Write the shot, not the vibe

What the move is

A shot description that fixes camera, lens, movement, light and the constants is doing the job a shot list and a cinematographer would do. Short prompts are why most attempts look like stock footage.

Why it works

On the one published feature production benchr has a cost breakdown for, each prompt averaged around 3,000 words and specified cinematographic choices and physics constraints. Length here is not padding; it is the direction.

Step by step

1. Name the frame: shot size, camera height, lens, and whether it moves.
2. Name the light: source, direction, quality, time of day.
3. Name the motion: what moves, how fast, and where it ends.
4. Name the constants: what must be identical to the previous shot.
5. Generate several takes and expect to discard most. Selection is the work.

Paste this

Shot <n>. <Shot size> on <subject>, <lens> at <camera height>, camera <static / slow push in / handheld>. Light: <source, direction, quality, time>. Motion: <what moves, how fast, where it ends>. Must stay identical to the previous shot: <list>. Duration <n> seconds.

Make it yours

Keep a house block of constants — palette, lens set, grade — and paste it into every shot prompt so the whole piece shares a look.

Variations

• Write the shot list first as one line each, then expand only the shots you will actually generate.
• Generate from a still of the real subject rather than from text wherever continuity matters.

Works with

• Generate video from a prompt or a still