How to write better prompts for short AI videos

Short AI video tools respond best to prompts that read like a shot list. Instead of a single vague sentence, describe the subject, the action, the camera and the light in that order.

Start with the subject and one clear action. "A cyclist rides through a rainy street at night" gives the model far more to work with than "a cool city video".

Add camera language next. Words like slow dolly in, low angle or handheld tracking shot change the feel of a clip more than extra adjectives do.

Finish with lighting and mood, then keep the clip short. Five to eight seconds is usually enough to judge whether a prompt works before you iterate.

If you want to try these habits, Kling 4 lets you turn a written prompt into a short clip and compare versions side by side.