# Eye roll People and places / Expression / Social. Checked 2026-10-13. Patience running out; playful or dismissive. - Use when: Comedy, relatable everyday moments, creator content. - Phrase: the eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves - Page: https://directorchair.ai/expression/eye-roll - JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/expression/eye-roll.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 drift up and to the side for half a second and come back - **Medium:** the eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves - **Explosive:** the whole head rolls with the eyes, the arms fold, a loud sigh, the body turns away ## Reference: Eye Roll (Medium) > The eyes roll in a full, slow arc while the head tilts with the movement. Air pushes out through the nose, the eyes return with lowered lids, and a flat stare holds before the gaze turns away. Credit: Emotion Direction (seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app). Source: https://seedance-emotion-media-1.vercel.app/videos/08-eye-roll.mp4 Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.jpg ## Prompts ### Nano Banana Pro ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### Nano Banana 2 ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### GPT Image 2.5 ``` A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting]. People and framing: the eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves Exclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### Seedream 5 ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### Seedance 2.5 ``` Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. The eyes roll in a full, slow arc while the head tilts with the movement. Air pushes out through the nose, the eyes return with lowered lids, and a flat stare holds before the gaze turns away. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### Seedance 2.0 ``` Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1: The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. The eyes roll in a full, slow arc while the head tilts with the movement. Air pushes out through the nose, the eyes return with lowered lids, and a flat stare holds before the gaze turns away. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### Kling 3.0 ``` [your subject]. The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. The scene is [your setting]. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ### Veo 3.1 ``` [your subject] in [your setting]. The eyes travel up in a slow full arc while the head tilts along, a breath pushes out through the nose, the lids come back half-closed, a flat look, then the gaze leaves. Framing and subject stay as in the start image. Reference clip (Eye Roll): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/08-eye-roll.mp4 ``` ## Look further - https://seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app/ : a clip of this emotion performed in Seedance 2.5 (link only) ## Goes well with - Smug: https://directorchair.ai/expression/smug - Boredom: https://directorchair.ai/expression/boredom ## 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.