My Subway Story

Runway AI Short Film

A soon-to-be-dad has his bag stolen on a subway. What follows is his obsession with tracking this person across New York City, a long-shot text to a new friend, and an ending nobody saw coming — least of all him.

Every frame was generated using Runway Gen-3. Every scene began as a prompt, but in order to tell the story, I had to think like a director and capture only what was essential.


Voices by ElevenLabs | Soundtrack by Suno | Edited in Capcut

“I lost my bag on the F train. But what I found is why
I love this F*cking city so much.”

Cast Prompts

  • Sketch of a young man with messy hair and a surprised or worried expression, wearing a leather jacket, standing in a subway or train with windows and other passengers in the background.

    Nico/Narrator

    Future dad

    Man, 40s, brown hair, average height, and broad shoulders, similar in size to Javier Bardem.

  • Drawing of a young woman with her hair in a messy bun, wearing a puffy jacket with 'F.I.T' on the front, standing on a city street with skyscrapers, cars, and pedestrians in the background.

    the Niece

    College freshman

    Young woman with Selena Gomez features, wearing sweatpants and puffer with FIT initials.

  • Sketch of a pregnant woman with long hair smiling and standing in front of a window.

    Wifey

    Voice of Reason

    Soon-to-be mom has Anne Hathaway's features. Standing with a gentle, reassuring expression.

  • Black and white illustration of a young man wearing a hoodie, standing in front of a cityscape with graffiti on the wall.

    Dez

    Bouncer/Uncle

    Wise man from Brooklyn, 40s, in a hoodie, hidden face, i.e; Rza from Wu-Tang

  • A black and white illustration of a fetus inside the womb, viewed from the side with the head slightly bowed and one arm raised.

    Baby

    Sonogram

    Black and white, loose, sketchy, hand-drawn animation style of a sonogram photo, with subtle movements.

Scene Prompts

Shot 01 Opening Scene

A loose, sketchy, hand-drawn style animation of a cab sitting outside New York City on a rainy evening.

Standing beside the cab is Nico, wearing a backpack and holding a rolling suitcase.

A person with a suitcase walking toward an underground subway entrance in a city street, with yellow taxi and pedestrians with umbrellas in the background.

Shot 02 Niece in New York

A big reveal of the niece standing outside a yellow cab. She holds her luggage closely.

Black and white drawing of a woman in a hoodie and jacket pulling a suitcase beside a yellow taxi in an urban setting.

Shot 03 Taking a Subway

Nico and Niece are standing at the subway platform with their bags and luggage beside them.

Train pulls up. Nico watches his niece board, then follows.

People waiting in line on a train platform, some with backpacks and rolling suitcases, some of whom are boarding the train or already seated inside.

Nico and Niece are standing inside the subway. As the door closes, we zoom in slowly.

(signaling that trouble is coming)

Shot 04 Closing Doors

Black and white drawing of a subway train with two young adults, a man and a woman, stepping off at an underground station. The man is wearing a leather jacket and carrying a bag, and the woman is wearing a puffer jacket. There are a few pieces of paper scattered on the platform.

Shot 05 Where’s my bag?!

Nico and the Niece standing outside of a college city dorm. Nico is no longer wearing his backpack.

Nico’s eyes widen, but he remains calm. He hugs her and scurries away.

A black and white illustration of a young man and woman standing on a city street, with the man angrily gesturing and the woman looking surprised, both with suitcases. The man is saying, "My backpack!" indicating he is upset about losing his backpack.

Director’s Commentary

(coming soon..)

Working with Runway, ElevenLabs, Suno, and CapCut was genuinely impressive, but not everything went as planned.

The AI didn't always get it right. I had to pivot often and sometimes move on completely, knowing that there were inconsistencies.

More on what worked, what didn't, and what I learned coming soon.