The Creative Catalyst Formula: Stop Letting Great Ideas Die in Your Head
How We Use Flora and One Simple Formula to Build Custom Brand Videos in 30 Minutes
We see technology as a means to let us have creative ideas and capitalize on them immediately with as limited barriers as possible.
This week, Grey and Teddy walked me through how they’re bringing their wild and weird ideas to life. For months now, we’ve been experimenting with AI video creation, failing spectacularly, and learning the inputs needed to make spectacular outputs. We’ve done the legwork to minimize the gap between “wouldn’t it be cool if...” and bringing an idea to life.
What we’ve learned: AI works best as a creative amplifier, not a creative replacement. Without interesting inputs and direction, you get generic outputs. But when you bring strong creative vision to it, the results can be awesome.
The Tool We Can’t Recommend Enough
We use Flora, an AI video creation platform, and have been attending their weekly training sessions to learn all their tips and tricks. After picking their brain and countless experiments, we discovered the most important technique that makes everything else possible.
The game changer: Reference Image + Text Prompt = Unlimited Creative Power
Don’t try to describe everything in text. Flora works best when you give it a reference image and then tell it exactly how to modify it. The AI is incredible at understanding images and changing them based on text instructions. Similar to humans, the AI needs references in order to make original ideas come to life.
This letter shows how to make your ideas reality, here’s how to turn them into winning ads.
Flora lets you create prompts in a specific way:
Upload reference images - High quality photos of your subject
Write detailed prompts - Tell Flora exactly what to change/add
Generate variations - Let AI combine image + text instructions
Iterate and refine - Adjust prompts based on results
Case Study: From Founder Photo to Brand Video in 30 Minutes
We work with Marsh Hen Mill, the best grits and cornmeal money can buy (Michelin chefs use this stuff). We’ve always joked that their founder Greg looks like the modern day Quaker Oats guy, just with more tattoos and gusto.
The idea: What if Greg pushed the Quaker Oats guy out of frame and took his place?
The result: A custom brand hero video in 30 minutes that we wouldn’t have ever thought to attempt 2 years ago.
Your DIY Template
Here’s the template we use to ensure speed and quality when bringing ideas to life.
Step 1: Define Your Concept
What’s your creative idea in one sentence: _____________
Who is your main character (person, mascot, etc.): _____________
What existing style are you copying/replacing (Quaker Oats, Disney, vintage ads, etc.): _____________
Step 2: Collect Reference Photos
Find 3-5 clear photos of your subject
Must have: Good lighting, uncluttered background, subject facing camera
Bonus: Multiple angles, different expressions, full body + close-up shots
Step 3: Write Your Flora Prompts
Character Description Prompt (let AI describe your person):
Upload your reference image to ChatGPT and ask: “Analyze this image and create a detailed character description for an AI image generator. Include physical features, clothing, style, and any distinctive characteristics.”
Style Direction Prompt (tells AI what look you want):
“Transform this person into [cartoon/realistic/vintage/etc.] style, similar to [specific reference like ‘Quaker Oats packaging’ or ‘Disney animation’]. [Color palette, artistic style, level of detail you want]”Scene/Action Prompt (describes what happens in the video):
“Create a scene where [describe the action/movement you want]. The character should [specific actions]. Setting: [environment/background]. Animation style: [smooth/cartoonish/dramatic/etc.]”
Step 4: Create in Flora
Upload your reference photos to Flora
Paste your character description prompt → generate first version
Add your style direction prompt → generate styled version
Use your scene/action prompt → create final animated video
Iterate on any part that doesn’t match your vision
Our Filled Template
Step 1: Concept Setup
Creative idea: Greg pushes Quaker Oats guy out of frame
Reference subject: Greg (Marsh Hen Mill founder)
Style targeting: Quaker Oats packaging aesthetic, cartoon-style
Step 2: Reference Collection
✅ Studio photos of Greg from multiple angles
✅ Clear lighting, neutral backgrounds
✅ Various expressions and poses
Step 3: Our Exact Flora Prompts
Base Character Creation:
"Create a prompt that will prompt an AI image creator to analyze and create a character model based on a real person from provided reference images that I will supply."Character Replacement:
"Replace the character in the first image with the character in the second image"Animation Sequence:
"Based on the premise that the red area within the first and second image is a window of sorts through the white negative space. Create a prompt for Kling where the character in the first image is pushed out of view of the 'window' by the character in the second image followed by the character in the second image stepping into frame. The animation of the action of pushing should be cartoonish. Use the first image as the first frame and the second image as the last frame. The motion in between should maintain cohesiveness so that the characters maintain their likeness. Additionally use the input video as reference for the motion of the characters."Step 4: Our Results
First generation: Realistic AI Greg
Second iteration: Cartoon-style Greg matching Quaker aesthetic
Final animation: Pushing sequence with proper frame transitions
Here’s Teddy walking you through if you’re a visual learner.
The Critical Success Factor
This is for anyone with wild ideas they want to bring to life.
The best part about this workflow is that it amplifies whatever creative spark you already have. Perfect for the weird idea you jot down but never would’ve thought to make a reality.
What this removes: Time barriers, technical skill requirements, budget constraints
What this unleashes: All those crazy, wonky, fun ideas you’ve been storing up
AI works best when you bring personality and vision to it. The weirder and more specific your idea, the better this gets. Your only homework is to keep consuming stuff that inspires you. Watch great movies, study design you love, pay attention to what makes you stop and think “that’s brilliant.” Your taste develops naturally when you care about creative work.
This is your creative catalyst. All those ideas rattling around in your head? Now you can actually make them happen.
That’s All Folks
The barrier between creative idea and execution is practically zero. Same Flora workflow works for:
Product demonstrations and explainers
Social media content and campaigns
Passion projects and experiments
Event marketing and promotions
If you have taste and don’t want to outsource your thinking to AI, this is your new superpower.
Here’s our work in progress Looney Tunes outro. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Is it weird and kinda funny? You bet. And iterating to make it perfect is half the fun.
Well this was action packed ...