How to Prompt for Video Creation: A Definitive Guide

This guide explains how to write better prompts for turning an existing creation into a video.

Video prompting works best when you clearly describe what should move, how it should move, how the camera should behave, and what sound should be included if the selected Engine supports audio.

Different Engines are better at different things. Some are best for simple animation, while others are better for general movement, NSFW motion, sound, voice, music, or more creative scene development.

Before You Spend Gems

Before generating, use our Search function or check the Discord Server to see what other users are successfully creating by Engine. This can help you understand what is currently possible before spending Gems.

Start with one simple test generation first. If the result does not work, adjust your prompt or choose a better Engine instead of repeating the same generation.

Note: Image-to-video works best when the prompt builds on what is already visible in the image. If the image does not show the subject, pose, or scene clearly, the video may drift, distort, or ignore parts of the prompt. This effect may be mitigated by more powerful models but it’s still recommended to start with a strong, relevant, and clear base image. 

More powerful Engines like Sync 2.0 and Sync 2.0 Pro can create more developed scene movement from a single image. This is not recommended with simpler Engines like Sync, Motion, Motion 2.0, and Frame because they are more likely to stay close to the original image or produce unstable results.

For more details on common issues and Support, see the Need Help? section.

Quick Start: Image to Video Generation

Before spending Gems, use Search or visit the Discord Server to review videos created with the same Engine. This can help you understand what the Engine can currently generate.

For more information about how to write prompts for each Engine, see the Build Your Prompt section. 

See also:

How to Improve Image Generation Quality.

How To Use Prompts & Tags for Image Generation

Start With a Strong Image

A clean, clear image gives the Engine a better structure to animate.

If the image is blurry, distorted, poorly lit, cluttered, or visually noisy, the video is more likely to look unstable. Choose an image where the subject, pose, lighting, and scene are easy to understand.

Create or Choose a Base Image

To start creating a video, go to the Homepage or your Creations page.

Choose an image to animate. You can also generate a new image on the Create page and then turn it into a video.

To keep your character's appearance consistent across multiple generations, see Creating and Using Consistent Characters for tips on maintaining a consistent appearance across generations. 

Open the Image to Gif Tool

Once the image is selected, open it to access the Image to Gif options.

From there, you can choose the Engine, enter your video prompt, and adjust available settings.

Adaptive Aspect Ratio (Sync 2.0 and Sync 2.0 Pro)
When generating a video using Sync 2.0 or Sync 2.0 Pro, Adaptive automatically selects the most suitable supported aspect ratio instead of using a fixed aspect ratio.

Supported aspect ratios:

• 16:9 and 9:16
• 4:3 and 3:4
• 1:1
• 21:9

Choosing the Right Engine

Choose the Engine based on what matters most for your video, such as simple animation, NSFW motion accuracy, sound, voice, music, scene development, or overall quality.

Engine	Best For	Sound	Gem Cost	Scene Control
Frame	Choose Frame when you want simple, silent movement at the lowest Gem cost.	No	1,425 Gems	Minimal
Motion	Choose Motion when you want general movement with sound while keeping the result close to the selected image.	Yes	5,950 Gems	Low to moderate
Motion 2.0	Choose Motion 2.0 when accurate body movement, repeated motion, rhythm, or NSFW motion is the priority.	Yes, but weaker than Sync Engines	6,650 Gems	Moderate
Sync	Choose Sync when voice, music, ambient sound, dialogue, or simple camera switches matter.	Yes	3,950 Gems	Moderate
Sync 2.0	Choose Sync 2.0 when you want stronger general quality, prompt accuracy, and scene control.	Yes	4,100 Gems	Moderate to high
Sync 2.0 Pro	Choose Sync 2.0 Pro when you want the most advanced scene development, cinematic direction, sound, voice, music, or multi-shot structure. Sync 2.0 Pro has NSFW support but it’s weaker than Motion 2.0.	Yes	5,100 Gems	High

See also:

Subscription Options and Gem Types

Start With One Test

Generate one sample before repeating the prompt.

If the result does not work:

1. Check if the prompts you entered are recognised by the Engine. 
2. Check whether the requested movement matches the image.
3. Remove secondary or clashing actions.
4. Reduce the amount of camera movement.
5. Add constraints keywords.
6. Try a better-suited/more powerful Engine.

Do not immediately repeat the same unsuccessful prompt without changing it.

IMPORTANT: For Sound, be sure to toggle the Audio button on the Create page. 

Build Your Prompt

For Examples of each prompt type, see the Prompt Examples section. 

A good video prompt should be clear, specific, and focused on one main idea or narrative.

Your prompt should tell the Engine what should move, how it should move, how the camera should behave, and what sound should be included if the selected Engine supports audio.

Detailed prompts absolutely help, but only when the details support the same action. If your prompt includes too many actions, conflicting camera movements, unsupported sound instructions, or major scene changes, the result may drift, ignore parts of the prompt, or become unstable.

If you're unsure whether a prompt is supported, see Prompt Testing Guide: How to Avoid Wasting Gems on Unsupported Prompts before spending additional Gems.

What to Include

A strong video prompt usually includes these parts:

• Subject: Who or what is in the video.
• Movement: What the subject, body part, object, or scene element should do.
• Motion details: How the scene element in question moves, how fast it moves, and whether the motion repeats.
• Environment: Where the action happens.
• Camera movement: Whether the camera stays still, pushes in, pans, tracks, zooms, or cuts.
• Aesthetic description: The mood, lighting, tone, style, or visual feel.
• Sound: Dialogue, voice, background music, ambient sound, sound effects, or silence.

Basic Formula

For silent Engines like Frame, use:

Motion + Camera Control

For Engines that support sound (All other Engines), use these inputs where needed:

Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound + Constraints

This gives the Engine a clearer understanding of who or what is in the video, what should happen, where it happens, how the camera should move, what the video should feel like, and what audio should be included.

For more advanced Engines like Motion, Sync, Sync 2.0, and Sync 2.0 Pro, you can use Multi-shot Prompting. More on this later.

Prompt Formula Overview

Best For	Use This Formula	Recommended Engines
Simple motion	Subject + Movement + Camera Control	All Engines
Complete sound-enabled prompts	Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound + Constraints	All except Frame
Advanced visual control	Precise subject + Action Details + Scene/Environment + Lighting and Color Tone + Camera Movement + Visual Style + Image Quality + Constraints	Sync 2.0 and Sync 2.0 Pro
Multi-shot or story-like video direction	Shot 1:  Shot 2:   Shot 3:	Sync, Sync 2.0, and Sync 2.0 Pro

Subject, Movement & Motion Prompting

Movement prompting tells the Engine what should move and how it should move.

Avoid vague instructions like:

Make the image move.

Instead, identify the subject, body part, object, or scene element and describe its movement.

For example, you can describe motion with phrases like:

• The woman on the left slowly turns her head
• The man on the right gently raises one hand
• The woman’s hair sways lightly
• The man’s body moves back and forth
• The woman’s hips move up and down with a steady rhythm
• The man’s chest rises and falls naturally as he breathes 

Movement Best Practices

Slow, gentle, continuous movement is usually more stable than sudden or complicated movement.

Large pose changes may require the Engine to recreate body parts that are hidden or unclear in the selected image. This can cause distorted anatomy, visual drift, or inconsistent motion.

For simpler Engines, keep the action close to the starting pose.

For advanced Engines, you can try more developed movement, but each action should still connect naturally to the next.

Environment Prompting

Environment prompting tells the Engine where the action is happening.

The environment can affect the lighting, sound, mood, and motion of the video. If the setting matters, describe it clearly.

For example, you can include environment details like:

• They are in a quiet bedroom with warm lighting
• The man is in a rainy street at night
• The scene is in a simple indoor room
• The couple is in a crowded club with music
• The woman sits on a beach at sunset
• The subjects are in a neon-lit city background
• The subject stands in front of a clean background with minimal clutter

Keep the environment simple if you want a more stable result. Busy backgrounds, crowded scenes, or unclear locations can make the video more likely to drift or create unwanted movement.

Camera Prompting

Camera prompting tells the Engine how the video should be framed and whether the camera should move.

Useful camera terms include:

• Static camera
• Fixed camera
• Locked-off shot
• slow push-in to …
• Slow zoom in to …
• The camera pans left to…
• The camera pan right to…
• Tracking shot of …

Use shot-size terms to describe the framing:

• Close-up shot of …
• Medium shot of … 
• Wide shot of …
• Full-body shot of …

For simpler Engines, keep the camera mostly still. For stronger Engines like Sync 2.0 and Sync 2.0 Pro, you can try complex camera movement, but the prompt should still stay focused.

Camera Best Practices

• Use one main camera movement at a time.
  • For more advanced Engines like Sync 2.0 and Sync 2.0 Pro, you can ask for different short actions per shot to make your video more dynamic. 
  • See Multi-Shot Formula for more details. 
• For Frame, Motion, and Motion 2.0, keep the camera mostly still or use a simple push-in or zoom.
• For Sync, use simple camera switches or basic multi-shot direction.

Sound Prompting

Sound instructions should only be used with sound-enabled Engines.

Frame does not support audio.

Be specific about whether you want ambient sound, dialogue, voice, music, sound effects, or silence.

Ambient Sound

Ambient sound describes the natural audio of the scene.

• Quiet room ambience
• Rainfall
• Light wind
• Distant city ambience
• Natural breathing
• Soft crowd noise
• Ocean waves
• Ambient sound only

Dialogue and Voice

• The spoken line
• The tone
• The emotion
• The speaking pace
• The language (Highly recommended you outline language) 

For Example: 

The speaker says “...” in a [Descriptive] voice …

Background Music

Describe the style, mood, and pacing of the music.

Examples include:

• Soft background music
• Gentle piano music
• Slow romantic music
• Upbeat pop music
• Intense cinematic music
• Quiet ambient music
• Soft electronic background music
• Music slowly fades in

Remove Unwanted Audio

Use these Constraint instructions when you do not want certain audio:

• No dialogue
• No voice
• No background music
• Ambient sound only

Place these instructions near the end of the prompt.

Aesthetic Description

Aesthetic description tells the Engine what the video should look and feel like.

Use this when you want to control the mood, lighting, style, color tone, or overall atmosphere of the video.

You can describe the aesthetic with phrases like:

• Soft warm lighting
• Cinematic lighting
• Natural colors
• High detail
• Retro film look
• Dreamy atmosphere
• Dark dramatic mood
• Bright colorful anime style

For Sync 2.0 and Sync 2.0 Pro, aesthetic details can be more useful because these Engines are better at handling scene mood, lighting, visual style, and image quality. Still, avoid stacking too many style directions into one prompt.

Avoid combining conflicting directions such as:

• Bright cheerful lighting and dark dramatic lighting
• Realistic cinematic style and flat cartoon style
• Warm golden colors and cold monochrome colors

Choose one clear visual direction.

Constraint Prompting

Constraints tell the Engine what to avoid, limit, or keep stable.

Add them at the end of the prompt after the action, camera, aesthetic, and sound instructions.

Useful Constraint Words

Goal	Prompt Terms
Stop unwanted camera movement	static camera, fixed camera, locked-off shot
Stop unwanted voice	No dialogue, No voice
Stop unwanted music	No background music
Reduce scene drift	keep the same composition, no scene change
Avoid extra subjects	no extra characters
Avoid visual clutter	clean background, simple scene
Avoid text artifacts	no subtitles, no text
Keep output stable	smooth motion, stable framing, consistent subject

You can use constraints with every Engine, but stronger Engines may follow more detailed constraints more reliably.

For Frame, use simple visual and movement constraints such as:

• Static camera
• Smooth motion
• Stable framing
• No scene change

Do not add audio-related constraints to Frame because it does not generate sound.

Constraint Example:

A woman sitting by a window slowly turns her head and smiles. Soft warm lighting. Static camera. Quiet ambient room sound. No dialogue, no background music, no extra characters, keep the same composition.

Use Multi-Shot Prompting

Multi-shot prompting describes a short sequence of actions, camera changes, or scene developments in order.

Use multi-shot prompting with:

• Sync
• Sync 2.0
• Sync 2.0 Pro

Use Sync for simple camera switches.

Use Sync 2.0 for stronger multi-shot structure and scene movement.

Use Sync 2.0 Pro for ambitious cinematic sequences, stronger scene development, and more detailed sound direction.

Multi-Shot Formula

Shot 1: Camera Position + Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound + Constraints
Shot 2: Camera Transition + Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound + Constraints
Shot 3: Final action + Camera Ending + Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound + Constraints

Multi-Shot Best Practices

Write the shots in the order they should happen.

Keep each shot focused on one main action.

Use one camera direction per shot.

Make each action connect naturally to the next.

Forcing exact timing is not recommended but is known to work with varying results: 

• 0–3 seconds
• 3–5 seconds
• At exactly 4 seconds

Shot order is usually more stable than strict second-by-second timing.

If a three-shot prompt fails, reduce it to two shots or simplify the actions.

What to Do If the Video Looks Wrong

Generated videos may not follow every prompt exactly. Results can vary based on the selected image, Engine, prompt, generation settings, and current Engine capabilities.

Do not repeat the same prompt immediately. Review the problem and adjust the relevant instruction first.

Problem	What to Try
Camera moves unexpectedly	Add static camera, fixed camera, or locked-off shot
Motion looks distorted	Reduce the movement speed, range, or number of actions
Anatomy becomes unstable	Use a clearer base image and request a smaller movement
Extra characters appear	Add no extra characters
Scene changes unexpectedly	Add keep the same composition and no scene change
Unwanted voice appears	Add No dialogue or No voice
Unwanted music appears	Add No background music
Prompt is partly ignored	Remove secondary actions and simplify the prompt
The wrong subject moves	Identify each subject by position, clothing, or pose
Multi-shot prompt fails	Reduce the number of shots or use a stronger Sync Engine
The result stays too close to the image	Use Sync 2.0 or Sync 2.0 Pro for stronger scene development
NSFW movement is inaccurate	Simplify the camera direction or try Motion 2.0
Audio quality is poor	Simplify the sound request or use a Sync Engine
The result still does not improve	Try a different Engine

If the Engine does not match your goal, try a different one. Use Frame for basic animation, Motion 2.0 for stronger NSFW motion, Sync or Sync 2.0 for better audio, and Sync 2.0 Pro for stronger scene development.

Prompt Examples 

Generated Examples coming soon.

Commonly Used Prompts per Category 

Motion & Movement	Environment	Camera Control	Aesthetic Description	Sound	Background Music	Constraints
slowly turns her head	quiet bedroom with warm lighting	static camera	soft warm lighting	ambient room sound	soft background music	no dialogue
gently raises one hand	rainy street at night	fixed camera	cinematic lighting	natural breathing	gentle piano music	no voice
hair sways lightly	simple indoor room	locked-off shot	natural colors	action sound effects	slow romantic music	no background music
body moves back and forth	crowded club with music	slow push-in	high detail	soft voice	upbeat pop music	keep the same composition
hips move up and down	beach at sunset	slow zoom in	retro film look	short spoken line	intense cinematic music	no scene change
chest rises and falls naturally	neon-lit city background	pan left	dreamy atmosphere	rainfall sound	quiet ambient music	no extra characters
walks forward slowly	clean background with minimal clutter	pan right	dark dramatic mood	light wind sound	soft electronic music	clean background
leans forward slightly	dim bedroom with soft curtains	tracking shot	bright colorful anime style	quiet room ambience	no background music	simple scene
shifts shoulders naturally	luxury hallway with mirrors	close-up shot	moody purple lighting	distant city ambience	music fades in softly	no subtitles
moves with a steady rhythm	city balcony at night	medium shot	golden lighting	ambient sound only	music matches the scene	no text
moves in and out	cozy living room	wide shot	soft shadows	no dialogue	music stays soft	smooth motion
moves side to side	quiet indoor setting	camera slowly pulls back	intimate cinematic style	no voice	gentle background music	stable framing
repeated motion	warm bedroom at night	camera transitions to close-up	stylish mood	no background music	no music	consistent subject
smooth fluid motion	neon-lit hallway	camera switches to medium shot	calm mood	soft rain outside	slow background music	no camera shake
fast steady movement	rainy city street	camera tracks from the front	reflective wet pavement	soft city ambience	quiet instrumental music	no sudden transitions

Basic Animation

Example 1: Subtle portrait movement

Formula: Subject + Movement + Camera Control

Prompt:

A woman facing the camera slowly smiles and gently tilts her head. Static camera, smooth motion, stable framing.

Example 2: Repeated movement

Formula: Subject + Movement + Camera Control

Prompt:

A woman kneeling in place moves up and down with a slow, steady rhythm. Locked-off shot, consistent subject, no scene change.

Sound-Enabled Video

Example 1: Ambient sound

Formula: Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound

Prompt:

A woman standing near a window slowly turns her head and smiles in a quiet bedroom at night. The camera slowly pushes in. Soft warm lighting and a calm mood. Quiet ambient room sound, no dialogue.

Example 2: Background music

Formula: Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound

Prompt:

A woman walks forward slowly with natural body movement through a neon-lit hallway. The camera tracks her from the front. Cinematic lighting with a dark purple and blue color tone. Soft electronic background music, no dialogue.

Example 3: Short voice line

Formula: Subject + Movement + Environment + Camera Movement + Aesthetic Description + Sound

Prompt:

A woman sitting on a sofa leans forward slightly and looks at the camera in a cozy living room. Static camera. Warm, intimate lighting with a relaxed mood. She says, “Come closer,” in a soft, calm voice.

Advanced Scene Control

Example 1: Cinematic realistic scene

Formula: Precise Subject + Action Details + Scene + Lighting + Camera + Visual Style + Image Quality + Constraints

Prompt:

A woman in a black dress stands on a hotel balcony at night with a city skyline behind her. She slowly turns her head, places one hand on the railing, and looks toward the camera. Soft blue lighting with a warm window glow. The camera slowly pushes in from a medium shot to a close-up. Cinematic realistic style, high detail, stable framing. No extra characters, no subtitles, no background music.

Example 2: Stylized scene

Formula: Precise Subject + Action Details + Scene + Lighting + Camera + Visual Style + Image Quality + Constraints

Prompt:

An  woman sits beside a glowing window in a cozy room with city lights outside. She slowly raises one hand, smiles softly, and her hair moves in a gentle breeze. Warm indoor lighting with cool blue window light. Fixed camera. Bright colorful style, clean lines, smooth motion. No camera shake, no extra characters, no subtitles.

Multi-Shot Prompting

Example 1: Simple expression change

Prompt:

Shot 1: Medium shot of a woman sitting on the edge of a bed. She looks down quietly with her shoulders relaxed. Soft ambient room sound.
Shot 2: The camera transitions to a close-up of her face. She slowly raises her eyes toward the camera and gives a warm smile. Warm bedroom lighting, no dialogue.
Shot 3: The camera slowly pulls back to a medium shot as she leans back slightly. Quiet room ambience, no background music.

Example 2: Dialogue scene

Prompt:

Shot 1: Medium shot of a woman standing near a window in a dim room. She turns slightly toward the camera. Soft rain can be heard outside.
Shot 2: The camera transitions to a close-up of her face. She says, “You came back,” in a soft, surprised voice.
Shot 3: The camera slowly pushes in as she smiles faintly. Warm low lighting, quiet rain ambience, no background music.

Need Help?

If your video does not generate correctly, try these steps before contacting Support.

For more troubleshooting tips, see Common Generation Issues. 

Troubleshooting steps

1. Refresh the page.
2. Check your Gem balance.
3. Review your Generation History.
4. Save the affected video link, if available.
5. Take a screenshot of any error message.
6. Simplify your prompt and test again.
7. Try a different Engine if the request does not match the Engine’s strengths.

Failed Generation and Missing Gem Refund

If your generation failed and your Gems were not refunded automatically, contact Support.

Include:

• Your account email
• The website used
• The selected video Engine
• The full prompt
• The affected creation link, if available
• Your Generation History details
• A screenshot of the error
• The number of Gems charged

Warped Anatomy, Poor Audio, or Unexpected Results

If your video generates with warped anatomy, unstable movement, poor audio, unwanted voice, unwanted music, or another unexpected result, 

Include:

• Your account email
• The selected Engine
• The full prompt
• The affected creation link
• Screenshots, when helpful
• What you expected
• What happened instead

Our Support team will review the issue and let you know what can be done next.