\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{article} % Packages \usepackage{fancyhdr} % For header and footer \usepackage{multicol} % Allows multicols in tables \usepackage{tabularx} % Intelligent column widths \usepackage{tabulary} % Used in header and footer \usepackage{hhline} % Border under tables \usepackage{graphicx} % For images \usepackage{xcolor} % For hex colours %\usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc} % For unicode character support \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} % Without this we get weird character replacements \usepackage{colortbl} % For coloured tables \usepackage{setspace} % For line height \usepackage{lastpage} % Needed for total page number \usepackage{seqsplit} % Splits long words. %\usepackage{opensans} % Can't make this work so far. Shame. Would be lovely. \usepackage[normalem]{ulem} % For underlining links % Most of the following are not required for the majority % of cheat sheets but are needed for some symbol support. \usepackage{amsmath} % Symbols \usepackage{MnSymbol} % Symbols \usepackage{wasysym} % Symbols %\usepackage[english,german,french,spanish,italian]{babel} % Languages % Document Info \author{everygen} \pdfinfo{ /Title (ai-video-prompts-and-aspect-ratios.pdf) /Creator (Cheatography) /Author (everygen) /Subject (AI Video Prompts \& Aspect Ratios Cheat Sheet) } % Lengths and widths \addtolength{\textwidth}{6cm} \addtolength{\textheight}{-1cm} \addtolength{\hoffset}{-3cm} \addtolength{\voffset}{-2cm} \setlength{\tabcolsep}{0.2cm} % Space between columns \setlength{\headsep}{-12pt} % Reduce space between header and content \setlength{\headheight}{85pt} % If less, LaTeX automatically increases it \renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt} % Remove footer line \renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt} % Remove header line \renewcommand{\seqinsert}{\ifmmode\allowbreak\else\-\fi} % Hyphens in seqsplit % This two commands together give roughly % the right line height in the tables \renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.3} \onehalfspacing % Commands \newcommand{\SetRowColor}[1]{\noalign{\gdef\RowColorName{#1}}\rowcolor{\RowColorName}} % Shortcut for row colour \newcommand{\mymulticolumn}[3]{\multicolumn{#1}{>{\columncolor{\RowColorName}}#2}{#3}} % For coloured multi-cols \newcolumntype{x}[1]{>{\raggedright}p{#1}} % New column types for ragged-right paragraph columns \newcommand{\tn}{\tabularnewline} % Required as custom column type in use % Font and Colours \definecolor{HeadBackground}{HTML}{333333} \definecolor{FootBackground}{HTML}{666666} \definecolor{TextColor}{HTML}{333333} \definecolor{DarkBackground}{HTML}{A3A3A3} \definecolor{LightBackground}{HTML}{F3F3F3} \renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} \color{TextColor} % Header and Footer \pagestyle{fancy} \fancyhead{} % Set header to blank \fancyfoot{} % Set footer to blank \fancyhead[L]{ \noindent \begin{multicols}{3} \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{C} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \vspace{-7pt} {\parbox{\dimexpr\textwidth-2\fboxsep\relax}{\noindent \hspace*{-6pt}\includegraphics[width=5.8cm]{/web/www.cheatography.com/public/images/cheatography_logo.pdf}} } \end{tabulary} \columnbreak \begin{tabulary}{11cm}{L} \vspace{-2pt}\large{\bf{\textcolor{DarkBackground}{\textrm{AI Video Prompts \& Aspect Ratios Cheat Sheet}}}} \\ \normalsize{by \textcolor{DarkBackground}{everygen} via \textcolor{DarkBackground}{\uline{cheatography.com/219264/cs/48536/}}} \end{tabulary} \end{multicols}} \fancyfoot[L]{ \footnotesize \noindent \begin{multicols}{3} \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{LL} \SetRowColor{FootBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Cheatographer}} \\ \vspace{-2pt}everygen \\ \uline{cheatography.com/everygen} \\ \end{tabulary} \vfill \columnbreak \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{L} \SetRowColor{FootBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Cheat Sheet}} \\ \vspace{-2pt}Published 22nd October, 2026.\\ Updated 22nd October, 2026.\\ Page {\thepage} of \pageref{LastPage}. \end{tabulary} \vfill \columnbreak \begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{L} \SetRowColor{FootBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Sponsor}} \\ \SetRowColor{white} \vspace{-5pt} %\includegraphics[width=48px,height=48px]{dave.jpeg} Measure your website readability!\\ www.readability-score.com \end{tabulary} \end{multicols}} \begin{document} \raggedright \raggedcolumns % Set font size to small. Switch to any value % from this page to resize cheat sheet text: % www.emerson.emory.edu/services/latex/latex_169.html \footnotesize % Small font. \begin{multicols*}{3} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{p{0.59724 cm} x{4.37976 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Prompt Structure (one scene)}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Order & Element \tn % Row Count 2 (+ 2) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} 1 & Subject (who/what, 3–5 fixed traits) \tn % Row Count 4 (+ 2) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} 2 & Action (one verb per shot) \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 1) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} 3 & Setting (place + time of day) \tn % Row Count 6 (+ 1) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} 4 & Camera (shot size + movement) \tn % Row Count 7 (+ 1) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} 5 & Lighting / mood \tn % Row Count 8 (+ 1) % Row 6 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} 6 & Style (film stock, animation type) \tn % Row Count 9 (+ 1) % Row 7 \SetRowColor{white} 7 & Duration / aspect ratio \tn % Row Count 10 (+ 1) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \SetRowColor{LightBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{Example: {\emph{"Woman in yellow raincoat, short black bob, closes a noodle stall; rainy night market; medium shot, slow push-in; neon reflections, warm key light; 35mm film look; 6s, 9:16."}}} \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.4885 cm} x{2.4885 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Shot Size}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Term & Use for \tn % Row Count 1 (+ 1) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} Extreme wide (EWS) & Establishing location \tn % Row Count 3 (+ 2) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Wide (WS) & Full body + environment \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 2) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} Medium (MS) & Waist up, dialogue \tn % Row Count 6 (+ 1) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Medium close-up (MCU) & Chest up, emotion \tn % Row Count 8 (+ 2) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} Close-up (CU) & Face, reaction \tn % Row Count 9 (+ 1) % Row 6 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Extreme close-up (ECU) & Eyes, product detail \tn % Row Count 11 (+ 2) % Row 7 \SetRowColor{white} Over-the-shoulder (OTS) & Conversations \tn % Row Count 13 (+ 2) % Row 8 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} POV & Viewer as character \tn % Row Count 14 (+ 1) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.43873 cm} x{2.53827 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Camera Movement}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Term & Effect \tn % Row Count 1 (+ 1) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} Static / locked-off & Calm, readable \tn % Row Count 2 (+ 1) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Push-in / dolly in & Building tension \tn % Row Count 3 (+ 1) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} Pull-out / dolly out & Reveal, ending \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 2) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Pan left/right & Follow, survey \tn % Row Count 6 (+ 1) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} Tilt up/down & Scale, reveal height \tn % Row Count 7 (+ 1) % Row 6 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Orbit / arc & Hero product shot \tn % Row Count 8 (+ 1) % Row 7 \SetRowColor{white} Tracking & Follow moving subject \tn % Row Count 10 (+ 2) % Row 8 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Crane / drone rise & Epic establishing \tn % Row Count 11 (+ 1) % Row 9 \SetRowColor{white} Handheld & Realism, urgency \tn % Row Count 12 (+ 1) % Row 10 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Whip pan & Energetic transition \tn % Row Count 13 (+ 1) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.14011 cm} x{2.83689 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Lighting \& Mood Keywords}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Keyword & Result \tn % Row Count 1 (+ 1) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} Golden hour & Warm, soft, long shadows \tn % Row Count 3 (+ 2) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Blue hour & Cool, moody dusk \tn % Row Count 4 (+ 1) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} Hard key light & Dramatic contrast \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 1) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Softbox / diffused & Clean product look \tn % Row Count 7 (+ 2) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} Rim light & Subject separation \tn % Row Count 8 (+ 1) % Row 6 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Neon / practicals & Night city \tn % Row Count 9 (+ 1) % Row 7 \SetRowColor{white} Overcast & Flat, even, natural \tn % Row Count 10 (+ 1) % Row 8 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Volumetric fog & Depth, light beams \tn % Row Count 11 (+ 1) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{1.89126 cm} x{3.08574 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Platform Quick Specs}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Platform & Ratio / length \tn % Row Count 1 (+ 1) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} YouTube Shorts & 9:16, up to 3 min \tn % Row Count 2 (+ 1) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Instagram Reels & 9:16, cover safe in 4:5 crop \tn % Row Count 4 (+ 2) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} TikTok & 9:16 \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 1) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} YouTube long-form & 16:9 \tn % Row Count 7 (+ 2) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} Feed ads & 1:1 or 4:5 \tn % Row Count 8 (+ 1) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \SetRowColor{LightBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{Lengths change often; check each platform's help page before publishing.} \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{9:16 Safe Zones}} \tn \SetRowColor{white} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{- Keep text in the {\bf{middle third}} of the frame \newline % Row Count 1 (+ 1) - Bottom \textasciitilde{}20\%: username, caption, music bar \newline % Row Count 2 (+ 1) - Right \textasciitilde{}15\%: like / comment / share buttons \newline % Row Count 3 (+ 1) - Top \textasciitilde{}10\%: status bar, search \newline % Row Count 4 (+ 1) - Put faces slightly above centre% Row Count 5 (+ 1) } \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Image-to-Video Tips}} \tn \SetRowColor{white} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{- Start image = first frame: compose it as a shot \newline % Row Count 1 (+ 1) - Describe {\bf{motion only}}, not the image content again \newline % Row Count 3 (+ 2) - One camera move per clip \newline % Row Count 4 (+ 1) - Match prompt aspect ratio to source image \newline % Row Count 5 (+ 1) - Low motion strength for faces, higher for scenery% Row Count 7 (+ 2) } \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.63781 cm} x{2.33919 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Negative Prompt / Things to Avoid}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Avoid & Why \tn % Row Count 1 (+ 1) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} Multiple actions per shot & Model blends them \tn % Row Count 3 (+ 2) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Text in the scene & Usually garbled \tn % Row Count 4 (+ 1) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} "Beautiful, amazing" & Adds nothing \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 1) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Many characters & Identity drift \tn % Row Count 6 (+ 1) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} Fast complex hands & Artifacts \tn % Row Count 7 (+ 1) % Row 6 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Brand logos & Distortion, legal risk \tn % Row Count 9 (+ 2) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{1.14425 cm} x{1.41887 cm} x{2.01388 cm} } \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{3}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Aspect Ratios}} \tn % Row 0 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} Ratio & Pixels (typical) & Where \tn % Row Count 2 (+ 2) % Row 1 \SetRowColor{white} 16:9 & 1920×1080 & YouTube, web, TV \tn % Row Count 3 (+ 1) % Row 2 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} 9:16 & 1080×1920 & Shorts, Reels, TikTok \tn % Row Count 5 (+ 2) % Row 3 \SetRowColor{white} 1:1 & 1080×1080 & Feed posts, ads \tn % Row Count 6 (+ 1) % Row 4 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} 4:5 & 1080×1350 & \seqsplit{Instagram/Facebook} feed \tn % Row Count 8 (+ 2) % Row 5 \SetRowColor{white} 4:3 & 1440×1080 & Retro, presentations \tn % Row Count 10 (+ 2) % Row 6 \SetRowColor{LightBackground} 21:9 / 2.39:1 & 2560×1080 & Cinematic letterbox \tn % Row Count 12 (+ 2) \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}---} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Character Consistency}} \tn \SetRowColor{white} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{- Write a {\bf{character sheet}}: face, hair, 1 signature item, 1 colour \newline % Row Count 2 (+ 2) - Paste the {\bf{same wording}} in every scene \newline % Row Count 3 (+ 1) - Reuse a {\bf{reference image}} where the tool allows \newline % Row Count 5 (+ 2) - Avoid changing outfit, age or lighting style mid-story \newline % Row Count 7 (+ 2) - Generate scene 1 \& 2 first; check the cut% Row Count 8 (+ 1) } \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Timing Rules of Thumb}} \tn \SetRowColor{white} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{- Narration: \textasciitilde{}2.5 words per second \newline % Row Count 1 (+ 1) - Hook: first 1–2 s \newline % Row Count 2 (+ 1) - Scene length: 3–8 s per generated shot \newline % Row Count 3 (+ 1) - Short: 15–45 s performs well for most niches \newline % Row Count 4 (+ 1) - Story video: 60–180 s = 10–25 scenes% Row Count 5 (+ 1) } \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} \begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X} \SetRowColor{DarkBackground} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Workflow Cheat}} \tn \SetRowColor{white} \mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{1. Idea → 6–12 story beats \newline % Row Count 1 (+ 1) 2. Character sheet \newline % Row Count 2 (+ 1) 3. One prompt per beat (structure above) \newline % Row Count 3 (+ 1) 4. Generate 2 scenes, check consistency \newline % Row Count 4 (+ 1) 5. Generate the rest \newline % Row Count 5 (+ 1) 6. Voice-over → adjust durations \newline % Row Count 6 (+ 1) 7. Music bed at −18 to −12 dB under voice \newline % Row Count 7 (+ 1) 8. Captions, export, SRT \newline % Row Count 8 (+ 1) Multi-scene planners such as \{\{link="https://everygen-ai.com/everygen-studio"\}\}Everygen Studio's AI Director\{\{/link\}\} automate steps 1–7 for videos up to 180 s. To go the other way, from a long video to clips, see \{\{link="https://everygen-ai.com/long-video-to-shorts"\}\}Long Video to Shorts\{\{/link\}\}.% Row Count 15 (+ 7) } \tn \hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-} \end{tabularx} \par\addvspace{1.3em} % That's all folks \end{multicols*} \end{document}