🎬 AI Video

AI Video Prompts Guide 2026

Master AI video generation with expert prompts for OpenAI Sora, Google Veo 3.1, and Runway Gen-3. Cinematic shots, animations, and motion graphics made easy.

AI video generation has matured dramatically. OpenAI's Sora 2, Google's Veo 3.1, and Runway Gen-3 can produce stunning cinematic footage from text prompts. The difference between amateur and professional results comes down to prompt structure.

Video Prompt Structure

Every great AI video prompt includes four elements:

Scene description — What is happening? (subject, action, environment)
Camera direction — Shot type, angle, movement (pan, zoom, tracking, aerial)
Style and mood — Cinematic, documentary, anime, noir, lighting, color palette
Technical specs — Aspect ratio (16:9, 9:16), duration, frame rate, rendering quality

Tool-Specific Prompt Techniques

Sora 2 (OpenAI)

Sora excels at realistic physics, dynamic motion, and complex scene composition. It handles multiple characters and objects with consistent behavior.

Cinematic wide shot of a bustling Tokyo street market at golden hour. Steam rises from food stalls. A woman in a red kimono walks slowly through the crowd, rain-slicked pavement reflecting neon signs. Camera pans right to follow her movement. 4K, 16:9, warm color grade with teal shadows.

Tip: Sora responds well to physics language — "steam rises," "rain-slicked," "reflecting" — because it has strong world modeling.

Veo 3.1 (Google)

Veo excels at video editing capabilities (object insertion, style transfer) and rich audio generation alongside video. It has the strongest text rendering of any AI video tool.

A hyperlapse journey through a futuristic city at night. Flying vehicles streak between skyscrapers with neon-lit广告 billboards. The camera smoothly ascends from street level to a rooftop garden. Style: Blade Runner meets Studio Ghibli. 16:9, cinematic 24fps, synthwave soundtrack.

Tip: Veo handles mixed-style prompts well and can render text in multiple languages within the video.

Runway Gen-3 (Runway ML)

Runway excels at stylized content, animation, and creative transitions. It has the strongest toolset for editing and compositing generated footage.

A paper-craft style animation of a flower blooming. Each petal unfolds with visible paper texture and subtle shadows. Stop-motion aesthetic with smooth interpolation. Background is warm cream paper. 9:16 vertical, 30fps, soft natural lighting.

Tip: Runway is best for artistic and stylized content. Include medium-specific language like "oil painting," "claymation," or "watercolor."

Prompt Templates by Genre

Product Commercial

Luxury product commercial. A minimalist perfume bottle on a rotating pedestal. Soft rim lighting from behind. Slow-motion droplets of water slide down the glass. Background: gradient sunset colors blurred. Camera slowly pushes in. 16:9, 60fps, high contrast, product photography aesthetic.

Nature Documentary

BBC-style nature documentary shot. A snow leopard walks across a Himalayan ridge at dawn. Frost on its fur catches the morning light. Shallow depth of field, background mountains out of focus. Camera slowly tracks alongside. 16:9, cinematic color grade, natural sound.

Abstract / AI Art

Surreal, abstract visualization of data flowing through a neural network. Luminous particles travel along crystalline structures. Colors shift from deep blue to electric purple. Morphing geometric shapes. 9:16 vertical, ethereal ambient soundtrack, 24fps.

⚠️ Note: AI video generation is compute-intensive and may take several minutes per clip. Start with short durations (5-10 seconds) and iterate on prompt quality before generating longer clips.

💡 Pro Tip: The best AI video results come from iterating on prompts. Start broad, review the output, then add more specific camera direction and style elements in subsequent attempts.

Enhance Your Videos with AI Prompts

Browse our image AI prompts for inspiration — many techniques translate directly to video generation.

Image AI Prompts → Browse All Prompts →