How to write a prompt for AI video

A video prompt is closer to a shot description than to an image caption. A still image needs a subject and a look. A clip also needs to know what moves, how the camera behaves and how the shot ends. Prompts that leave those out tend to come back as a slow zoom on a static scene.

Five things to include

Subject. Say who or what the shot is about, with the details that matter: "a young woman in a red coat", not "a person".

Action. Give the subject one clear thing to do. "Walks through a wet city street" works. Three actions in a five-second clip usually means none of them finishes.

Camera. Name the move: push-in, pull-back, orbit, tracking shot, locked-off. If you say nothing, the model picks for you.

Light and setting. Time of day, light source and surface: "soft studio light", "neon reflections on the pavement", "late afternoon sun".

Style. One or two words on the register you want: "premium commercial style", "realistic movement", "cinematic mood".

Three examples

A product shot:

A cinematic product shot of a transparent perfume bottle slowly rotating above a calm blue water surface, soft studio light, gentle ripples, premium commercial style, 16:9.

A character moment:

A young woman in a red coat walks through a wet neon city street at night, reflections on the pavement, slow camera push-in, emotional cinematic mood, realistic movement.

Animating a photo with image to video:

Animate this travel photo with gentle wind, moving clouds, soft sunlight, and a slow cinematic zoom. Keep the main subject natural and consistent.

Each of these names a subject, one action, one camera move and the light. None of them is long.

When you start from an image

In image to video the picture already fixes the subject, the framing and the light, so the prompt only has to describe change: what moves, and what the camera does. Asking for things that contradict the image ("make it night") rarely works. The clip keeps the shape of your image, so crop it to the framing you want before you upload.

Iterate cheaply

Length and quality set the price, so test an idea at 5 seconds and 720p first. When the motion is right, run it again longer or at 1080p. The cost is shown on the Generate button before you confirm, and a failed generation returns its credits.

You can open every example above with its prompt filled in on the Explore page.