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Reference Look → JSON Prompt → Image → Video: The Scroll-Stopper Pipeline

Steal a visual style (not the content) from a reference, translate it into a structured JSON prompt, then generate and animate it.

Goal

Turn any reference image or ad you like into a reusable structured prompt that produces on-brand stills and short animated ads.

Difficulty

beginner

Time

1–2 hours for the first ad

Cost

Depends on your tools and plan

TikTokInstagram ReelsMeta

What you’ll make

A short animated ad built from a “look” you liked somewhere else, whether realistic UGC or a stylized format (toy-brick, cartoon, ASMR, fake out-of-home). The trick is breaking the look into structured fields so you can reuse it and swap in your product.

Steps

  1. Collect a reference look. Save a frame from Pinterest, TikTok or Instagram, or pick one from MakeUGC’s library. You’re borrowing lighting, framing and style, not someone’s content or likeness.
  2. Have Claude describe it as JSON. Upload the reference and ask for a structured description: subject, wardrobe, setting, lighting, camera, lens, color palette, mood, imperfections. Then ask it to swap the subject/product for yours.
  3. Generate the still. Paste the JSON (or a prose version of it) into your image tool. Generate several variants and keep the best.
  4. Animate it. Feed the chosen still to a video model (the source uses Seedance) with a short motion prompt: one action, one camera move.
  5. Polish and post. Add captions, music or sound and a CTA in CapCut, then post.

Prompt templates

Reference → JSON (Claude):

Describe this image as JSON with keys: subject, wardrobe, pose, setting,
lighting, camera (angle, distance, movement), lens, color_palette, mood,
imperfections, text_on_screen. Be specific and visual. Then output a second
JSON where the subject is holding/using [MY PRODUCT: short description],
keeping everything else identical.

Motion prompt:

Animate this frame: [one action, e.g. she lifts the jar toward camera and smiles].
Slow handheld push-in. 5 seconds. Keep the product label sharp and unchanged.

Platform specs

  • Generate at 9:16 for TikTok/Reels/Stories; 4:5 or 1:1 for Meta feed.
  • Keep important text inside the center safe area.

Testing plan

  • Keep one JSON and change a single field per variant (setting, wardrobe or format) so you learn which variable matters.
  • Try the same product in 2–3 formats (realistic UGC vs. cartoon vs. ASMR) before optimizing one.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Copying a real creator’s face or a brand’s trademarked assets from the reference.
  • Asking for too much motion in one clip. One action per clip animates far more cleanly.
  • Letting the model redraw your packaging. Check the label in every frame.