video-prompting-guide

Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli

Video Prompting Guide

Best practices for writing effective AI video generation prompts via inference.sh.

Video Prompting Guide

Quick Start

Requires inference.sh CLI (belt). Install instructions

belt login

Well-structured video prompt

belt app run google/veo-3-1-fast --input '{ "prompt": "Cinematic tracking shot of a red sports car driving through Tokyo at night, neon lights reflecting on wet streets, rain falling, 4K, shallow depth of field" }'



## Prompt Structure Formula

[Shot Type] + [Subject] + [Action] + [Setting] + [Lighting] + [Style] + [Technical]


### Example Breakdown

"Slow motion close-up of coffee being poured into a white ceramic cup, steam rising, morning sunlight streaming through window, warm color grading, cinematic, 4K, shallow depth of field"


- **Shot Type**: Slow motion close-up
- **Subject**: Coffee
- **Action**: Being poured
- **Setting**: White ceramic cup, window
- **Lighting**: Morning sunlight
- **Style**: Warm color grading, cinematic
- **Technical**: 4K, shallow depth of field

## Shot Types

| Shot Type | Description | Use For |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| Wide shot | Shows entire scene | Establishing location |
| Medium shot | Waist-up framing | Conversations, actions |
| Close-up | Face or detail | Emotion, product detail |
| Extreme close-up | Single feature | Drama, texture |
| Aerial shot | Bird's eye view | Landscapes, scale |
| Low angle | Camera looking up | Power, grandeur |
| High angle | Camera looking down | Vulnerability |
| Dutch angle | Tilted camera | Unease, tension |
| POV shot | First person view | Immersion |

## Camera Movements

| Movement | Description | Effect |
|----------|-------------|--------|
| Tracking shot | Camera follows subject | Dynamic, engaging |
| Dolly in/out | Camera moves toward/away | Focus, reveal |
| Pan | Horizontal rotation | Survey scene |
| Tilt | Vertical rotation | Reveal height |
| Crane shot | Vertical + horizontal | Dramatic reveal |
| Handheld | Slight shake | Realism, urgency |
| Steadicam | Smooth following | Professional, cinematic |
| Zoom | Lens zoom in/out | Quick focus change |
| Static | No movement | Contemplation, stability |

## Lighting Keywords

| Keyword | Effect |
|---------|--------|
| Golden hour | Warm, soft, romantic |
| Blue hour | Cool, moody, twilight |
| High key | Bright, minimal shadows |
| Low key | Dark, dramatic shadows |
| Rim lighting | Subject outlined with light |
| Backlit | Light from behind subject |
| Soft lighting | Gentle, flattering |
| Hard lighting | Sharp shadows, contrast |
| Neon | Colorful, urban, cyberpunk |
| Natural lighting | Realistic, documentary |

## Style Keywords

### Cinematic Styles

cinematic, film grain, anamorphic lens, letterbox, shallow depth of field, bokeh, 35mm film, color grading, theatrical


### Visual Aesthetics

minimalist, maximalist, vintage, retro, futuristic, cyberpunk, steampunk, noir, pastel, vibrant, muted colors, high contrast, desaturated


### Quality Keywords

4K, 8K, high resolution, photorealistic, hyperrealistic, ultra detailed, professional, broadcast quality, HDR


## Prompt Examples by Use Case

### Product Demo

```bash
belt app run google/veo-3-1-fast --input '{
  "prompt": "Smooth tracking shot around a sleek smartphone on a white pedestal, soft studio lighting, product photography style, reflections on surface, 4K, shallow depth of field"
}'

Nature Documentary

belt app run google/veo-3-1 --input '{
  "prompt": "Slow motion extreme close-up of a hummingbird hovering at a red flower, wings in motion blur, shallow depth of field, golden hour lighting, National Geographic style"
}'

Urban Lifestyle

belt app run google/veo-3 --input '{
  "prompt": "Tracking shot following a cyclist through busy city streets, morning rush hour, natural lighting, handheld camera feel, documentary style, authentic and candid"
}'

Food Content

belt app run bytedance/seedance-2-0 --input '{
  "prompt": "Close-up of chocolate sauce being drizzled over ice cream, slow motion, steam rising, soft lighting, food photography style, appetizing, commercial quality",
  "generate_audio": true
}'

Tech/Futuristic

belt app run xai/grok-imagine-video --input '{
  "prompt": "Futuristic control room with holographic displays, camera slowly pans across the space, blue and cyan lighting, sci-fi atmosphere, Blade Runner aesthetic, 4K",
  "duration": 5
}'

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Problem	Better Approach
Too vague	"A nice video"	Specify shot, subject, style
Too complex	Multiple scenes	One scene per prompt
No motion	Static description	Include camera movement or action
Conflicting styles	"Minimalist maximalist"	Choose one aesthetic
No lighting	Undefined mood	Specify lighting conditions

Model-Specific Tips

Google Veo

Excels at realistic, cinematic content
Supports audio generation (Veo 3+)
Best with detailed, professional prompts
Frame interpolation available in 3.1

Seedance

Strong at dance and human motion
First-frame control available
Good for consistent character motion
Works well with reference images

Wan 2.5

Best for image-to-video
Animates still images naturally
Good motion prediction
Works with any image style

Grok

Good general-purpose video
Configurable duration (5-10s)
Creative interpretations
Works well with abstract concepts

Workflow: Iterative Prompting

# 1. Start with basic prompt
belt app run google/veo-3-1-fast --input '{
  "prompt": "A woman walking through a forest"
}'

# 2. Add specificity
belt app run google/veo-3-1-fast --input '{
  "prompt": "Medium tracking shot of a woman in a red dress walking through an autumn forest"
}'

# 3. Add style and technical details
belt app run google/veo-3-1-fast --input '{
  "prompt": "Cinematic medium tracking shot of a woman in a flowing red dress walking through an autumn forest, golden hour sunlight filtering through leaves, shallow depth of field, film grain, 4K"
}'

Related Skills

# Generate videos
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-video-generation

# Google Veo specific
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@google-veo

# Generate images for image-to-video
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-image-generation

# General prompt engineering
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@prompt-engineering

# Full platform skill
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@infsh-cli

Browse all video apps: belt app list --category video

Documentation

Running Apps - How to run apps via CLI
Video Generation Guide - Comprehensive video guide