How to Write AI Video Prompts for Beginners

AI video prompts are text instructions that guide AI tools to create videos based on your ideas. Writing clear and detailed prompts ensures better results and saves time. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you’ll learn:

• Why Prompts Matter: Precise prompts improve video quality and reduce costs.
• Key Elements: Include shot type, characters, actions, location, and style.
• Top Tools: Platforms like EasyVid, Steve AI, and Invideo AI make video creation simple for beginners.
• Common Mistakes: Avoid vague instructions, overloading with details, or ignoring tool limitations.
• Advanced Tips: Use modifiers, camera terms, and test prompts to refine your skills.

Quick Comparison of AI Video Tools

Start with simple prompts, focus on clarity, and experiment with tools to create stunning AI-generated videos.

How to Prompt for Text to Video

Basic Elements of Good Video Prompts

To create effective AI video prompts, you need to focus on a few key components. These elements help ensure your instructions are clear, detailed, and actionable.

Writing Clear Instructions

The foundation of any good prompt is clarity and structure. A proven format to follow is: Shot Type Description + Character + Action + Location + Aesthetic.

For example, instead of saying "show a person walking", be more specific: "Medium shot of a young entrepreneur in a charcoal suit confidently walking through a modern open-plan office illuminated by natural morning light." This level of detail provides the context needed for accurate video generation. Keep in mind that tools like Firefly have a 175-word limit for prompts, so choose your words carefully while maintaining clarity.

Adding visual details to your prompt can also enhance the scene's mood and quality, making it more vivid and engaging.

Adding Visual Details

Visual details are essential for shaping the look and feel of your video. Key elements to consider include:

Be specific when describing these elements. For instance, instead of saying "specific lighting effects", try something like "soft, diffused daylight creating gentle shadows across the subject's face."

Setting Style and Motion

Style and motion bring your prompt to life with cinematic precision. Be sure to include details like:

• Camera movements: Examples include "slow dolly in" or "smooth pan from left to right."
• Temporal elements: Specify time of day and weather conditions.
• Visual style: Options include realistic, cinematic, animated, or artistic.

Think of it as directing a cinematographer. For dynamic scenes, use action-packed verbs and adverbs to describe motion. Instead of saying "camera moves", try "camera gracefully glides through the scene, revealing details in smooth, continuous motion."

Keep in mind that every AI video tool has its own strengths and limitations. Start with simple prompts and gradually incorporate more complex details as you learn how the tool responds to your instructions.

Writing Your First Video Prompt

Creating an AI video prompt can be simple if you break it into clear steps.

Plan Your Video

Start by defining the purpose, audience, and scope of your video. Pick one specific topic that fits your goals.

Here are some key planning points:

• Main Goal: Is it a product showcase or educational content?
• Target Audience: Are you speaking to tech-savvy professionals or creative enthusiasts?
• Video Length: Plan for 15–30 seconds per scene.
• Style Direction: Think about the look - cinematic realism or artistic animation?

Describe Each Scene

For each scene, provide detailed descriptions. Use the structure outlined earlier to ensure clarity and focus.

For example: "Hyperrealistic medium shot of an entrepreneur in business attire typing on a laptop in a modern office with natural morning light."

Test and Improve

Experiment with your prompts and tweak them for better results. Start simple, then adjust based on what works.

"When writing your text prompt in Text to video (beta) and Image to video (beta), use as many words as possible to be specific about lighting, cinematography, color grade, mood, and aesthetic style. A well-structured, concise prompt helps Firefly understand what kind of video you want to create." - Adobe Firefly ^[1]

For more complex scenes, break your prompt into smaller, focused elements:

"Hyperrealistic photoshoot: a (superman-flying-high, main-focus), a (busy-new-york-city-street, below, out-of-focus), a (rocket-falling-down, in-focus)" ^[2]

Clarity and precision are more important than length. Tools like Sora Creators (https://soracreators.ai) can help refine your video with features like remixing, re-cutting, and style presets.

Stay tuned for tips on avoiding common mistakes in the next section.

sbb-itb-01d11e2

Mistakes to Avoid

When creating prompts, it's easy to fall into traps that can reduce their effectiveness. Knowing these common mistakes will help you design prompts that deliver better results.

Unclear Instructions

Vague prompts often lead to inconsistent or disappointing outcomes. Instead of general descriptions like "show a beautiful scene", aim for precise details. For example:

• Weak prompt: "Make a cool video of nature"
• Stronger prompt: "Create a daytime forest scene with sunlight streaming through pine trees, featuring a slow upward camera tilt from the forest floor to the canopy."

Clear, detailed language is key. Include specifics such as:

• Camera angles and movements
• Lighting details
• Actions or events
• Visual tone or style

Overloading with Details

While details are important, too many can confuse the AI, resulting in disjointed outputs. Keep it simple:

• Focus on one main action or visual per scene.
• Break complex ideas into separate prompts.
• Use straightforward language and avoid overly poetic expressions unless you're experimenting.

Ignoring Technical Limits

AI video tools have their boundaries, and understanding them can save you time and frustration. Here are some common limitations and ways to navigate them:

To get the best results with tools like Sora Creators, focus on what AI handles well:

• Simple movements
• Basic transitions
• Common objects and settings
• General artistic styles

AI video generation is improving quickly, but staying within its current capabilities will yield better results. Start with straightforward ideas, and as you gain confidence, try more complex prompts. Avoiding these mistakes will help you refine your skills and create more effective prompts over time.

Advanced Prompt Writing Tips

Take your AI video prompts to the next level with these expert techniques.

Prompt Modifiers

Prompt modifiers are keywords that help shape your video's style and appearance. They guide the AI in understanding the artistic direction you want. Here's how they work:

"Modifiers act as key ingredients that elevate a prompt from good to outstanding." ^[3]

A great way to structure your prompt is: "[base prompt] in the style of [style], [aesthetic]." For example: "Serene beach at sunset in Monet style with cinematic pastel tones." ^[3]

Once you've mastered modifiers, you can refine your prompts even further by incorporating professional camera terminology.

Camera Terms

Using professional camera terms can add depth and realism to your prompts. Here’s a quick guide:

Framing Terms:

• Close-up shot: Highlights small, intimate details.
• Establishing shot: Sets the scene and context.
• Wide shot: Captures the full environment.

Camera Movements:

• Pan shot: Horizontal movement across the scene.
• Tracking shot: Follows a subject in motion.
• Tilt shot: Vertical movement of the camera.

For a dynamic scene, combine these terms. For example: "Start with an establishing shot of a mountain range, transition to a tracking shot of a soaring eagle, and finish with a Dutch angle close-up."

Sora Creators Resources

The Sora Creators platform provides tools to refine your prompt-writing skills. Focus on these aspects when crafting advanced prompts:

Visual Elements:

• Time of day and weather
• Specific locations and props
• Depth of field and composition
• Color tones and overall style

Motion Elements:

• Camera movements and transitions
• Character actions and interactions
• Scene pacing and flow

Breaking your prompt into distinct visual and motion components can help the AI generate videos that feel more polished and cohesive.

Next Steps

You've got the basics down, so now it's time to dive deeper by refining your prompts. Start small - focus on key elements like location or time of day. Once you've nailed those, add layers of detail about lighting, movement, or atmosphere in later iterations ^[4].

To improve further, try these targeted learning strategies:

Keep experimenting with your language and approach. Different tools interpret prompts in unique ways, so test how Kling AI, Minimax, or Hunyuan respond to your inputs. Blend technical terms with vivid descriptions to see what generates the best results. Each platform has its own strengths - adjust your style to make the most of them ^[5].