Contents
About Prompt
- Prompt Type – Scene-by-Scene
- Prompt Platform – Google Veo
- Language – English
- Category – Video/Story
- Prompt Title – VEO 3 Prompt – The Lost Crown of Babylon
Prompt Details
🎬 Scene 1
The scene is a breathtakingly detailed recreation of a 1930s Oxford don’s study, bathed in the soft, honeyed glow of late afternoon sun filtering through a grand, leaded glass bay window. The air itself seems thick with the scent of old paper, leather polish, and faint pipe tobacco. Every surface is a testament to a life of scholarly pursuit; towering, dark mahogany bookshelves groan under the weight of countless leather-bound tomes, their spines a mosaic of faded gold lettering. Dust motes dance like tiny, golden sprites in the sunbeams, catching the light and illuminating the room’s rich textures. A large, ornate globe stands in one corner, its brass meridian gleaming. In the center of the room is a massive oak desk, cluttered with an organized chaos of artifacts: magnifying glasses, brass calipers, stacks of parchment, and an open tin of Earl Grey tea. The focal point is a fragmented Babylonian clay tablet resting on a velvet cloth, its cuneiform inscriptions casting miniature shadows. The entire scene is captured with the aesthetic of vintage 1930s Technicolor film, exhibiting a subtle grain, rich but slightly desaturated colours, and a soft focus around the edges of the frame, giving it a dreamlike, nostalgic quality. The lighting is reminiscent of chiaroscuro, with deep, velvety shadows in the corners of the room contrasting sharply with the warm, concentrated light on the desk, drawing the viewer’s eye directly to the central mystery.
🎵 Tone: Scholarly Curiosity
🎬 Scene 2
The sensory overload of a 1930s Baghdad souk hits with overwhelming force. The scene is a vibrant, chaotic tapestry of life, shot through a lens that mimics early colour film, lending the intense hues a slightly washed-out, sun-bleached quality. The air is thick and hazy with a mixture of exotic spices, roasting meat, strong coffee, and the dust of the sun-baked earth. Sunlight struggles to pierce the canopy of colourful awnings and woven fabrics stretched between the narrow alleyway’s buildings, creating dramatic shafts of light that illuminate swirling dust and smoke from incense burners. The frame is densely packed with activity: merchants in traditional thawbs shout their wares, children with bright, curious eyes dart through the crowds, and donkeys laden with goods plod patiently along. Intricate carpets hang from balconies, gleaming copper pots are stacked in precarious pyramids, and baskets overflow with dates, figs, and vibrant spices. The camera moves with a slightly unsteady, handheld feel, immersing the viewer in the jostling energy of the crowd. Every detail is sharp, from the intricate patterns on ceramic tiles to the weathered texture of the ancient stone walls, creating a palpable sense of place and time.
🎵 Tone: Tense and Overwhelmed
🎬 Scene 3
The chaos of the souk gives way to the hushed, clandestine atmosphere of a spice merchant’s back room. The air here is cool and heavy with the potent, earthy aroma of cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, stored in large, overflowing burlap sacks that line the stone walls. The only light source is a single, bare bulb hanging from a frayed wire, casting a stark, yellow light that creates long, dancing shadows. This harsh illumination highlights the deep crevices in the ancient stone walls and the rough, splintered texture of the wooden crates used as furniture. The room is small and cramped. In the center, a grizzled, old merchant with a deeply lined face and a white keffiyeh sits behind a small, rickety table. The vintage film effect is pronounced here, with deep, crushed blacks in the shadows and a slight flicker to the light source, enhancing the feeling of a secret, illicit meeting. The colour palette is extremely limited, dominated by the warm browns of the spices and wood, the grey of the stone, and the stark yellow of the single light bulb, focusing all attention on the tense interaction at the heart of the scene.
🎵 Tone: Suspenseful and Clandestine
🎬 Scene 4
The vast, unending expanse of the Mesopotamian desert unfolds under a spectacular sunset. The sky is a breathtaking canvas of fiery oranges, deep purples, and soft pinks, a masterpiece of natural light that the vintage film aesthetic captures with hyper-saturated, bleeding colours. The low sun casts impossibly long, sharp shadows from the undulating sand dunes, sculpting the landscape into a dramatic world of light and darkness. In the distance, silhouetted against the vibrant sky, stands the crumbling, weather-beaten ruin of an ancient ziggurat, its stepped form barely discernible from the natural rock formations around it. The air is still and clear, and a gentle breeze kicks up fine grains of sand that catch the last light like golden dust. The scale is immense and humbling. Our two heroes are small figures in this majestic landscape, their 1930s motorcar parked a short distance away, looking like a tiny, insignificant toy. The texture of the sand is rendered in exquisite detail, from the fine ripples carved by the wind to the coarser grains around the base of the ruins. The scene evokes a profound sense of awe, isolation, and the weight of millennia of history buried beneath the sands.
🎵 Tone: Awe and Discovery
🎬 Scene 5
The transition from the open desert to the claustrophobic darkness of the tomb is stark and immediate. The air becomes instantly cold and musty, carrying the scent of millennia of undisturbed dust and damp stone. The only illumination comes from a single, flickering storm lantern held aloft by Eleanor, its warm, unsteady flame casting dynamic, monstrous shadows that dance and writhe across the ancient walls. The camera follows them down a steep, narrow staircase carved directly from the rock. The walls on either side are covered in breathtakingly intricate bas-relief carvings depicting Babylonian myths—gods with wings, epic battles, and celestial processions. The torchlight catches the raised edges of the carvings, making them appear to move and breathe in the flickering gloom. The textures are incredibly visceral: the rough, crumbling stone of the steps, the smooth, cold feel of the carved walls, and the fine layer of dust that covers everything. The vintage film effect here adds a heavy grain and deepens the shadows, making the darkness feel absolute and threatening, while the warm, orange light from the lantern becomes a small, fragile beacon of safety in an oppressive, ancient world.
🎵 Tone: Tense Apprehension
🎬 Scene 6
They enter a vast, circular chamber, the lantern light struggling to pierce the immense darkness. The beam reveals a floor paved with a complex mosaic of astrological symbols. In the exact center of the room is a single, stone pedestal. The air is deathly still. As Alistair steps forward to get a closer look at the pedestal, Eleanor’s sharp eyes catch a subtle irregularity in the floor pattern—a single tile that is slightly raised. Her instincts scream ‘trap’. The lantern light catches the faint outlines of grooves in the ceiling, hinting at a hidden mechanism. The silence is profound and heavy, amplifying every tiny sound. The vintage film look creates a soft halo around the lantern’s glow, making the surrounding darkness seem even more absolute and menacing. The camera focuses on the minute details: the texture of the mosaic tiles, worn smooth by time; the anxious expression on Alistair’s face, illuminated from below by the lantern; the glint of sweat on Eleanor’s brow as she realizes the danger. The atmosphere is thick with a palpable sense of imminent peril, a quiet moment stretched taut with suspense.
🎵 Tone: High Suspense
🎬 Scene 7
Following the averted disaster, the focus shifts to solving the room’s puzzle. Eleanor, holding the lantern low, crouches near the central pedestal while Alistair, now keenly aware of the danger, examines the surrounding mosaic from a safe distance. The pedestal is not just a stone block; it has a single, ornate keyhole at its base, matching the brass key from the souk. The soft, warm light from the lantern illuminates Eleanor’s focused expression as she carefully inserts the key. The camera captures the intricate details of the lock mechanism and the aged patina of the brass key. As she turns it, there is a deep, resonant ‘clunk’ that echoes through the vast chamber. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, a low grinding sound begins, and with perfect mechanical precision, a section of the far wall begins to retract, sliding sideways to reveal a new passage. A brilliant, cool-white light, starkly different from the lantern’s warm glow, spills out from the hidden doorway, cutting a sharp rectangle of light across the dark mosaic floor and silhouetting our heroes. The light seems ancient and pure, and it illuminates dust particles that have been dormant for eons, making them sparkle like diamonds.
🎵 Tone: Triumphant Relief
🎬 Scene 8
Stepping through the doorway, they enter the main burial chamber, and the sight is breathtaking. Unlike the rough-hewn passages before, this room is vast, cathedral-like, and meticulously preserved. The source of the brilliant light becomes clear: veins of a naturally phosphorescent crystal are embedded in the high, vaulted ceiling, casting a serene, ethereal blue-white glow over everything. The light is cool and even, revealing the chamber in stunning clarity. The walls are covered not with carvings, but with vibrant, perfectly preserved frescoes depicting the life of a great king and the celestial cosmology of Babylon. The colours are jewel-like and vivid, as if painted yesterday. Piles of gold artifacts, precious gems, and ornate pottery glitter in alcoves along the walls. But all of this pales in comparison to the centerpiece of the room: a magnificent, obsidian sarcophagus resting on a raised dais. It is polished to a mirror shine, intricately inlaid with gold and lapis lazuli in patterns that seem to flow across its surface. The air is cool, still, and silent, holding a sense of sacred reverence. The vintage film style softens the sharp edges of the crystal light, adding a dreamlike quality to the scene’s otherworldly beauty.
🎵 Tone: Reverent Awe
🎬 Scene 9
The climax of the quest. Standing before the obsidian sarcophagus, the sense of anticipation is immense. The cool, phosphorescent light from the ceiling glints off its perfectly polished surface, reflecting the awestruck faces of Alistair and Eleanor. After a shared, determined nod, they place their hands on the heavy lid. The camera focuses on their strained hands, the contrast between Alistair’s aged, scholarly fingers and Eleanor’s strong, capable ones. With a great, coordinated effort, they slide the massive stone lid aside. The sound is a deep, grating groan of stone that has been sealed for three thousand years. As the lid moves, the light from the ceiling pours into the sarcophagus, and what it reveals is not a mummy, but a treasure that defies belief. Resting on a bed of faded silk is the Lost Crown of Babylon. It is not merely gold and jewels; it is an artifact of sublime craftsmanship, fashioned from a strange, otherworldly metal that seems to drink in the light. In its center is a single, massive gem that pulses with a soft, internal golden light of its own, casting a warm, living glow upwards onto their faces. The vintage film aesthetic enhances this glow, making it bloom and spread, lending a truly magical and divine quality to the object.
🎵 Tone: Climactic Wonder
🎬 Scene 10
The moment of triumph is violently shattered. As Eleanor carefully lifts the glowing crown from its resting place, the gem at its heart flares with a blinding golden light. Simultaneously, a deep, deafening rumble shakes the very foundations of the chamber. The serene, crystalline ceiling cracks, and dust and small pebbles begin to rain down. The magical phosphorescence flickers and dies, plunging the room into near darkness, lit only by the pulsating glow of the crown in Eleanor’s hands and her hastily re-lit storm lantern. The ancient mechanisms of the tomb, disturbed after millennia, are coming undone. Large chunks of the ceiling begin to fall, and the beautiful frescoes crack and crumble. The air fills with the roar of collapsing stone and the grit of ancient dust. The vintage film effect is now chaotic—the frame shakes violently, lens flares erupt from the lantern and the crown, and the grain becomes heavy and pronounced, mimicking the panic and confusion of the moment. The escape is a frantic, desperate scramble back the way they came, the sacred sanctuary transforming into a deathtrap around them.
🎵 Tone: Frantic Peril