Write a clearer text-to-video prompt: subject, scene, camera, beats, and constraints.
If you want better results from a text-to-video model, the fastest upgrade is your text to video prompt. Most failures come from vague camera intent and unbounded scenes. This guide shows how to write a strong text-to-video prompt with clear subject, scene boundaries, camera motion, beats, and constraints.
If you want a tool-first approach, start with the video prompt generator. If you want a reusable template, use the video prompt template.
If you are deciding between models, see Seedance vs Kling prompt.
A good text-to-video prompt contains:
This is the structure most text to video prompt generator tools try to enforce.
Copy this text to video prompt template:
If your text to video prompt results feel “jump cut” or incoherent, add beats. A beat line turns a vague text-to-video prompt into a short storyboard:
This is the simplest way to make a text to video prompt feel directed.
“Cinematic” is not a camera plan. A useful text to video prompt uses concrete camera intent:
If you only change one part of your text-to-video prompt, change the camera line first.
Concept: “A smartwatch rotates on a clean pedestal.”
Camera: macro close-up, slow dolly-in, stable focus on the dial
Lighting: soft studio key light from left, gentle shadows
Constraints: no text, no watermark, stable motion
Keep the action single-shot. Avoid multi-scene scripts. A short, bounded text-to-video prompt is often more stable.
Concept: “A lighthouse in fog with waves crashing.”
Scene boundary: rocky coast, foggy morning, stable background
Camera: wide shot, slow pan, steady horizon, stable focus
Lighting: soft diffused light, low contrast
Constraints: no text, no watermark, stable motion
Treat your text to video prompt like an experiment. Change only one variable per attempt:
This method is what a text to video prompt generator tries to automate, but you can do it manually too.
Many users ask if they need “negative prompts”. For a text to video prompt, you usually only need a short constraints line:
Keep the text-to-video prompt constraints short. Long negative lists can dilute the main instructions.
Long is not automatically better. A text to video prompt that is short but structured (beats + one camera plan) often performs better than a long paragraph. If you expand, expand the camera and beats, not random adjectives.
This page naturally covers:
Drift usually comes from unclear subject identity or an unbounded scene. Add identity constraints and define a stable background.
It helps. A text to video prompt generator is mainly a speed tool: it produces a structured prompt quickly. You still get the best results by editing the camera and beats.
No. A short text to video prompt with clear beats and one camera plan is often more stable.