Mermaid effect

A seated figure gains scales, tail and fin in one continuous wide shot. a wide shot of a person sitting on a flat rock beside a large tide pool in early light, iridescent scales spreading up both legs, the legs fusing into one long tail and a wide translucent fin unfurling over the edge of the rock, the tail flexing and sending a ripple across the pool, the upper body and the coastline unchanged, slow camera arc around the rock

A finished tail drives a long swim past the camera underwater. a wide underwater shot in clear sunlit water where a person with an iridescent tail and wide fin swims past the camera with slow full-body strokes, the tail bending along its whole length and the fin snapping at the end of each beat, light shafts crossing the scales, the human torso and arms unchanged and steering, sand and rock below, camera panning to follow

A folded fin opens fully in clear water and pushes off. a person floats upright in clear blue-green water lit from above, the fin at the end of a long iridescent tail folded closed, then it opens and spreads wide like a fan, the translucent membrane catching the light shafts, and a single slow stroke of the tail drives the body forward out of frame, hair lifting in the water, the human torso and arms unchanged, camera holding still

The change runs backward as a tail splits into legs on sand. a person lies on dry sand at midday with a long iridescent tail, and the change runs backward, the fin folding away and thinning, the tail splitting along a seam into two legs, the scales retreating down the shins and vanishing at the ankles, leaving ordinary skin and sand-dusted feet, the torso and hair unchanged throughout, slow camera pan along the body

Iridescent scales climb the legs before the tail forms. a person sits on a weathered harbour wall with both legs hanging over calm water in low evening sun, small iridescent teal scales appear at the ankles and spread up the shins and knees like frost forming, the skin going glassy and catching the light, the upper body, jacket and hair completely unchanged, the legs still separate so the scales alone carry the change, close camera from the side

A wading figure gains a tail exactly where the water reaches. a person wades slowly into shallow sea at dusk, and exactly at the waterline the body changes, everything under the surface carrying iridescent scales and a fusing tail while everything above the line stays ordinary skin and a linen shirt, the line of change rising up the body as the water deepens, the shoulders staying calm and dry, camera at water level tracking in

Scales climb a pair of legs on a dry deck while the crew stays ordinary. a wide shot of a small wooden boat deck in flat grey daylight where one seated person gains iridescent scales spreading up from the ankles to the thighs while the other two people on deck stay entirely ordinary and carry on coiling rope, the scaled legs still separate and glassy in the light, the boat, sea and sky unchanged, locked camera across the deck

Two scaled legs merge into a single tail on wet stone. a person lies on wet dark stone at the edge of a tide pool in overcast light, their scaled legs drawing together and fusing into a single thick tail from the hip down, the seam closing as the muscle joins, a wide translucent fin unfurling at the end and spreading like a fan, the tail flexing once against the stone, the torso and arms unchanged and human, low close camera

A swimming pool shows scales only below the surface. a wide shot of a plain outdoor swimming pool at dusk where a person stands waist deep, everything below the surface carrying iridescent scales and a fusing tail and everything above staying ordinary skin and swimwear, the line of change following the water exactly as small waves cross the body, the pool tiles, ladder and evening light unchanged, locked wide camera

A full bath turns a pair of legs to tail in an ordinary bathroom. a person lies back in a full white bathtub in a plain bathroom under warm light, their legs under the water taking on iridescent violet scales that spread toward the knees, the legs then drawing together into a single tail that no longer fits the tub, the fin rising out of the water and dripping, the head, arms and tiled wall unchanged, camera from the foot of the bath