How to Prompt Like a Director

✨ Why This Guide Matters

AI video and image tools are powerful, but they’re only as good as the prompt you give them. A great prompt tells the model what you want, how it should look, and what mood it should have.

This guide breaks down the best ways to prompt:

• Google Veo 3 for cinematic videos with sound

• Kling 2.1 for smooth animated clips (now with sound!)

• Top image models like Midjourney, DALL·E 3, Leonardo, and SDXL

If you're new to prompting or looking to improve, this is your all-in-one cheat sheet.

📊 Prompt Format Cheat Sheet

Start here if you're new. This chart shows the basic prompt format and what each model can do.

💡 Reminder: You can’t choose video length like "3 seconds" in Veo or Kling. But you can trim the output to keep only the parts you like.

🎬 Veo 3 – Make Cinematic Videos with Audio

Veo 3 is Google’s video model. It generates beautiful cinematic clips with audio like dialogue, music, or ambient sounds.

📦 How to Structure a Veo Prompt

[SHOT TYPE & CAMERA]  
[SUBJECT] – [ACTION] – [LOCATION / CONTEXT] – [STYLE / MOOD]  
[AUDIO TAGS]

🧪 Example Prompt

Steadicam medium close-up  
A brown-skinned surfer with shoulder-length dreads waxes his board beside a driftwood shack as the sun rises – warm pastel tones, vintage film look  
[SFX distant waves]  "MUSIC mellow acoustic guitar"

✅ Tips for Beginners

• Shot Type: Think like a camera—wide shot, close-up, dolly move.

• Subject + Action: What’s happening in the scene? Be clear.

• Style: Use a visual mood—sunset lighting, vintage colors, etc.

• Sound Tags: Add sounds like this: [SFX crackling fire], "MUSIC soft piano"

🕒 Output is always 8 seconds. Just use the best part.

🎥 Kling 2.1 – Smooth Animation with Sound Design

Kling is great for stylized, smooth-motion videos. It now includes support for music and sound effects, too!

🔧 Official Prompt Structure (Text-to-Video)

[Subject], [description], [movement], [scene]. [Extra: camera, lighting, mood].

🧪 Example Prompt

A young woman in a flowing red dress sprints joyfully across a sunlit meadow. Flowers sway in the breeze and birds glide above. Wide aerial shot, soft golden light, dreamy atmosphere.

🖼 If You’re Starting with an Image

Kling’s image-to-video lets you animate a still photo. Just describe what your subject does and how the camera moves.

A boy holding a kite starts running into the wind. Camera pulls back as he crests a hill.

📄 Kling’s Official Prompting Guide:
👉 docs.qingque.cn/d/home/eZQDvlYrDMyE9lOforCeWA4KP

✅ Tips for Beginners

• Use 2–4 ideas per prompt: one subject, one movement, one vibe.

• Keep it clear and visual. Instead of “cool vibes,” say “glowing streetlights in fog.”

• Add sound like this: [SFX ocean breeze] "MUSIC ambient synth"

⏱ Output is ~5 seconds. Trim to your favorite 2–3 seconds when reviewing.

🖼️ Image Prompt Recipe – Midjourney, SDXL, DALL·E

Image models generate single-frame stills. This recipe works across most platforms.

🧱 Prompt Structure

[SUBJECT] | [DETAILS] | [ENVIRONMENT] | [LIGHTING] | [STYLE / ERA] | [CAMERA / LENS] | [MOOD] --ar 16:9 --s 200 --seed ###

🧪 Example Prompt

Brown-skinned surfer with shoulder-length dreadlocks, some blonde-tipped, paddling out on a surfboard during golden hour | shirtless, wearing dark boardshorts | laying flat, mid-stroke, arms extended | turquoise Caribbean water with golden reflections | camera behind subject at water level, partial surface coverage | glistening skin, dripping hair | distant white surfers sitting in lineup near horizon | faint jungle coastline of Puerto Viejo in background | Kodak Vision3 250D film look | 35mm lens, visible grain | handheld water-rig motion with natural bob and drift | mood is calm, focused, transitional | --ar 16:9
--s 180

✅ Tips for Beginners

• Start with the person: age, skin tone, hair, outfit

• Use --ar to set aspect ratio (e.g. widescreen = --ar 16:9)

• Use --s for art style level (0–1000, where higher = more stylized)

• Add --no to block problems (--no text, --no extra arms)

📖 Learn more: Midjourney Prompt Docs

🧬 Character Continuity – How to Keep the Same Face

Want your character to look the same in every scene? Follow these steps:

1. Pick a strong image with the right face, style, and outfit

2. Save the image, model used, and seed number

3. Reuse that image in image-to-video in Kling

4. If you find a better version later, archive the old one

✍️ Pro Tip: Keep all your references organized in a shared folder or Notion doc.

🔁 How to Test and Refine Prompts

🗓️ Weekly creative review: Fridays at 10 AM EST

📎 Mini Prompt Pack (Copy + Paste Ready!)

🟦 Veo 3

Handheld wide shot  
An Afro-Caribbean girl, with deep brown skin and tight coily hair pulled into puffs, runs barefoot through a narrow path in the sugarcane fields – her skin glistens with sweat and flecks of dust catch the light – the warm air glows with a soft haze as fireflies flicker around her – sugarcane leaves blur slightly from motion as the handheld camera sways to match her pace – rich Kodak Portra 400 tones with subtle grain and a nostalgic warmth  
[SFX wind in grass] "MUSIC soft piano"

🟥 Kling 2.1

Rear-facing slow dolly shot, 50mm lens, golden hour backlight
A brown-skinned African-American male surfer with shoulder-length dreadlocks—some tipped with sun-bleached blonde—sits quietly on his board in the open ocean, facing the horizon – his muscular back is lit by the low sun, water beading on his shoulders – golden light dances across the surface, wrapping the scene in warmth – shot on Kodak Portra 400 with subtle grain and orange-teal warmth  
[SFX distant seagulls] "MUSIC ambient guitar loop"

🟩 Midjourney

Teen with locs and a vintage camera, standing in soft morning light | freckles, canvas backpack | cobblestone alley in Cartagena | soft rimlight, golden haze | 1970s Kodachrome | 85 mm f/1.8 | peaceful, dreamy tone  --s 175 --seed 88201

🔚 Final Word – Master the Prompt, Master the Output

A strong prompt is your director’s note to the AI. You don’t need to overthink it just think like a storyteller. Describe what you want to see, how it should move, and what it should feel like.

🎯 Have a favorite tip or prompt format?
Reply and share it—I’ll feature top reader strategies in the next issue.

Until next time — prompt with purpose.
— Khalil (Ai For Real Life)