How to prompt a ten-second shot

A ten-second clip is not a short film. It is one beat: a door opens, a wave breaks, a figure turns. Ask for three actions and the model will rush all three and finish none.

Write the shot you can watch in one breath, then decide how many seconds it needs.

A five-part prompt

Most prompts that work answer five questions, in this order:

1. Subject — who or what is on screen.
2. Action — the single change that happens.
3. Camera — where the camera is and whether it moves.
4. Light — the source, direction and quality.
5. Texture — the surface of the image: grain, wet asphalt, dust, fabric.

For example:

A lone swimmer under a sodium lamp, slow breaststroke, camera locked off at water level, hard top light, black water with small ripples, 9:16.

The subject is the swimmer. The action is one stroke. The camera is locked off. The light is a hard sodium lamp from above. The texture is black water. Nothing in that sentence asks for a second scene.

Verbs beat adjectives

"Cinematic" is a wish. "Slow push in", "handheld", "locked off", "turns toward the window" are instructions.

Prefer one specific verb to three atmospheric adjectives. Then let light and texture carry the mood.

Choose the camera move before you write

Every shot needs a decision about the camera, even if the decision is "do not move".

• Locked off — the frame is stable and the motion happens inside it. Best for portraits, products and effects.
• Slow push in — adds attention without disorienting. Use it once per shot.
• Handheld — implies documentary or tension, and adds wobble that can fight a precise composition.
• Orbit or tracking — powerful, but it spends attention. A ten-second shot can hold one.

Do not stack moves. A push-in plus a pan plus a tilt reads as a camera operator who cannot decide.

Match duration to the action

Duration is not a quality setting. It is how long the action needs.

• 4 seconds — a single gesture, a reveal, a loop. Also the cheapest way to test a look.
• 10 seconds — the default. Enough for a slow camera move and one action to complete.
• 15 seconds — a long hold, a transformation, or a slow reveal. Only if the action can fill it.

Credits scale linearly: 4 seconds at 480p is 20 credits, 10 seconds at 720p is 110, 15 seconds at 1080p is 405.

Test at 480p, finish at 720p or 1080p

Resolution changes the price by more than five times between 480p and 1080p. Use it as a staging tool:

1. Draft at 4 seconds and 480p — 20 credits. Check the action and the camera.
2. Finish at 720p for most delivery — 11 credits per second.
3. Deliver at 1080p when the shot is locked and the extra detail will survive compression — 27 credits per second.

The quote updates before you commit, so you can see the cost of each step.

Aspect ratio is part of the composition

Choose the frame before you write the camera move:

• 16:9 for landscape and embedded players.
• 9:16 for vertical social.
• 1:1, 4:3, 3:4 and 21:9 when the platform or the composition asks for it.
• Auto when the shot should follow an uploaded image.

A different frame changes what fits. A full-body shot that works at 16:9 may crop at 9:16, so write for the frame you choose.

Do not smuggle in provider flags

The studio rejects prompt tails such as --rs, --dur or --resolution. Resolution, duration and ratio belong in the controls, where they are quoted and validated. If a copied prompt ends with flags, remove them before you paste.

After you confirm

The prompt is screened before the quote is created. If it passes, the job reserves credits, renders, and settles only when the video is delivered. If the provider rejects the job or it never produces a result, the reservation is released.

That makes iteration cheap in the way that matters: a bad prompt costs a minute, not a pack.

Three prompts to start from

The quiet room

A red-lit room at night, a wooden chair by the window, dust moving in the light, no people, camera locked off, 16:9.

One subject, no action beyond dust, and the light does the work.

The corridor

A neon corridor with no visible end, one figure walking away from camera, slow handheld follow, anamorphic flare, 9:16.

One action (walking away), one camera move (follow), one texture (flare).

The small transformation

A flower made of television static, opening in slow motion, black background, macro lens, 1:1.

A single transformation with a clear beginning and end — the kind of action that fills a short clip.

The short version

One action. One camera move. A duration that fits the action. A resolution you can afford to test. Everything else is styling.