City & Tourism
A Samoyed explores and enjoys Shenzhen, then decides to stay: a dog's trip that tells the story of a civilized city.
Click an image to view it full size
01 / Background
This is a self-initiated short film by Liandan AI Studio on the theme of urban civility in Shenzhen. A civility campaign has to show landmarks, the living environment and everyday behavior all at once, and with that much to cover it easily turns into a landmark montage. The film casts a white Samoyed as both lead and guide: following it into the city, through its neighborhoods and into daily life turns an abstract theme into a trip you can actually see.
The dog moves through modern transit and high-rises, and also wanders onto the seafront, old streets and into restaurants. The route gives every district a landmark without repeating any of them, with Longgang's Galaxy Twin Towers and Universiade Center featured prominently; surfing, museum visits, oil paintings and a meeting with a robot dog give the route modern technology as well as leisure and city culture. Later, the dog takes away its return ticket and puts down a rental application, and the city's appeal moves from “the views are beautiful” to “I want to live here.”
02 / Creative Highlights
Introducing a city needs a character the audience can follow. The dog rides the train, waits for the elevator, surfs and eats out, and every place enters the story through what it experiences; its white coat and consistent look make it instantly recognizable no matter how often the scene changes.
Seaside surfing, the Ferris wheel and corporate buildings show different sides of the city, while the museum, oil paintings and food turn the dog from a sightseer into someone living it. During the fast landmark cuts, the back of the dog's head and its ears stay in the foreground, so the audience always gets to know Shenzhen through its eyes; actions like sorting trash bring the civility theme naturally into the trip.
Split screens, picture frames and round windows each hold a different place and action, and the fireworks reflected in the dog's eyes turn the scenery into its own feelings. The return ticket and the rental application side by side are the clearest way to show that it has decided to stay, which is why the closing flight over the city feels earned.
A paw touching bougainvillea sends petals drifting to the right, while on the other side birds also sweep right past the high-rises. With the two views side by side and moving the same way, the split screen is no longer two separate windows but one continuous impression of the city.
03 / Scene Breakdown
A paw unrolls a hand-drawn map of Shenzhen and the trip begins. The Samoyed rides the light rail into the city, comes out at Gangxia North under the “Eye of Shenzhen”, leaves paw prints on the beach, then takes an elevator up to look out over the city.
A white paw pushes open the rolled-up map; in the next shot the Samoyed is sitting upright on a red seat as the tunnel streams past the window.
The dog walks out of the escalator hall at Gangxia North Station; then, in an overhead shot of the beach, it walks between “SHEN” and “ZHEN” spelled out in shells.
The dog waits patiently in the elevator lobby; when the doors slide open, the Futian skyline is right in front of it.
From the Civic Center and Talent Park to Dameisha and OH Bay, then on to Window of the World and six tech companies, the landmarks appear one after another, but the camera always follows the dog's gaze.
First the dog's reflection in a puddle as it twitches its ears; then the camera turns, and it is sitting at a zebra crossing in front of the Civic Center, waiting for cars to pass.
A Samoyed in sunglasses rides a surfboard over a wave; at dusk it sits by the water, looking up at the Ferris wheel at OH Bay.
It holds out a paw for a selfie in front of Window of the World, then the headquarters of Huawei, Tencent, ZTE, BGI, DJI and BYD flash by, with the dog's two ears always visible at the bottom of the frame.
The Dongmenting archway and Shekou's Sea World are placed inside picture frames hanging on a wall; in the pictures, the dog crosses the street and floats past the Minghua ship hanging from balloons.
The trip shifts from sightseeing to everyday life: visiting a museum, looking at oil paintings, eating out and throwing out trash. Civility isn't spelled out in captions; the dog simply does it.
Wagging its tail, the dog walks into the circuit-board corridor of the Huaqiangbei Museum; in the next shot it sits in Dafen Oil Painting Village, facing a Van Gogh-style painting of Shenzhen Bay.
It stops at a restaurant entrance to look around; inside, a server brings over an iced milk tea, and the dog's eyes follow the cup.
The frame splits into four panels as a paw drops trash into gray, blue, red and green bins, while the sky behind shifts from early morning to late night.
On the left, a paw brushes some bougainvillea and the petals drift right; on the right, a flock of waterbirds also flies right past the Spring Bamboo Tower, and the two panels join into one motion.
The gate plaque of Nantou Ancient City and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange building are stacked top and bottom, with the dog's ears popping up from behind the plaque; then a tug on a rope toy pulls out a metro map.
The day's sightseeing gives way to the city at night: a robot dog, the lights along the central axis, fireworks and a concert, ending with two round windows that reveal its decision.
A crowd gathers outside a robot store, and the Samoyed goes over to greet a robot dog.
The dog sits on an observation deck, watching the Futian central axis light up from day into night; the camera pushes in close, and fireworks sparkle in its eyes.
The camera rushes forward from the steps outside the Universiade Center, through an indoor passage, and lands straight in the concert stands, where the dog is watching the show with the crowd.
In the round window on the left, a paw takes away the return ticket; in the round window on the right, a paw puts down a rental application. Without a single line of dialogue, the audience knows it wants to stay.
It goes to a Youth Station to sign up, gives a street interview and rides the metro with young people, and finally paraglides past the Galaxy Twin Towers before running toward the camera with a “Civilized Shenzhen” envelope in its mouth.
On the left is the Youth Station front desk, on the right the dog sits waiting; then someone holds out a microphone, and it grins at the camera.
The carriage is full of young people reading, looking at their phones and typing on laptops; the train pulls in, and the dog hops off its seat and gets off.
Hanging beneath a colorful paraglider, the dog flies past Longgang's Galaxy Twin Towers.
At the gate of Gankeng Ancient Town, the dog runs all the way up to the camera, holding an envelope marked “Civilized Shenzhen” in its mouth.
04 / Storyboards & Final Frames
Arranged in the order of the finished film. Each shot starts with what it shows, followed by the final frames used in the film (where there are several, they are usually the first and last frames).
Shot 1.1
On a wooden table, a white paw pushes open a rolled-up, hand-drawn map of Shenzhen, with a pet bowl and a small ball to one side.
Shot 1.2
The Samoyed sits upright on a red seat, with Shenzhen's high-rises and greenery outside the window. The carriage was drawn after the red seats and windows of the Shenzhen light rail.
Shot 1.3
Under the “Eye of Shenzhen” dome at Gangxia North Station, the dog walks out of the escalator hall wearing goggles.
Shot 1.4
An overhead shot of the beach: the dog walks in from the bottom of the frame, between “SHEN” and “ZHEN” spelled out in shells and pebbles.
Shot 1.5
On a promenade along Shenzhen Bay, the dog walks past the Spring Bamboo Tower.
Shot 1.6
In a high-rise elevator lobby, the dog sits waiting at the doors, with Ping An Finance Center visible through the window.
Shot 1.7
The elevator doors open onto the Futian skyline.
Shot 2.1
First the dog's reflection in a puddle, then a cut to it sitting at a zebra crossing on the Civic Center's central axis.
Shot 2.2
On the lawn of Talent Park, the dog leaps for a frisbee, with the Spring Bamboo Tower behind it.
Shot 2.3
A Samoyed in sunglasses stands on a surfboard, riding in on a wave.
Shot 2.4
In a symmetrical composition, the dog sits by the water, looking up at the Ferris wheel at OH Bay.
Shot 2.5
The dog holds out a paw for a selfie in front of the pyramid at Window of the World.
Shot 2.6
The headquarters of Huawei, Tencent, ZTE, BGI, DJI and BYD appear one by one; in the film, each one is overlaid with the back of the dog's head and its ears, as if it were visiting them in turn.
Shot 2.7
Under the archway of the Dongmenting food street, the dog crosses the road, drawn in by the smells from the street stalls. In the film, this shot was placed inside a picture frame on the wall.
Shot 2.8
At Sea World in Shekou, the dog is lifted by a bunch of colorful balloons and floats past the Minghua ship.
Shot 3.1
The dog walks into the Huaqiangbei Museum, through a glowing circuit-board corridor.
Shot 3.2
The dog sits in a studio, facing a Van Gogh-style oil painting of Shenzhen Bay.
Shot 3.3
The dog arrives at the entrance of a Japanese-style Western restaurant, with a clear, easy-to-read sign and storefront.
Shot 3.4
A server brings over an iced milk tea, and the dog looks down at the cup.
Shot 3.5
Four panels: a paw drops trash into gray, blue, red and green bins as the sky shifts from early morning to night.
Shot 3.6
In the left panel, a paw brushes the bougainvillea and the petals drift right; in the right panel, waterbirds fly right past the Spring Bamboo Tower.
Shot 3.7
A top-and-bottom split: the gate plaque of Nantou Ancient City and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange building, with the dog's ears popping into the frame.
Shot 3.8
On the left, a red rope toy; on the right, a metro map with a train carrying the dog's face running along the line.
Shot 4.1
A crowd gathers outside a robot store, and the Samoyed steps up to greet a robot dog in the middle of a performance.
Shot 4.2
The dog sits on an observation deck as the Futian central axis slowly lights up into a night view.
Shot 4.3
The camera pushes in, and the light of the fireworks is reflected in the dog's bright eyes.
Shot 4.4
From the grounds outside the Universiade Center all the way indoors, landing in the concert stands, where the dog watches the show with the crowd.
Shot 5.1
Two round windows: one takes away the return ticket, the other puts down a rental application; then the dog arrives at the Youth Station, where a young host is at the front desk.
Shot 5.2
Beside a sculpture in a city park, someone holds out a microphone, and the dog grins through the interview.
Shot 5.3
In the carriage, young people read, look at their phones and type on laptops; the train stops at Fanshen station, and the dog gets off.
Shot 5.4
Hanging beneath a colorful paraglider, the dog flies past Longgang's Galaxy Twin Towers.
Shot 5.5
At the gate of Gankeng Ancient Town, the dog runs toward the camera with an envelope marked “Civilized Shenzhen” in its mouth.
05 / Results
We completed an urban-civility short of about 1 minute 49 seconds (1920×1080, 16:9 landscape) with 34 storyboard shots and full music and sound effects, published on its Xinpianchang page. A single Samoyed links landmarks across Shenzhen's districts throughout the film, and in September 2026 the whole film received another round of image-quality upgrades.
Case Study
A city civility promo can easily turn into a string of landmarks plus a few slogans.
We told it differently: we hired a white Samoyed as the tour guide.
It rides the light rail into the city, walks past “SHEN ZHEN” on the beach, looks at oil paintings in Dafen Village, drinks milk tea in a restaurant and sorts its trash into four bins. In the end, it takes away its return ticket and hands in a rental application.
This is a self-initiated short film by Liandan AI Studio on the theme of urban civility in Shenzhen. It runs about 1 minute 49 seconds, and every image was generated with AI.
01
“Urban civility” is a big word. When it's actually filmed, it usually means aerial shots of high-rises, smiling residents and a line of caption. Afterwards, viewers can't remember a single image.
The first thing we wanted to solve: give the audience someone to follow.
In the end we chose a white Samoyed. It's white and fluffy enough to be recognized instantly no matter how many times the scene changes; and since it's a dog, riding the metro, waiting for the elevator or eating out all come with a built-in charm that needs no dialogue to explain.
The route follows a real trip: arriving in the city, wandering around, starting to live there, falling for it and deciding to stay. Civility isn't spelled out in captions either; the dog simply does it, for example by dropping a bottle, a carton and a fruit core into bins of different colors.
02
Shenzhen has far too many landmarks to film. In the first version, the Spring Bamboo Tower alone appeared in 6 shots.
For the second version, we set three rules: every district gets a landmark; no landmark appears twice; and Longgang's Galaxy Twin Towers and Universiade Center get special focus. The team first sorted real photos of the landmarks by district, then decided which shots to keep and which to replace.
With so many landmarks, the pace had to vary. The six tech companies are quick cuts, half a second each; but under every one sit the back of the dog's head and its two ears, so viewers feel as if they're sitting right behind it, looking on as it goes. Dongmenting and Sea World are placed in picture frames on a wall, like flipping through a travel album.
After a selfie in front of Window of the World, Huawei, Tencent, ZTE, BGI, DJI and BYD flash by in turn, with the dog's ears always in the foreground.
Right after the quick cuts, the film slows down: a museum visit, oil paintings, milk tea. After the sights, letting the dog stop and live a little is what gives the city the feel of real life.
03
If it were just sightseeing, the film could go on forever or stop anywhere. We needed a turning point.
The turning point sits in two round windows: on the left, a paw takes away the return ticket; on the right, a paw puts down a rental application. One takes, one gives, and without a single line of dialogue the audience knows it wants to stay.
Two round windows, one take and one give, show the dog deciding to stay in Shenzhen.
The next few scenes are all written around “staying”: it goes to a Youth Station to sign up, where a young host welcomes it; it rides the metro with young people reading, looking at their phones and typing on laptops, and when the train stops at Fanshen station, it gets off with them. Shenzhen is a young city, and we wanted the people on screen to look positive and full of energy too.
04
The biggest risk for a city film is that it doesn't look right: the carriage isn't a Shenzhen carriage, or the sign text is garbled, and viewers are pulled right out of it. We put in the work on a few things.
Real-world scenes must be based on photos of the actual places. The light rail carriage first came out as a high-speed-rail style with brown cushioned seats; it was later regenerated after the red seats and windows of the Shenzhen light rail.
With text descriptions alone, it's hard for AI to place lettering in a set position at a set size. For “SHEN ZHEN” on the sand, we first marked where the letters should go on a reference image, combined it with the reference into a new image and gave that to the AI to edit according to the marks. Text on signs and the application form was then cleaned up separately in Photoshop.
Going from the grounds outside the Universiade Center all the way to the concert stands, the start and end images are very different. The approach was to supply a first and last frame, then describe the path in between clearly in the prompt: push forward from the entrance, pass through the indoor corridor and come around to the stands. Transitions generated this way rarely go off track.
The first frame is outside, the last frame is in the stands, and the corridor in between is traversed as the prompt describes.
The same goes for the “following behind the dog” shots in the landmark quick cuts: the prompt has to state whose back we're seeing, how far behind it the camera is and where it's looking along its line of sight; otherwise the AI can't tell who in the frame should move.
05
Once the visuals were locked, we added two more things.
First, sound. The storyboard lists sound effects for every shot: rustling paper, a metro arrival chime, waves, a camera shutter, sizzling sausages, the echo of a plastic bottle dropping into a bin. We also tried several versions of the music and strung together the tracks with the strongest sense of imagery.
Second, image quality. In September 2026, we regenerated every still in the film one by one to sharpen the building lines, signs and people; the video was regenerated at 1080p, and along the way we fixed lighting errors such as outdoor sunlight shining into the elevator.
06
The film has no grand voiceover and not a single slogan. It does just one thing: lets the audience follow a dog around Shenzhen and then understand why it wants to stay.
For city, cultural tourism and government promotion, this is an approach that can be reused: find a likable character, give it a specific route, and let it make a choice along the way. The landmarks make the city recognizable; the character's choice makes it memorable.
On the production side, we ran the full process: collecting landmark references by district, writing the storyboard and sound effects, producing final frames shot by shot, generating video, editing and scoring, then upgrading the image quality across the whole film. The second version, with all 34 storyboard shots revised and the film finished, was done by 3 people in 4 days.
FAQ
Before production, we locked the character's look: three reference images of the same Samoyed from the front, side and back. Every shot was then generated with this set of references, keeping the coat, build and face consistent; the dog moves through more than 30 scenes in the film, and viewers can always tell it's the same one.
For this film we collected real photos of the landmarks district by district as references, and interior spaces like the carriage and elevator were also generated from real environments; text on signs and the application form was cleaned up separately in Photoshop. Landmarks such as the Spring Bamboo Tower, Ping An Finance Center, the Galaxy Twin Towers and the Universiade Center are all instantly recognizable.
The first version took one person about 7 days. The second version was done by 3 people in 4 days: of the 34 storyboard shots, 9 were reused, 14 revised and 11 added, and music and sound effects were added. A separate round of image-quality upgrades for the whole film came after that.
16:9 landscape, 1920×1080, about 1 minute 49 seconds, with music and sound effects in the film, published on its Xinpianchang page.
Approach
The storyboard organizes the locations into six scenes, “arrival, exploration, experience, settling in, climax and ending”, and spells out for every shot the dog's paws, gaze, tail and which side it enters and exits the frame. The city quick-cut section follows the dog with an over-the-shoulder view, keeping it in the foreground; in the elevator, the train and the restaurant, the character is placed according to real spatial relationships, so the audience can tell where the dog is.
The film uses split screens and shaped windows to control how much information is on screen, and after the landmarks flash by it leaves time for the dog's reactions and everyday experiences. The ending is driven by the dog's own choice, so the cityscape and the civility theme tell the same story.
Details of buildings and characters, the elevator interior, restaurant signage and the text on the application form are all rendered clearly and true to life, so the audience can both recognize the places and follow the story. Petals and birds moving the same way, and the ticket taken and application handed in through the round windows: these split frames aren't just decoration, they also tell the story.
More Work
Ideal for brand launches · public-sector communications · cultural-tourism campaigns · IP transformation · event openers · earnings visualization · social campaigns · AI workflow development
