🔍 Read the full analysis: How We Made Hollow House, An AI Horror-Comedy, In One Night on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Hollow House, a 97-second AI-generated horror-comedy, was made between the evening of October 27 and about 1:30 a.m. on October 28, according to its creator, Thorsten Meyer. The team generated three versions in one night and says the final version succeeded after a slow first cut was reworked around faster pacing and a single video model using references for the full cast.
Thorsten Meyer says he made Hollow House, a 97-second AI-generated horror-comedy, in three attempts between the evening of October 27 and about 1:30 a.m. the next day. His October 28 account describes a central lesson from the production: consistent-looking AI shots were not enough; the first cut felt slow, and a faster edit helped make the short work as comedy.
The short follows a ghost who joins the staff of an extreme haunted attraction. When a guest says the safe word, the scaring should stop, but the supposed new employee does not follow the rule. Meyer’s account says the staff respond as if the situation were a workplace problem, with shift lead Ray asking whether the ghost signed a waiver. The production’s premise combines haunted-house scares with the mundane routines of managing staff.
Meyer reports that the team made three versions in one night. The first used 20 generated shots and ran 2 minutes 15 seconds. The second used 66 faster cuts and ran 2 minutes 21 seconds. The final version was assembled from three roughly 30-second segments generated with one model that had references for the full cast; it runs 1 minute 37 seconds. The account says the first two versions did not work, while the third became the released short.
The production used Nano Banana 2 to create character reference images and Google’s Veo 3.1 for the first version’s animated shots, according to Meyer. He says all eight character sheets were produced in under two minutes, at two credits each at 2K resolution. Across the three versions, the reported spend was 2,220 Higgsfield credits, which Meyer estimates at about $95 at the plan price, plus roughly 2,100 ElevenLabs characters for music and sound effects. These are the creator’s figures, not independently verified costs.
Behind the scenes · October 28, 2026
How We Made Hollow House, an AI Horror-Comedy, in One Night
Three versions, one overnight production window, and a clear creative lesson: consistent AI shots did not make the first cut work. Faster pacing did.
A ghost meets workplace policy
Hollow House places supernatural chaos inside the familiar routines of running an extreme haunted attraction.
The rule
A guest says the safe word. The scaring should stop immediately.
The problem
The apparent new hire is a ghost—and does not follow the rule.
The response
The staff handle the supernatural disruption like a workplace issue. Shift lead Ray asks whether the ghost signed a waiver.
The comic engine
Horror collides with mundane staff management, turning the reveal and the reactions into timing-dependent jokes.
From long shots to faster rhythm
Creator-reported versions show that more cuts alone were not the answer. The final workflow changed how the footage was generated, too.
First cut
2:15 · 20 SHOTSGenerated start frames were animated with Veo 3.1. Mostly static cameras and long shots made the visually consistent cut feel flat.
Did not workFaster edit
2:21 · 66 CUTSThe edit shifted to quicker cuts. Meyer says this version still did not work as the team wanted.
Did not workReleased short
1:37 · 3 SEGMENTSThree roughly 30-second segments, made with one model and references for the full cast, became the final short.
Released versionReferences, generation, selection
The account describes a production shaped by iteration and hands-on editorial choices, not a single prompt producing a finished film.
Build the cast
Eight character reference images were created first to help keep hair, costumes, and appearance consistent between shots.
Generate scenes
The first version used a start frame for each of 20 planned shots, animated in Veo 3.1 fast mode.
Check dialogue
Whisper transcripts helped identify wording errors and a garbled line for a retake.
Rework the cut
The team rejected earlier versions, changed the pace, selected a final approach, and applied a colour grade.
“Good-looking shots can still make a slow film.”
Meyer says the first version looked good but felt “terribly boring and amateurish.” The account points to pacing as the key change: reveals, reactions, and jokes need room to land at the right speed.
Human decisions shaped the result: rejecting the first edit, giving one model references for the full cast in the final version, and applying the final colour grade.
“Nobody move. Where’s the priest?”
Thorsten Meyer · Creator of Hollow House“Terribly boring and amateurish.”
Meyer’s description of his reaction to version oneUseful figures, with limits
These numbers describe this project as reported by its creator. They are not an independently verified budget or a benchmark for other productions.
2,220 Higgsfield credits across the three versions, estimated by Meyer at about $95 at his plan price.
The account does not list every tool cost, discarded generation, or the amount of editing and other production time.
The final model is not named, and the second and third versions are described less fully than the first.
What the account tells us
When was it made?
Meyer reports working from the evening of October 27, 2026, until about 1:30 a.m. on October 28.
How many versions?
Three: a 20-shot cut at 2:15, a 66-cut version at 2:21, and the released 1:37 short.
What is the short?
A 97-second horror-comedy about a ghost at an extreme haunted attraction, where the staff treat the scare gone wrong as a workplace problem.
What can viewers inspect?
Meyer says the short is on YouTube alongside character sheets, starting frames, failed attempts, and a contact sheet of the final cut.
Why the First Cut Fell Flat
The account offers a specific production example of how AI video tools still leave important creative decisions to people. Meyer says the first version looked good but was “terribly boring and amateurish.” By his count, it averaged 5.6 seconds per cut, compared with about 1.8 seconds for the short that inspired the project. The comparison is his own measurement of that reference short, and the source does not identify it by title.
That distinction matters because this is a comedy as well as a horror short: the pace of a reveal, reaction or joke can change how a scene lands. Meyer identifies the key human choices as rejecting the first edit, giving one model references for the whole cast, and applying the final colour grade. The work is not presented as a case of a prompt producing a finished film by itself; it is a record of iteration, selection and editing around generated material.
The reported credit total also gives readers a practical, if limited, view of the cost of one small production. It covers the three versions as Meyer describes them, not a general price for making AI films. The account does not itemise every tool cost or explain whether the estimate includes other production time.
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From Character Sheets to Three Cuts
Before generating video, Meyer says the team made one reference image for each of the eight characters. Those images were then used to guide later frames and clips. He describes this as a way to limit visual drift, such as a character’s hair or costume changing between shots. The source calls the characters, voices and sets AI-generated, although it does not provide a full technical breakdown of how every element was produced.
In the first version, the team generated a start frame for each of 20 planned shots and animated them with Veo 3.1 in fast mode. Meyer says the system generated speech and sound with the image. The edit had one line per shot, mostly static cameras and a synthesized drone rather than a score. His account says the film’s visual consistency was acceptable, but the long shots and lack of rhythmic variation made the result feel flat.
The team also encountered generation problems. Meyer reports that a shouted “HEY!” was spoken as the letters H-E-Y, a planned full head turn became a movement of the whole body, and an attempted lift was blocked before a revised “floating” description produced a less dramatic result. He says the team checked generated dialogue with Whisper, an OpenAI speech-recognition model, and used the transcript to identify wording errors and retake a garbled line.
““Nobody move. Where’s the priest?””
— Thorsten Meyer, creator of Hollow House
Limits of the Production Account
The available source is Meyer’s own behind-the-scenes account. It does not provide independent verification of the reported production hours, model usage, credit totals or dollar estimate. The figures should be read as the creator’s description of this project, not as audited costs or a benchmark for other productions.
The account also gives only a partial view of the final workflow. It describes the first version in detail and says the final cut used three segments from one model with the full cast as references, but does not name that model or explain each step involved in the second and third versions. It is not clear how much footage was generated and discarded, how much editing time was required, or whether the film has been screened or assessed beyond its publication.
Where the Short Goes From Here
Hollow House is available as a 1-minute-37-second short on YouTube, according to Meyer’s post. The account presents the finished film alongside character sheets, starting frames, failed attempts and a contact sheet of the final cut, allowing viewers to compare parts of the process with the released result.
Meyer’s source does not announce a sequel, further production schedule or additional release. The next concrete step for readers is to watch the short and review the accompanying process material; any broader conclusions about cost, quality or the reliability of AI video tools would require more projects and comparable production data.
Key Questions
What is Hollow House?
Hollow House is a 97-second horror-comedy about a ghost working at an extreme haunted attraction, where staff treat the supernatural disruption like a workplace issue.
How long did it take to make?
Creator Thorsten Meyer says production ran from the evening of October 27, 2026, until about 1:30 a.m. on October 28. That is his reported production window; the account does not separately state how many hours were spent on planning or other work.
How many versions were made?
Meyer reports three versions: a 20-shot, 2:15 cut; a 66-cut, 2:21 version; and the released 1:37 short, assembled from three segments made with one model and references for the cast.
What tools did the production use?
The account identifies Nano Banana 2 for character reference images, Google Veo 3.1 for the first version’s animated shots, Whisper for checking generated dialogue, and ElevenLabs for music and sound effects. It does not name the model used for the final version.
How much did the production cost?
Meyer estimates that the three versions used 2,220 Higgsfield credits, worth about $95 at his plan price, plus roughly 2,100 ElevenLabs characters. These are figures from the creator’s account, not independently verified production costs.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
