The other night, I found myself staring at Midjourney, frustrated.
I was trying to create a scene that felt like Blade Runner or The Terminator — that gritty, analog, neon-soaked sci-fi look from 80s films.
Instead, I got overly polished anime-style shots or sterile commercial-like renderings. Nice pictures, sure. But not that feeling. Not the aesthetic I had in mind.
So I thought, maybe my prompts were too vague. I started throwing in keywords like “cyberpunk,” “futuristic dystopia,” “neon noir,” and a dozen others I found on Reddit. Still, the images were close, but not quite there. Like ordering a cappuccino and getting hot chocolate — similar comfort, but different flavor.
That’s when I realized: the 80s film vibe isn’t captured by one keyword.
It’s built on multiple elements — lighting, texture, composition, lens type, color palette, and grain — all working together.
I shifted gears and began thinking in prompt templates instead of isolated keywords.
For example:
Lighting: harsh shadows, volumetric fog, neon signs, backlit silhouettes
Film look: grainy texture, color grading in teal & orange, 35mm analog
Camera angles: low-angle shot, wide frame, cinematic depth of field
I saved these as a core “80s Film Prompt Template,” so every time I needed to change the subject — say, from “cyborg detective” to “runaway android girl” — I only needed to tweak a few parts.
But honestly, managing all those versions in Notion and Google Docs? Chaos.
Eventually, I gave FlashPrompt (https://www.flashprompt.app/) a try — a lightweight prompt manager that helps you save, reuse, and organize AI prompts across tools like Midjourney. No bloated features. Just a clean interface that lets me quickly find my templates and apply them.
FlashPrompt isn’t magic. But it is the missing piece if you’ve ever had that “ugh, I nailed that prompt last week, where is it now?” moment.
AI art is less about typing the perfect sentence and more about building your creative system. If you've been struggling to nail that aesthetic — whether it's the 80s film look or something else — start thinking in reusable blocks.
And if you need help managing them? FlashPrompt is one tool worth checking out.
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