Write better AI video prompts by thinking like a cinematographer. A practical cheat sheet covering shot type, camera movement, lens, lighting, and motion.
The difference between a generic AI clip and a cinematic one is usually the prompt. The fix isn't more keywords - it's thinking like a cinematographer. Here's a practical cheat sheet for writing AI video prompts that produce intentional, film-quality shots.
A good shot prompt answers the questions a cinematographer would:
Weak: "a woman walking in a city." Strong: "Medium tracking shot, handheld, of a woman walking briskly through a neon-lit street at night, shallow depth of field, reflections on wet pavement, moody and cinematic."
Shot types: extreme wide · wide · medium · medium close-up · close-up · extreme close-up · over-the-shoulder · POV.
Camera moves: static · slow push-in / pull-out · dolly · truck (lateral) · pan · tilt · handheld · tracking / following · crane / boom · orbit.
Lighting: golden hour · blue hour · low-key (shadowy) · high-key (bright) · backlight / rim light · practical (in-scene sources) · neon · overcast soft.
Lens feel: wide-angle (expansive) · normal · telephoto (compressed) · macro · shallow vs deep depth of field.
Combine one from each axis and you've described a real shot.
Don't stuff a prompt with twenty adjectives. A few precise, film-literate choices outperform a wall of vague descriptors. Say exactly what the shot is - and let the model render it.
For how prompting fits into the whole process, see our text-to-video guide and the complete AI filmmaking guide.
A project-level prompt library and per-shot model choice make this fast in Cinemagiq.
Describe the shot like a cinematographer: subject, action, shot type, camera movement, lens, lighting, and mood. Specific, film-literate language gives the model far more to work with than vague keywords.
Each model interprets prompts differently and has its own strengths. Learn each model's tendencies, and for shots that need exact composition, compose a still first and use image-to-video instead of relying on text alone.
Script, storyboard, generate, and assemble in one AI-native workspace.