AI Video Project

Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker: Monsters?… or Beasts?

This AI-generated video project reimagines a fictional dialogue between Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, bringing two foundational figures of Gothic literature into a lively debate about the symbolism of their most famous creations. Conceived for an English class by Dr. Thomas Herron, the project explores whether Dracula and Frankenstein’s creature should be understood as “monsters” or as reflections of deeper human and cultural anxieties.

Details

Concept & Origin

The idea originated as a pedagogical experiment: What might happen if Shelley and Stoker were placed in conversation about their works? The imagined setting is an early eighteenth-century Irish pub, which creates a dramatic, atmospheric backdrop for their argument over symbolism, morality, and the nature of the “beast.”

Script Development

The dialogue script was generated using Meta AI, guided by a prompt written by Dr. Herron:

Compose a dialog script for a short AI video of authors Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker arguing over the symbolism of his character Dracula, as it relates to the symbolism of Frankenstein’s creature in her novel Frankenstein. The setting is in an early eighteenth-century Irish pub.

The result is a focused literary exchange that highlights parallels between Dracula and Frankenstein, particularly themes of otherness, creation, fear, and societal rejection.

Visual & Video Production Technology

The production process integrates multiple AI and digital tools:

  • Google Gemini – Generated the still character images of Shelley and Stoker.
  • Google Veo 3 – Used to transform those still images into 8-second AI video segments of the characters in conversation.
  • Corel VideoStudio – Employed to combine, edit, and refine the individual clips into a cohesive final video with transitions and effects.

Each segment required iterative prompting. Even identical prompts in Veo 3 produced different results, making experimentation and refinement essential to achieving visual and tonal consistency.

Creative & Technical Process

  1. The AI-generated script served as the narrative foundation.
  2. The script text was used as prompts in Google Veo 3 to produce short conversational video clips.
  3. Multiple prompt attempts were often necessary to achieve desired expressions, pacing, and staging.
  4. Once a full sequence of satisfactory clips was created, Corel VideoStudio stitched the segments together, adding transitions and edits to ensure narrative flow.

What This Project Demonstrates

This project showcases how AI tools can be integrated into humanities instruction as a collaborative partner in both storytelling and pedagogy to:

  • Blend literary imagination with generative AI workflows
  • Animate literary history through speculative dialogue
  • Merge creative writing with generative media technologies
  • Illustrate the interpretive possibilities of AI in literary analysis
  • Demonstrate iterative prompting as a core component of AI-assisted production
Video Transcript

Fade in: A dimly lit Irish pub, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker sit at a wooden table, pints in hand

Mary Shelley: Cheers to the monsters we birthed, Bram! (clinks mug)

Bram Stoker: (smirks) And what beasts they are, Mary. (takes sip) I’d say Dracula’s a far more sophisticated creature than your lumbering Frankenstein’s monster.

Mary Shelley: (raises an eyebrow) Sophisticated? He’s a bloodthirsty aristocrat, preying on the innocent! My creature was a tragic figure, shunned by society for his appearance.

Bram Stoker: (chuckles) Ah, but that’s the point! Dracula represents the fear of the unknown, the seduction of dark power. Your creature’s just a rejected experiment, a symbol of unchecked science.

Mary Shelley: (leans in) You’re reducing my creature to a cautionary tale! He’s a reflection of humanity’s darker nature – the fear of the ‘other’. Dracula’s just a villainous cliché.

Bram Stoker: (grins) Cliché? (laughs) You’re not exactly original in your critique, Mary. Dracula’s power lies in his ability to blend in, to hide in plain sight. He’s the ultimate outsider, feared yet desired.

Mary Shelley: (smirks) Sounds like you’re projecting, Bram. (takes a sip) Dracula’s victims are just that – victims. My creature’s actions are a desperate cry for acceptance.

Bram Stoker: (leans back) Perhaps we’re just seeing two sides of the same coin, Mary. Both creatures are outcasts, seeking connection in a world that rejects them.

Mary Shelley: (nods) Now that’s a conversation worth having. (smirks) Maybe our monsters aren’t so different after all.

Fade out: The two authors clink mugs and take a sip, lost in thought.