# Cloud drift: hold the horizon and foreground still

An original sky-and-land input for slow rightward cloud drift, with separate checks for clouds, horizon height and ground shape.

These original SVG/PNG teaching inputs were authored for a method exercise. No video model was run and no generated result is included. PNG files are raster counterparts of the editable SVG sources.

## Input responsibilities

Upload only the clean first frame; diagram is for review.

Use the current controls at /generator/image-to-video; check actual accepted inputs and settings before submitting.

## Goal

Move the visible clouds slowly toward frame right while the horizon, low hills and foreground tree remain fixed. The exercise keeps ordinary daytime lighting; it does not depict measured weather or promise a seamless sky loop.

## Preparation

- Use the supplied scene with distinct cloud groups, a visible horizon and a foreground tree. Those layers make sky motion distinguishable from a camera pan.
- Choose slow rightward cloud drift with modest shape change. Do not combine it with sunrise, rapidly moving shadows or a time-lapse day-to-night transition.
- Record the horizon height and the tree silhouette before submitting. They are ground references, not moving cloud landmarks.
- Choose one cloud group to track in the observation sheet. The clean first frame is the upload input; the labeled two-time diagram stays outside the scene.

## Copyable brief

```text
Use the uploaded landscape as the first frame. The visible cloud groups drift slowly toward frame right across the daytime sky, with only soft natural changes along their edges. Keep the horizon at the same height, and keep the low hill outlines, foreground tree and ground completely still. The camera stays fixed without a pan, tilt or zoom. Daylight and ground shadows remain steady; do not introduce sunrise, sunset, birds or a new weather event. End with the same view and the clouds still drifting gently in the same direction.
```

## Procedure

1. **Separate the sky and ground references** — Mark one cloud group for displacement and record the horizon and tree as fixed. A single changing cloud shape cannot by itself establish direction.

2. **Specify drift without a camera pan** — Keep the camera fixed and ask only clouds to travel right. If the tree also slides left, the clip may be panning rather than preserving the required ground layer.

3. **Inspect cloud edges and horizon together** — Pause in the middle to compare cloud-group position and the hill contour. Allow soft cloud-edge evolution, but reject a horizon that rises, melts or bends with the sky.

4. **Review the continuing endpoint** — Check that drift direction persists to the last interval and that exposure remains daytime. Save the final visible displacement without claiming a start-to-end loop join.

## Observation record

Use checks.csv to record pass/fail/not-observable and the earliest affected time. Do not pre-fill a pass: there is no generated clip in this package.

- The tracked cloud group progresses toward frame right.
- Cloud-edge changes remain soft without abrupt duplication or teleporting.
- The horizon stays at the same screen height.
- The low hill contours do not change shape.
- The foreground tree and ground remain in their original locations.
- Camera framing and daytime illumination remain steady.
- The ending continues the same cloud direction without a new weather event.

## Revise one variable

**The entire landscape pans left**: Change only the camera-and-ground clause to fixed framing and stationary ground. Recheck the tree before adjusting cloud speed.

**Clouds boil in place without drifting**: Strengthen only the rightward translation request and choose one identifiable cloud group for review; do not add time-lapse language.

**The sky turns into sunset**: Remove only time-of-day progression words and keep steady daytime lighting. Inspect the ground illumination as well as sky color.

## Ending

End on the unchanged landscape with continuing cloud drift. Keep cloud displacement and fixed-ground checks separate; a usable loop or a real weather claim requires evidence beyond this practice draft.

## Evidence boundary

Historical parent queries: “minimax h3 image to video”, “minimax h3 prompting image to video”. Exact long-tail demand is unmeasured. Source: docs/research/pseo-keyword-gap-2026-10-05/evidence/bing-live-keywords.csv. Existing broad tutorial: /blog/landscape-video-prompts. The owner explains broad landscape motion roles; this download isolates slow cloud drift with a fixed horizon and provides a two-time observation diagram.