How to write AI video prompts that actually render well
A practical prompt structure for short product clips, social hooks, and storyboard motion.
Short AI video prompts work best when they read like a compact shot brief, not a mood board.
Start with one subject
Pick one clear subject: a product, a person, a place, or a single action. When a prompt asks for too many ideas at once, the model spends its budget resolving conflicts instead of improving the shot.
Add motion before style
Describe what changes during the clip:
- The camera slowly pushes in
- The product rotates once on a reflective surface
- The subject turns toward window light
- Mist drifts through the background
- close-up
- wide shot
- slow orbit
- handheld
- dolly-in
- overhead product shot
Motion gives the model a timeline. Style gives it a finish.
Name the camera behavior
Use simple camera language:
This is usually more useful than piling on vague words like cinematic, premium, or viral.
Keep constraints explicit
End with the things you do not want: no text, no logos, no face distortion, no extra fingers, no fast cuts, no flicker.
A reusable prompt shape
[Subject] in [setting], [main motion], [camera movement],
[lighting and visual style], [duration or platform context],
no [specific failures to avoid].
Use the generator presets as a starting point, then adjust one variable at a time.
Kernivo