Prompt Anatomy
Part |
What to write |
Subject |
Who or what is on screen. Be concrete: "a ceramic teapot", not "an object" |
Action |
One visible thing that happens: steam rises, a hand waves, mist drifts |
Setting |
Where and when: "on a pale wooden table", "quiet park path at dusk" |
Camera |
One shot size and one camera move: "medium shot, slow push in" |
Lighting |
Source, direction, quality: "soft window light from the left" |
Style |
Look and texture: "realistic, natural colours", "warm neutral palette" |
Format |
Aspect ratio, duration and resolution are set in the tool's controls. The text only describes framing |
Order |
Subject → action → setting first, then camera, light and style |
Scope |
One shot per prompt. Several locations or a whole story in one short clip is hard to control |
Camera Moves
Term |
Effect on screen |
Static / locked-off |
Camera does not move; safest when the scene is busy |
Push in / dolly in |
Camera moves toward the subject; builds focus |
Pull out / dolly out |
Camera moves away; reveals surroundings |
Pan left / right |
Camera turns horizontally from a fixed spot |
Tilt up / down |
Camera turns vertically from a fixed spot |
Tracking / trucking |
Camera travels alongside a moving subject |
Orbit / arc |
Camera circles the subject; good for products |
Crane / pedestal up |
Camera rises vertically, often to reveal a scene |
Handheld |
Slight natural shake; documentary feel |
Zoom in / out |
Lens changes focal length; the camera stays put |
Rule |
One move per shot. Don't combine conflicting moves, e.g. "locked camera" plus "rapid handheld zoom" |
Shot Sizes
Shot |
Frames |
Extreme wide (EWS) |
Subject small in a big landscape; sets location |
Wide / long (WS) |
Whole subject plus surroundings |
Medium-wide (MWS) |
Roughly knees up; body language and setting |
Medium (MS) |
Waist up; the default for people talking or gesturing |
Medium close-up (MCU) |
Chest up; face plus some context |
Close-up (CU) |
Face or a whole product fills the frame |
Extreme close-up (ECU) |
One detail: an eye, a texture, a logo-free label |
Over-the-shoulder (OTS) |
Behind one person, looking at another or at an object |
POV |
What the subject sees |
Low / high angle |
Camera below or above eye level; adds power or smallness |
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Lighting Terms
Term |
Look |
Soft light |
Diffused, gentle shadows (overcast, window with curtain) |
Hard light |
Crisp, defined shadows (direct sun, bare bulb) |
Golden hour |
Warm, low-angle light just after sunrise or before sunset |
Blue hour |
Cool, even twilight just before sunrise or after sunset |
Backlight / rim light |
Light behind the subject; outlines edges |
Side light |
Light from one side; shows texture and shape |
Key / fill |
Main light vs. softer light that lifts the shadows |
High key |
Bright, low contrast, few shadows |
Low key |
Dark, high contrast, moody |
Practical light |
A visible lamp, neon sign or screen in the scene |
Colour temperature |
"Warm" (orange) vs. "cool" (blue); name both if you mix them |
Motion & Pacing Words
Word |
Use it for |
Slowly / gently |
Calm, controlled motion; usually the most stable choice |
Gradually |
Change that builds across the clip (light rising, mist thinning) |
Steadily |
Constant speed with no sudden changes |
Briskly / quickly |
Energetic action; expect more artefacts |
Drifts / floats |
Weightless motion: mist, smoke, petals, dust |
Sways / ripples |
Small repeating motion: grass, fabric, water |
Continuous shot |
Asks for no cuts within the clip |
Real-time |
Normal speed; avoids an accidental slow-mo look |
Slow motion |
Stretched action: splashes, hair, falling objects |
Pacing tip |
One main action plus at most one small background motion |
Aspect Ratios & Format
Ratio |
Typical use |
9:16 (vertical) |
Shorts, Reels, TikTok, Stories. Keep the subject near the centre and leave space for captions |
16:9 (horizontal) |
YouTube, websites, presentations, cinematic landscapes |
1:1 (square) |
Feed posts, product tiles, carousels |
Check support |
Not every model offers every ratio; pick one that the chosen model supports |
Set it in controls |
Choose ratio, duration and resolution in the tool's settings |
"4K" in text |
Writing "4K" in a prompt does not change the output resolution you selected |
Duration |
Short clips favour one simple action; save longer ideas for several shots |
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Negative Cues & What to Avoid
Cue / habit |
Why |
"No titles, captions or logos" |
Stops stray on-screen text; add your own text later in an editor |
"No cuts" |
Keeps one continuous shot |
"No people" |
Use it for landscapes and products that should stay empty |
"Keep the [subject] fully in frame" |
Phrasing it positively often works better than "don't crop" |
Negative field |
If the tool has a separate negative-prompt field, put exclusions there; otherwise add one short "No…" sentence at the end |
Avoid: stacked adjectives |
"Epic, stunning, ultra, cinematic, 8K" adds noise, not detail |
Avoid: conflicting cues |
"Static camera" plus "sweeping drone shot" |
Avoid: story in one clip |
Multiple scenes, outfit changes or locations in a single short generation |
Avoid: real brands or people |
Use unbranded objects and generic people unless you have the rights |
Image-to-Video Tips
The image already fixes the subject, composition and style. Spend the prompt on motion and camera. |
Describe what moves and what stays still: "steam rises; the teapot stays fixed in frame". |
Start with a clean, well-lit image with a clear subject. Clutter usually turns into wobble. |
Match the image's aspect ratio to the output ratio to avoid unwanted cropping. |
Keep camera moves small (slow push in, gentle orbit) so the scene doesn't drift away from the source. |
Don't re-describe the image with different details. Conflicting text can pull the result off-model. |
Use reference images only on models that accept them, and only images you have the right to use. |
Worked Example: Before → After
BEFORE
a cool cinematic video of a cat in a city, epic, 4K, ultra realistic
AFTER
A ginger cat walks along a rain-wet stone wall in a quiet city
alley at dusk. Neon signs reflect in the puddles below. Medium-wide
shot; the camera tracks slowly alongside at the cat's eye level in
one continuous shot. Soft blue ambient light with a warm glow from
the signs, realistic fur texture. No text, captions or logos.
WHAT CHANGED
+ concrete subject, one action, a named setting and time
+ one shot size and one camera move
+ lighting with a source and colour
+ one exclusion sentence
- removed "epic", "cinematic" and "4K" (set resolution in controls)
Ratio and duration: chosen in the settings, e.g. 9:16 for a Short
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Common Fixes
Symptom |
Change |
Motion is chaotic or busy |
Simplify to one action; add "slowly"; drop background motion |
Camera ignores the move |
State one move plainly near the start of the camera sentence; remove other camera words |
Shaky or warping scene |
Try a static camera first, then add movement back |
Subject drifts out of frame |
Add "keep the [subject] fully in frame"; use a wider shot size |
Subject changes look mid-clip |
Shorten the prompt; describe the subject once with fixed details; for image-to-video, use a cleaner source image |
Random text or logos appear |
Add "No titles, captions or logos" |
Wrong mood |
Change only the lighting line (e.g. soft → low key) and keep the rest |
Framing wrong for vertical |
Choose 9:16 in the controls; centre the subject; say "medium shot" rather than "wide" |
Looks low-res despite "4K" |
Pick a higher resolution in the controls; the text doesn't override it |
Many things wrong at once |
Change one variable per attempt and note which change helped |
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