The six groups below run from least forgiving to most. Portraits are the hardest, because faces and hands break first, so start there and learn how little movement you can get away with. Products, landscapes and camera moves are progressively more tolerant. The last two groups are about structure rather than subject: clips built to loop, and clips built for a tall frame. All thirty assume a short clip, typically five to ten seconds depending on the model.
Every line follows the same order, and the order is the useful part. Subject action first, because it is the one thing the clip must contain. Motion scale second, because it decides whether the render stays believable. Camera third, because a model with no camera instruction invents one, and usually invents drift. Environment fourth, because it gives the model something else to move. Look last, because it modifies everything before it. Read a line left to right and you can see where a failed render diverged.
| # | Portraits |
|---|---|
| 1 | Woman turns her head toward a window, subtle movement, static tripod, curtains drifting behind, soft daylight, shallow focus. |
| 2 | Man blinks twice and smiles slightly, minimal movement, locked-off close-up, blurred office behind, cool daylight, clean skin. |
| 3 | Older craftsman lifts his eyes from his work, very slight movement, static eye level, sawdust in a window beam, warm tungsten, fine grain. |
| 4 | Dancer holds a pose and breathes, barely any movement, fixed tripod, plain grey backdrop, soft box from the left, crisp editorial look. |
| 5 | Child looks up from a book and smiles, small head lift, static camera, library shelves blurred, warm afternoon light, gentle grain. |
| # | Products |
|---|---|
| 6 | Perfume bottle turns thirty degrees on a plinth, slow even motion, static camera, black studio, single hard rim light, glossy commercial look. |
| 7 | Running shoes stay locked as a light sweep crosses the mesh, light-only movement, locked-off three-quarter angle, pale grey seamless, catalogue look. |
| 8 | Ceramic mug holds still while steam rises, minimal motion, no camera movement, static close shot, wooden table and linen, morning window light. |
| 9 | Leather wallet opens a centimetre and settles, very small movement, fixed overhead camera, dark slate, controlled top light, matte product look. |
| 10 | Watch face catches one glint as the seconds hand advances, subtle highlight, static macro shot, black velvet, point light, luxury look. |
| # | Nature and landscape |
|---|---|
| 11 | Storm clouds roll across a ridge, large slow movement, static wide shot, grass bending in front, overcast grey palette, cinematic wide lens. |
| 12 | Waves break on volcanic rock and pull back, moderate motion, locked-off low angle, spray in the air, cold blue palette, long-exposure feel. |
| 13 | Mist drifts through a pine forest at dawn, slow movement, static camera at ground level, ferns in front, green and gold haze, fine grain. |
| 14 | Rain falls on a still lake and ripples spread, gentle motion, static camera above the waterline, distant hills soft, desaturated teal, overcast mood. |
| 15 | Tall grass bends in one direction, strong even movement, static horizon-level wide shot, one tree on the ridge, golden hour backlight, warm haze. |
| # | Camera moves |
|---|---|
| 16 | Camera pushes slowly through a narrow alley, moderate forward movement, smooth dolly on rails, brick walls either side, late afternoon shadows, filmic contrast. |
| 17 | Camera pulls back from a chair in an empty room, slow backward dolly, no rotation, bare floorboards and one window, cold grey daylight, minimalist. |
| 18 | Camera orbits a marble sculpture once, smooth circular movement, constant radius, no vertical drift, plain gallery walls, even museum light, neutral grade. |
| 19 | Camera rises straight up from a street corner, steady vertical lift, no tilt, parked cars and a crosswalk below, dusk blue hour, neon accents. |
| 20 | Camera tracks beside a train platform, lateral movement matched to the subject, shallow focus, blurred crowd in front, sodium lighting, gritty film look. |
| # | Loop-friendly clips |
|---|---|
| 21 | Candle flame flickers in a draft and returns to shape, small consistent movement, static camera, dark wall, warm amber light, soft grain. |
| 22 | Coffee pours into a cup and settles level, one completed action, fixed camera at 45 degrees, wooden counter, morning side light, warm neutral grade. |
| 23 | Flag lifts and falls in a repeating rhythm, moderate looping movement, static camera facing the pole, clear sky, bright midday light, saturated primaries. |
| 24 | Paper plane glides across a desk and lands, one continuous movement, locked-off overhead camera, white desk with pencil and notebook, even soft light. |
| 25 | Plant leaves sway and return to rest, gentle repeating motion, static close shot, blurred window behind, diffused daylight, muted green, quiet domestic feel. |
| # | Vertical and social |
|---|---|
| 26 | Person walks toward the camera filling a vertical frame, steady forward motion, static camera at chest height, busy street going soft behind, overcast daylight. |
| 27 | Hand places a product at the centre of a vertical frame and withdraws, small precise movement, locked-off vertical shot, plain coloured background, single soft light. |
| 28 | Recipe step happens in one vertical overhead shot, quick contained movement, static top-down camera, chopping board and ingredients, kitchen window light, warm natural grade. |
| 29 | Subject dances in place, head to toe in a vertical crop, controlled rhythmic motion, static camera at a distance, studio backdrop, coloured gels, high-energy look. |
| 30 | City street empties as one person leaves the frame, minimal movement, static camera, wet pavement and shop signs, night neon, high-contrast cinematic. |
Two habits make the list last. Keep a file of the lines that worked, with the model name and credit cost beside each one. When a line fails, change one clause at a time, since changing motion, camera and look together tells you nothing about which one broke it.
Run a line against your own still
Upload a photo and paste one of the thirty prompts with the environment and look clauses removed. The image already carries both, so the line gets shorter and usually lands faster.
Start from an example
Test the same line on Veo 3.1
Veo 3.1 is 300 credits per run, the priciest of the three video models here and the one that rewards explicit camera language most. Compare it on the same prompt.
Frequently asked questions
- What makes these AI video prompts different from a list of adjectives?
- Each line is a complete instruction with a subject action, a motion scale, a camera move, an environment and a look, in that order. That structure is what a model needs to produce one coherent shot instead of a collage of ideas.
- Can I paste these prompts into any video model?
- The structure works across Veo 3.1, Sora 2, Kling, Seedance and Wan 2.5, but the wording that lands best differs slightly. Keep the skeleton and adjust the camera and motion clauses for the model you are testing.
- How do I adapt a prompt for image-to-video?
- Remove the environment and look clauses. An uploaded still already fixes colour, light and style, so those sentences compete with the pixels. Keep the subject action, the motion scale and the camera.
- Why does my prompt work on one model and fail on another?
- Models weight the parts differently: some follow camera language closely, others respond to described action sequences, and some ignore long prompts entirely. Change one clause at a time and record which model each winning line came from.
- How much does it cost to test a batch of these?
- Video runs are 60 to 600 credits depending on the model: Sora 2 is 60, Kling 90, Veo 3.1 is 300, Wan 2.5 from 300, Seedance is 500, and Wan Animate and Wan 2.2 Animate are 600. The studio shows the cost before every run, and provider-side failures are refunded in credits.
Turn a still into a clip
Open the studio, upload an image, describe the motion in one line and pick a video model. The credit cost is shown before the job runs.