Prompting Guide for AI Video
The difference between a generic output and a precise one is almost entirely in the prompt. Here's how to write prompts that work.
The 5-element prompt structure
Subject
Who or what is in the video?
✓ Good
"A golden retriever puppy" ✕ Weak
"A dog" Action
What is it doing?
✓ Good
"running through a sunlit wheat field, ears flying" ✕ Weak
"moving" Setting
Where, what time of day, what weather?
✓ Good
"late afternoon, golden hour, slight breeze" ✕ Weak
"outside" Style
What visual aesthetic or camera quality?
✓ Good
"cinematic 4K, shallow depth of field, film grain" ✕ Weak
"high quality" Camera
How does the camera move?
✓ Good
"slow dolly forward, low angle" ✕ Weak
"moving camera" Complete prompt examples
Nature / landscape
"A lone lighthouse on a rocky cliff, storm waves crashing below, dark storm clouds parting to reveal sunlight, cinematic 4K wide shot, slow push forward, dramatic and awe-inspiring" Product (e-commerce)
"A premium running shoe rotating slowly on a minimalist white pedestal, dramatic studio lighting with subtle blue rim light, product photography style, 4K, neutral background" Character presenter
"A professional news anchor in a modern broadcast studio, speaking confidently to camera, well-lit, HD broadcast quality, subtle background depth" Abstract / tech
"Glowing data streams flowing through a dark abstract network, blue and white particles, deep space background, technology aesthetic, 4K, slow camera drift" Vertical social content
"A time-lapse of a city street at night, vertical 9:16 format, neon reflections on wet pavement, 30-second condensed into 8 seconds, cinematic" Camera movement vocabulary
Dolly forward / push in: Camera moves toward the subject
Dolly back / pull out: Camera moves away from the subject
Pan left / right: Camera rotates horizontally on a fixed axis
Tilt up / down: Camera rotates vertically on a fixed axis
Tracking shot: Camera moves parallel to a moving subject
Aerial / drone shot: Bird's-eye or elevated viewpoint
Handheld: Slight natural camera shake, organic feel
Crane shot: Smooth vertical rise or descent
Style modifiers that work
cinematic 4Kshallow depth of fieldfilm grainanamorphic lens flareslow motiontime-lapsedocumentary styleStudio Ghibli animationwatercolor paintingphotorealisticnoir lightinggolden hourIMAXdrone footagehandheld documentaryproduct photography