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Gen-3 Alpha Prompting Guide


Gen-3 Alpha has endless potential to bring your artistic vision to life for a wide variety of use cases. Creating a strong prompt that conveys the scene is the key to generating video aligned with your concept.

This article covers different example structures, keywords and prompting tips to help you get started with Gen-3 Alpha. These are just examples – don’t be afraid to experiment when bringing your ideas to life.

 

Prompt Structures

Text-only Base Prompt

Text-only prompts are most effective when they follow a clear structure that divides details about the scene, subject and camera movement into separate sections.

Using the following structure should help provide consistent results while you’re familiarizing yourself with Gen-3 Alpha:

[camera movement]: [establishing scene]. [additional details].

Using this structure, your prompt for a woman standing in a tropical rainforest might look like this:

Low angle static shot: The camera is angled up at a woman wearing all orange as she stands in a tropical rainforest with colorful flora. The dramatic sky is overcast and gray.

Repeating or reinforcing key ideas in different sections of your prompt can help increase adherence in the output. For example, you might note that the camera quickly flies through the scenes in a hyperspeed shot.

Try to keep your prompt focused on what should be in the scene. For example, you would prompt for a clear sky rather than a sky with no clouds.

 

Image + Text Base Prompt

When using input images, focus on describing the movement you'd like in the output, rather than the contents of the image.

In example, you might try the following prompt if using an input image that features a character:

Subject cheerfully poses, her hands forming a peace sign.

Using a text prompt that significantly differs from the input image may lead to unexpected results. Keep in mind that complex scene transitions may require multiple iterations to achieve the desired output.

 

Sample Prompts

Seamless Transitions

Continuous hyperspeed FPV footage: The camera seamlessly flies through a glacial canyon to a dreamy cloudscape.

 

Camera Movement

A glowing ocean at night time with bioluminescent creatures under water. The camera starts with a macro close-up of a glowing jellyfish and then expands to reveal the entire ocean lit up with various glowing colors under a starry sky. Camera Movement: Begin with a macro shot of the jellyfish, then gently pull back and up to showcase the glowing ocean.

 

Text Title Cards

A title screen with dynamic movement. The scene starts at a colorful paint-covered wall. Suddenly, black paint pours on the wall to form the word "Runway". The dripping paint is detailed and textured, centered, superb cinematic lighting.

 

Prompt Keywords

Keywords can be beneficial to achieve specific styles in your output. Ensuring that keywords are cohesive with your overall prompt will make them more apparent in your output.

In example, including keywords about skin texture wouldn't be beneficial to a wide angle shot where the camera is not closely focused on a face. A wide angle shot might instead benefit from additional details about the environment.

While keeping this cohesiveness in mind, below are different keywords you can experiment with while drafting your prompts.

 

Camera Styles

Keyword Output
Low angle
High angle
Overhead
FPV
Hand held
Wide angle
Close up
Macro cinematography
Over the shoulder
Tracking
Establishing wide
50mm lens
SnorriCam
Realistic documentary
Camcorder

 

Lighting Styles

Keyword Output
Diffused lighting
Silhouette
Lens flare
Back lit
Side lit
[color] gel lighting
Venetian lighting

 

Movement Speeds

Keyword Output
Dynamic motion
Slow motion
Fast motion
Timelapse

 

Movement Types

Keyword Output
Grows
Emerges
Explodes
Ascends
Undulates
Warps
Transforms
Ripples
Shatters
Unfolds
Vortex

 

Style and Aesthetic

Keyword Output
Moody
Cinematic
Iridescent
Home video VHS
Glitchcore

 

Text Styles

Keyword Output
Bold
Graffiti
Neon
Varsity
Embroidery

 

Bracket Placeholders

For creating custom presets that are easy to reuse, you can also put part of your prompt in brackets to 1-click replace the text. For example:

The camera seamlessly flies through a [subject location]

When saved as a preset, this allows you to 1-click replace the bracket area and start typing your text whenever you reuse it.