How to Write AI Video Prompts That Actually Work

The difference between a forgettable AI video and a great one is almost never the model — it is the prompt. After generating hundreds of clips on FQQ AI, we have settled on a five-part formula that consistently produces usable results.

The formula: Subject + Action + Camera + Lighting + Style

1. Subject. Name the thing clearly and add one or two concrete details. "A golden retriever" is fine; "a golden retriever sporting sleek black sunglasses, fur flowing in the breeze" gives the model something to hold onto.

2. Action. Video models need motion. Always say what is happening: walking, pouring, exploding, dissolving. Static prompts produce static, boring clips.

3. Camera. This is the most skipped step and the biggest quality lever. Tell the model how the shot is filmed:

• "drone view", "aerial establishing shot"
• "medium close-up, 35mm lens, shallow depth of field"
• "the camera slowly pushes in" / "handheld tracking shot"

4. Lighting. Light sets the mood faster than any adjective: "golden hour", "warm neon glow", "overcast sky", "torchlight flickering".

5. Style. Optional but powerful: "cinematic", "papercraft world", "1970s romantic drama shot on 35mm film", "3D animated".

Before and after

Weak: "a dog running"

Strong: "A golden retriever, sporting sleek black sunglasses, sprints playfully across a rooftop terrace after a light rain. The camera tracks from a distance as the dog approaches, tail wagging, droplets glistening on the concrete. Overcast sky, cinematic."

The strong version names the subject with detail, gives continuous action, describes the camera, and sets lighting — all five parts in two sentences.

Three prompts you can steal

1. Cinematic: "A rainy neon alley in Tokyo at night; medium close-up on a courier adjusting his helmet; 35mm lens, shallow depth of field; handheld camera pushing in slowly; wet asphalt glistening; moody, synthwave palette"
2. Nature: "Several giant wooly mammoths treading through a snowy meadow, fur blowing in the wind, snow capped mountains in the distance, low camera view, depth of field, mid afternoon light"
3. Product: "Colorful ink drops dispersing in clear water, macro photography, black background, slow motion, vibrant colors mixing and swirling"

Iterate for free

Prompt writing is a skill, and the cheapest way to build it is repetition. On FQQ AI, the MiniMax H3 Free model generates at zero credit cost — draft your prompt there, refine it two or three times, then switch to Seedance 2.5 or Wan 3.0 for the final high-resolution render.

Ready? Open the generator and try the formula on your own idea.