🔍 Read the full analysis: A Boring First Version, A One-Night Deadline, And Our AI Horror-Comedy on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer published Hollow House, a 97-second AI-generated horror-comedy made overnight on October 27–28, 2026. His account says the team discarded two versions before a third, faster-cut edit worked; the three attempts used 2,220 Higgsfield credits, which Meyer values at about $95 on his plan.
Thorsten Meyer has published Hollow House, a 97-second AI-generated horror-comedy made between the evening of October 27 and about 1:30 a.m. the next day. In a behind-the-scenes account on ThorstenMeyerAI.com, Meyer says the short took three versions in one night to work, with the central problem not the images but their pacing.
The short follows a ghost joining the staff of an extreme haunted attraction, where employees treat the supernatural intruder as a workplace problem. A visitor says the attraction’s safe word, “cotton candy,” but the scare does not stop. The premise then turns to the staff’s attempts to handle the ghost, including an exorcism, before the ghost takes a job at the entrance the following night. Meyer says the characters, voices and sets are AI-generated.
Meyer describes three approaches. The first cut used 20 shots and ran 2 minutes 15 seconds; the second used 66 fast cuts and ran 2 minutes 21 seconds. The final version, which he says worked, used three roughly 30-second sections generated with one model supplied with references for the full cast, and was edited to 1:37. Across the versions, Meyer reports using 2,220 Higgsfield credits, which he estimates at about $95 at his plan’s price, plus about 2,100 ElevenLabs characters for music and sound effects.
For the first version, Meyer made reference images for eight characters using Google’s Nano Banana 2 image model through Higgsfield, then used those references to generate start frames and animate them with Veo 3.1. He says the first cut looked good but felt “terribly boring and amateurish.” His count put its average shot length at 5.6 seconds, compared with about 1.8 seconds in the short that inspired the project. The comparison is Meyer’s own measurement, not an independently verified benchmark.
Production diary · October 27–28, 2026
A Boring First Version, A One-Night Deadline, And Our AI Horror-Comedy
Hollow House is a 97-second horror-comedy made overnight by Thorsten Meyer. His account describes three versions, one pacing problem, and a final edit that landed at 1:37.
At a glance
A ghost becomes a workplace problem
A ghost joins the staff of an extreme haunted attraction. When a visitor says the safe word “cotton candy,” the scare does not stop. The employees try an exorcism; the next night, the ghost is working the entrance. Meyer says the characters, voices, and sets were AI-generated.
Enter the haunt
A real ghost appears among the attraction’s staff.
Call the safe word
“Cotton candy” is spoken, but the scare continues.
Try an exorcism
The crew treats the supernatural intruder like a shift issue.
Clock in again
The ghost takes a job at the entrance the following night.
Three cuts · one overnight shoot
The edit changed the outcome
Meyer’s account says the first cut looked polished but felt slow. The second pushed to rapid cutting. A third approach used three roughly 30-second sections generated with one model and references for the full cast, then was edited into the final short.
Good images, flat rhythm
Eight character reference sheets informed generated start frames, which were animated with Veo 3.1. Meyer says this cut felt “terribly boring and amateurish.”
More cuts, still too long
The next version leaned into faster cutting. Meyer’s account says the pace shifted, but the result was not the version he chose to publish.
Three sections, tighter finish
Three roughly 30-second generated sections used references for the full cast. Meyer says the faster final edit worked.
Why the first cut fell flat
Visual consistency could not solve pacing
Character sheets helped keep faces and costumes consistent, but Meyer says the first edit lacked the quick rhythm he wanted for horror-comedy. He measured the first cut’s average shot at 5.6 seconds and compared it with about 1.8 seconds in the short that inspired the project. That comparison is his own measurement, not an independently verified benchmark.
Workflow notes
Generation brought surprises—and workarounds
Keep the cast recognizable
Before video generation, Meyer made a full-length reference image for each of eight characters to reduce changes in hair, faces, and costume between clips.
Check the spoken lines
He says OpenAI’s Whisper helped compare generated dialogue with the script, catching a misrendered line and a garbled final line that needed a retake.
Translate actions for the model
A capitalized shout was spoken as individual letters. A head turn became a full-body turn. Rephrasing a blocked lift as “floating” passed the filter, but produced less movement.
Patch a failed shot
For a reversed-head effect, Meyer says the team used a still image with the head already turned and added a bone-crack sound. A backward bend instead became a forward crawl.
What the account leaves open
Useful detail, limited evidence
This is Meyer’s own production report. The credit totals, costs, cut counts, and shot-length comparison have not been independently verified. The roughly $95 estimate reflects the Higgsfield plan price he cites; it does not include a full accounting of labor, software access, or other production costs.
How to read the figures
Reported production costs
Meyer reports 2,220 Higgsfield credits across the three versions, valued at about $95 on his plan, plus roughly 2,100 ElevenLabs characters for music and sound effects. His account does not break down time or credits by version, and the figures do not represent a complete production budget.
Why the First Cut Fell Flat
Meyer’s account describes a practical issue in AI-assisted filmmaking: consistent images did not guarantee an effective edit. Character reference sheets helped keep faces and costumes stable, he says, but the first version still lacked the quick rhythm he wanted for comedy and horror. The production’s most consequential changes were editorial and creative: rejecting that cut, changing the generation approach, and applying a final colour grade.
The process also shows how a short can involve several rounds of generation and review rather than a single prompt. Meyer says he checked generated dialogue against the script using OpenAI’s Whisper speech-recognition model, which helped catch a line rendered incorrectly and identify a garbled final line for a retake. That account is a creator’s description of one project; it does not establish how well the same workflow would perform across other productions.
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Three Versions, One Overnight Shoot
Before generating video, Meyer created one full-length reference image for each of the eight characters. He describes these sheets as a way to reduce visual drift, such as changes to hair colour or costume between clips. The first version then paired 20 planned shots with generated start images and animated clips. Meyer says the clips included speech and sound, but the result had little variation in shot length and relied on a synthesized drone rather than a score.
His account also records limits encountered during generation. A shout typed in capital letters was spoken as individual letters; a planned head turn became a full-body turn; and an initial attempt to show a character being lifted was blocked. Rephrasing the action as floating passed the filter, but produced less movement than intended. A backward-bending character instead crawled forward. For the head-turn effect, Meyer says the team used a still image with the head already reversed and added a bone-crack sound.
Meyer credits the film’s premise to the structure of an AI horror-comedy short shared on X, while saying the script, characters and jokes were his own. His article does not identify the original short, so readers cannot assess the degree of similarity from the information provided.
““terribly boring and amateurish””
— Thorsten Meyer, describing his reaction to the first cut
What the Production Account Leaves Open
The account is Meyer’s own production report, and the reported costs, cut counts and comparisons have not been independently verified. The roughly $95 figure is based on the Higgsfield plan price he cites; it is not a complete cost estimate for labour, software access or other production expenses. The source also does not provide a detailed breakdown of how much time or credit each version used.
It is not clear which model produced the final three segments, beyond Meyer’s description of using one model with references for the cast. The article does not name the short shared on X that inspired the structure, or provide enough detail to compare the two works. Nor does the account establish whether the same methods would reliably preserve characters, dialogue or timing in other projects.
The Published Short and Its Workflow
The short is available on YouTube under the title Hollow House | A Halloween Horror-Comedy Short. Meyer’s October 28 article accompanies it with behind-the-scenes materials, including character sheets, generated start frames, failed attempts and a contact sheet of the final cut. The source does not announce a sequel, further production or a new release date.
For readers assessing the project, the clearest next step is to compare the finished 1:37 film with the process Meyer documents. The account supplies a specific timeline and workflow, while questions about the models used for the final cut, total production costs and the source of the inspiration remain unanswered.
Key Questions
What is Hollow House?
Hollow House is a 97-second horror-comedy short about a real ghost joining the crew of a haunted attraction. Meyer says the characters, voices and sets were AI-generated.
How long did it take to make?
Meyer says production ran from early evening on October 27, 2026, to about 1:30 a.m. on October 28, with three versions made during that period.
Why were there three versions?
Meyer says the first version looked good but felt boring, while the second used a faster-cut approach. The final version used three roughly 30-second segments generated with one model supplied with references for the full cast.
How much did the AI generation cost?
Meyer reports spending 2,220 Higgsfield credits across all three versions, which he values at about $95 at his plan price. He separately reports using about 2,100 ElevenLabs characters for music and sound effects; the source does not present a complete production-cost accounting.
What remains unknown about the film?
The account does not identify the model used for the final three segments or name the AI horror-comedy shared on X that inspired the film’s structure. The cost and production figures are Meyer’s reported estimates and have not been independently checked.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
