AI video prompts: 30 examples and the formula behind them

A good AI video prompt reads like a director's note: who we see, what they do, where it is, how the camera behaves and how it should feel.

The formula

Subject + action + setting + camera + style and sound.

Leave one out and the model fills the gap with something average. Copy any prompt below and change the details.

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1. A matte black water bottle stands on wet stone as drops run down its side. Slow orbit, soft box light, deep bass pulse.
2. A pair of white trainers lands on a puddle in slow motion, water crowning around them. Low angle, crisp light.
3. Steam rises from a fresh bowl of ramen as chopsticks lift the noodles. Macro close-up, warm light, sizzling sound.
4. A tired commuter glides past a traffic jam on an electric bike and grins. Tracking shot, bright morning, upbeat music.
5. Skincare bottle on a marble shelf as morning sunlight moves across it. Static shot, calm ambient music.
6. A dog sniffs a new bag of treats, its eyes widen and it spins with joy. Handheld, bright kitchen, playful music.

YouTube and narration

7. Sweeping shot of a medieval port at dawn as ships unload spices. Calm narrator, cinematic natural light.
8. A cutaway of a volcano shows magma rising and pressure building. Clean 3D, calm narrator.
9. A lone astronaut walks across a red desert towards a distant dome. Wide shot, sparse piano.
10. Roman soldiers build a road through a misty forest at sunrise. Documentary style, a narrator explains the work.
11. Time lapse of a city growing from a village to towers over a century. Locked-off wide shot.
12. A deep-sea submarine's light reveals a glowing creature in the dark. Slow push in, quiet hum.

Short-form social

13. Vertical. A cat slowly pushes a glass towards a table's edge while staring into the camera. Comic tension.
14. Vertical. A tiny chef runs across a giant pizza, adding toppings with a shovel. Stylised 3D, cheerful music.
15. Vertical. An old man opens a door in a brick wall and a beach lies behind it. Surreal, gentle waves.
16. Vertical. A goldfish looks at the camera and says: "You have been staring for an hour." Deadpan comedy.
17. Vertical. Rain falls upward in a quiet street as a girl looks at the sky in wonder. Dreamlike.
18. Vertical. A knight tries to use a smartphone, tapping it with a gauntlet. Comic music.

Stories and films

19. A lighthouse keeper lights the great lamp at dusk as a storm approaches. Slow crane up, cinematic.
20. A girl on a bicycle races a summer storm along a coast. Cel-shaded anime, soaring strings.
21. A small robot finds a music box in a junk shop and begins to dance. Stylised 3D, music-box tune.
22. Two strangers share an umbrella at a bus stop, and neither speaks. Soft rain, warm street light.
23. A boy finds a door in the woods that leads to his own bedroom. Quiet, eerie score.
24. A grandmother teaches a child to knead dough, flour floating in the sunlight. Close shots, warm tones.

Learning and explainers

25. Small circles flow along lines into a central hub and pulse outward. Clean motion graphics, no text.
26. A seed sprouts, grows and blossoms through four seasons. Time lapse, soft light.
27. A water droplet travels from a cloud, through a river, to the sea. Stylised 3D, calm narrator.
28. Inside a cell, tiny machines build a protein. Clean 3D, gentle narration.
29. A customer calls a support agent, who listens and resolves the problem. Friendly 2D, warm tone.
30. A worker spots a spill, places a sign and cleans it. Simple 3D, clear pacing.

Four habits that improve any prompt

• Use verbs. Motion comes from actions.
• Give each short shot only one main action.
• Put speech in double quotation marks.
• Ask for blank signs, and add real text later.

Open the studio, paste a prompt, and try it. For the visual words, see the styles page.