### Nano Banana 2 ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### GPT Image 2.5 ``` A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting]. People and framing: the eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod Exclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### Seedream 5 ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### Seedance 2.5 ``` Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. The eyes lift and lock forward, a deep breath expands the chest, the jaw sets visibly at the hinge, the eyes narrow, and the shoulders roll back. One sharp nod completes the change. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### Seedance 2.0 ``` Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1: The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. The eyes lift and lock forward, a deep breath expands the chest, the jaw sets visibly at the hinge, the eyes narrow, and the shoulders roll back. One sharp nod completes the change. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### Kling 3.0 ``` [your subject]. The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. The scene is [your setting]. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ### Veo 3.1 ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes lift and lock on a point ahead, a deep breath fills the chest, the jaw sets at the hinge, the eyes narrow, the shoulders roll back, one firm nod. Framing and subject stay as in the start image. Reference clip (Determination): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/16-determination.mp4 ``` ## Look further - https://seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app/ : a clip of this emotion performed in Seedance 2.5 (link only) ## Goes well with - Pride: https://directorchair.ai/expression/pride - Rage: https://directorchair.ai/expression/rage ## 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.