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Video prompts work differently from image prompts. The scene is already defined — by the first frame in Image-to-Video, or by the subject description in Text-to-Video. The prompt’s job is to describe movement, not appearance.

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Prompt structure for video

Write elements in this order: Keep it short. Four to eight terms produce more consistent results than long descriptive paragraphs.

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Motion terms that work

Body motion: walking forward, turning head slowly, looking toward camera, sitting down, leaning back, raising arms, subtle breathing motion, blinking Secondary motion: hair blowing, dress flowing, water rippling, leaves moving, smoke drifting Camera: slow zoom in, slow zoom out, steady camera, slow pan left, slow pan right, slight camera shake, pull back, push in, orbit around subject Pace: slow motion, normal speed, gentle, subtle

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Good vs bad video prompts

Bad: beautiful woman, soft light, photorealistic, high quality — this describes an image, not motion. The model produces a near-static clip. Good: slow pan right, subject turns head toward camera, hair moving gently, steady handheld camera feel, warm soft light Bad: running, jumping, spinning, dancing, waving, laughing — too many simultaneous actions. The model can’t resolve them and produces chaotic or distorted motion. Good: walking slowly forward, slight sway in movement, camera pulls back steadily

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Image-to-Video vs Text-to-Video prompting

Image-to-Video — the scene is fixed. Focus entirely on motion and camera. Don’t redescribe the subject or setting. Text-to-Video — the scene is not fixed. Open with a brief subject and setting description, then move into motion and camera terms. See Text-to-Video.

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Tips

  • One primary motion per prompt — describe one main action and let secondary motion support it
  • Add camera movement explicitly — without it the model defaults to a locked, static camera
  • Avoid conflicting directions — zoom in and pull back in the same prompt cancel each other out
  • Subtle motion prompts produce more stable output than large movement prompts — slow turn beats spinning around
  • If the output is too static, add continuous motion, fluid movement to the prompt

Image-to-Video

Animate a first frame using a motion prompt.

Text-to-Video

Generate a clip from prompt alone.

Prompting Basics

Image prompt structure for reference.