Laughter

Real, uncontrolled amusement the viewer wants to share.

Use when: Comedy beats, friends, a product moment that delights.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): The laugh starts in the chest, the shoulders shake, the eyes narrow into creases, the head tips back once and comes forward, a grin stays after the sound stops. The eyes squeeze into crinkled slits, the mouth opens wide showing teeth, the head drops forward and tips back, and the shoulders bounce with each breath. The laugh settles into a wide lingering grin. Reference clip (Joy / Laughter): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/01-joy-laughter.mp4

Download reference

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

Reference clip by Emotion Direction, shown with permission.

Your subjectYour setting

Say it like this

The laugh starts in the chest, the shoulders shake, the eyes narrow into creases, the head tips back once and comes forward, a grin stays after the sound stops.

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

Notes

Three intensities

Subtle: a breath escapes through the nose, the cheeks rise and the lips press shut to hold it in, the eyes stay amused
Medium: the laugh starts in the chest, the shoulders shake, the eyes narrow into creases, the head tips back once and comes forward, a grin stays after the sound stops
Explosive: the whole upper body folds forward, one hand slaps the table, eyes squeezed shut and wet at the corners, the laugh runs out of breath and restarts once

The maker's card

The eyes squeeze into crinkled slits, the mouth opens wide showing teeth, the head drops forward and tips back, and the shoulders bounce with each breath. The laugh settles into a wide lingering grin.Explosive. Emotion Direction (seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app)

ReliefPrompt

AwePrompt

Sources

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 Checked 2026-10-13.

Emotion Direction: a clip of this emotion performed in Seedance 2.5 (link only)

For agents: this card as markdown, as JSON.

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