Notes · on prompting
A few things that worked for me

Notes on prompting.

Sharing the structures I keep coming back to. You probably already use most of these — this is just how they fit together in my head.

I · The motion question

Before any video prompt — two questions.

Who is moving?
Who is watching?
If the subject is still, the camera moves. If the camera is still, the subject moves. Never both static.
II · Eight slots · Video

The shape I run a video prompt through.

  1. 01
    Medium
    Live-action, animated, 3D, VHS, anime, documentary.
  2. 02
    Shot
    Close-up to extreme wide. How close to the subject.
  3. 03
    Angle
    Low, high, eye level, overhead, Dutch tilt.
  4. 04
    Movement
    Static, handheld, tracking, orbit, dolly, crane, drone.
  5. 05
    Focus
    Shallow, deep, rack, soft. Where the eye lands.
  6. 06
    Subject
    One physical beat per prompt. The subject is acting.
  7. 07
    Lighting
    Mood, not visibility. The biggest lever on tone.
  8. 08
    Color palette
    Mono, complementary, analogous, desaturated, neon.
III · Six parts · Image

For stills, a different shape.

  1. 01
    Medium
    Photograph, render, painting, anime, illustration.
  2. 02
    Subject
    Main focus, plus the details that make it specific.
  3. 03
    Action / pose
    What they’re doing — body language and emotion.
  4. 04
    Environment
    Setting, time, weather, atmosphere.
  5. 05
    Style & vibe
    Aesthetic, palette, references, art direction.
  6. 06
    Technical
    Lens, aperture, film stock, grain, lighting setup.
IV · Three camera moves

The three I keep naming.

Observer

Camera still. Subject moves through the frame.

Tracking

Camera moves with the subject, keeping pace.

Reveal

Camera orbits a still subject, environment unfolds.

V · Technical vocabulary

The terms film school still gives you.

A reference list. The vocabulary that survives across tools — useful when you want to direct the model the way a DP would direct a crew.

Shot sizes
  • Extreme close-upA detail — eye, mouth, texture.
  • Close-upHead and shoulders. Emotional register.
  • MediumWaist up. Conversational distance.
  • CowboyMid-thigh up. Western convention.
  • Wide / longFull figure in environment.
  • Extreme wideSubject is small in the landscape.
Angles
  • Eye levelNeutral. Equal footing.
  • Low angleLooking up. Power, scale.
  • High angleLooking down. Smallness, vulnerability.
  • Overhead / top-downStraight down. Pattern, geometry.
  • Bird’s-eyeFar above. Map-like.
  • Worm’s-eyeGround level looking up. Monumental.
  • Dutch tiltCanted horizon. Unease.
  • Over-the-shoulderThrough a second figure into the first.
Camera moves
  • PanHorizontal pivot on a fixed axis.
  • TiltVertical pivot on a fixed axis.
  • Dolly in / outCamera body moves toward or away.
  • TruckLateral physical move, side to side.
  • PedestalVertical physical move, up or down.
  • Crane / jibSweeping arc on a long arm.
  • SteadicamStabilised handheld, gliding.
  • Whip panFast pivot, motion-blurred.
  • Push-in / pull-outDolly in, dolly back. Intensifying or releasing.
  • Dolly zoomVertigo effect — dolly one way, zoom the other.
Lens & focus
  • Wide-angle (14–35mm)Expansive, distorted at edges.
  • Standard (35–50mm)Closest to the eye’s field.
  • Portrait (85mm)Flattering compression, soft background.
  • Telephoto (135mm+)Heavy compression, isolated subject.
  • AnamorphicWidescreen, oval bokeh, horizontal flares.
  • Rack focusFocus shifts between subjects during the shot.
Lighting
  • KeyThe main light. Direction sets the mood.
  • FillSoftens the shadow side of the key.
  • Rim / backEdge light separating subject from ground.
  • PracticalLight visible in the frame — lamp, neon, window.
  • High-keyBright, low contrast. Commercial, optimistic.
  • Low-keyDark, high contrast. Noir, dramatic.
  • RembrandtTriangle of light on the shadow-side cheek.
  • ChiaroscuroStrong contrast between light and dark.
Composition
  • Rule of thirdsSubject on a third-line intersection.
  • Leading linesGeometry that guides the eye.
  • Negative spaceEmpty room around the subject. Breath.
  • Frame within a frameA doorway, mirror, window holding the subject.
  • Lead roomSpace ahead of a moving or looking subject.
  • 180-degree ruleStay on one side of the action line across cuts.
VI · Negatives

What you forbid is half the prompt.

Prefix every item with “no” — even inside a tool’s native negative field. Bare comma-separated tokens lose meaning. “no X, no Y” is the form that gets enforced.

no warped anatomy, no extra limbs,
no stray text, no floating objects,
no warm golden hour, no plastic finish,
no CGI render look, no flat midday light
Never name a subject in the positive body if you don’t want them in the frame. Even possessively — “from a child’s POV” will summon a child. Use spatial language instead.

If you’ve got a structure that works better for you — send it back.

Susana · Spectralmoon