Rage

Anger breaking through control; powerful and dangerous.

Use when: Drama, sport, a villain, a stunt with an over-the-top reaction.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): The brows drive down and in, the upper lip lifts off the teeth, the nostrils flare, the tendons in the neck stand out, the head pushes forward, hard breaths through the nose while the snarl holds. The eyebrows slam down and inward, the upper lip peels back from the teeth, the nostrils flare, the neck tendons tighten, and the head pushes forward. The snarl holds as hard breaths move through the nose. Reference clip (Rage): https://directorchair.ai/media/emotion-direction/04-rage.mp4

Download reference

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

Reference clip by Emotion Direction, shown with permission.

SubjectSetting

Say it like this

The brows drive down and in, the upper lip lifts off the teeth, the nostrils flare, the tendons in the neck stand out, the head pushes forward, hard breaths through the nose while the snarl holds.

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: the jaw locks, the nostrils widen, the stare hardens without a blink
Medium: the brows drive down and in, the upper lip lifts off the teeth, the nostrils flare, the tendons in the neck stand out, the head pushes forward, hard breaths through the nose while the snarl holds
Explosive: a shout with the whole body, the fists come up, the face red, spit on the breath, the chest heaving between bursts

The maker's card

The eyebrows slam down and inward, the upper lip peels back from the teeth, the nostrils flare, the neck tendons tighten, and the head pushes forward. The snarl holds as hard breaths move through the nose.Explosive. Emotion Direction (seedance-emotion-direction.vercel.app)

Effort that keeps failing; very relatable.FrustrationPrompt

Resolve settling in; the person is going to do it.DeterminationPrompt

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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