Write a video prompt

Last updated: October 12, 2026

Write a prompt that gets the motion, the camera and the look you want from a video model. A video prompt describes what changes over the clip; a prompt that only describes a scene tends to give a near-still image that drifts.

Before you start

This article covers what to write. For where to write it, see Create a video.
Decide what the clip starts from. If an approved still exists, add it as the First frame; the prompt then only has to describe what moves.

Steps

Name the subject once, briefly. Who or what is in the shot: a hooded fire mage on a cliff edge. With a First frame attached, the image already shows the subject, so a short reference is enough; describing it again in detail can pull the model away from your art.
Describe the motion as it happens. What moves, in what direction, and in what order: he raises the staff with both hands, the ember on its tip swells into a fireball, then he throws it towards the valley. Write the beats in sequence, one short sentence each.
Set the camera. Say what the camera does, or that it does not move: slow push in, orbit around him, locked-off camera. Models add drift when the camera is left unstated. You can pick the move from Camera above the prompt instead of writing it; see Direct a video with presets.
Give the pace. Slow and deliberate, sudden, gradual over the whole clip. Without it, models pick a middling pace that reads as neither.
Add the look and the light, if the clip has no first frame. Painterly fantasy game art, warm sunset light, light mist in the valley. With a first frame, leave the look to the image and say only keep his face and costume exactly as in the first frame if the model tends to drift.
Say what must not happen. No text or subtitles, no cuts, the character stays in frame. Keep this to the few things that actually go wrong.

Result

A prompt in the order a director would brief a shot, for example: A hooded fire mage on a cliff edge at sunset. He raises the staff with both hands, the ember on its tip swells into a fireball, then he throws it out over the valley. Slow push in on him. Deliberate, building to a sudden throw. No text on screen.

How it differs by job

Text to video

The prompt carries everything: subject, setting, look, light, motion, camera and pace. Lead with the subject and the action, then the camera, then the look. Expect to run a few takes; the composition changes every time.

Animate a still

With a First frame, describe only the motion, the camera and the pace. The image fixes the character, the palette and the composition. A motion the still cannot lead into (a character facing left who must run right) fights the frame, so pick or make a still that suits the move.

First and last frame

With both frames set, describe how the shot gets from one to the other: he turns to face the camera and draws his sword. The two frames should be from the same scene and lighting; see Animate between a first and last frame.

Edit or extend a video

Describe the change, not the whole clip: make it snow, replace the sword with an axe, continue as he lands and rolls. Everything you leave out stays as it is.

Loops

Describe motion that comes back to where it started: breathing, a flag in the wind, a torch flickering, a slow orbit. One-way motion, like a character walking out of frame, cannot loop however it is worded. Use the same image as first and last frame where the model offers both.

Production tips

One action, one camera move. Short clips have room for one main action and one move. Split a longer piece into shots and cut them together.
Use the model's own conventions. Models read prompts differently: some want a short prompt, some follow timed beats, some generate dialogue and sound from the prompt. The prompting guides for each model show what works, with prompts to start from.
Keep what works. When a shot lands, keep its prompt and change one thing at a time for the next shot, so a series stays consistent.
Hold a character across shots. Mention your character's reference set in the prompt with @; see Keep a character on-model in a video.
Let the agent write it. The Layer agent knows each model's conventions. Describe the shot in plain words and name the model, and it writes the prompt for you.

Prompting guides for each model

If something goes wrong

The clip barely moves. The prompt describes a scene, not a change. Rewrite it around the action and give it a pace.
The camera drifts. Say locked-off camera or static camera, or pick a move from Camera so the model has one to follow.
The character changes during the shot. Add a First frame, shorten the action, and describe the subject less: let the image carry it.
Words appear on screen. Add no text, no subtitles, and keep quoted dialogue out of the prompt unless the model is meant to speak it.