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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Turn an AI video idea into a short film by planning the story first, breaking it into focused shots, anchoring recurring details with a continuity sheet and reference images, then generating, reviewing and editing clips into a deliberate sequence. Prompts guide individual shots; they do not guarantee that separately generated clips will match. Treat continuity controls as aids, and judge the assembled cut rather than relying on a perfect prompt.
Start with a story, not a long prompt
Before writing shot prompts, reduce the idea to a story engine: who wants what, and what stands in the way? Then write a compact beginning-middle-end treatment. This keeps the film focused on a visible change rather than a string of attractive but unrelated images.
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- Beginning: establish the protagonist, setting and goal.
- Middle: introduce a complication that changes the plan or forces a decision.
- End: show the consequence, resolving or deliberately reframing the goal.
For a very short film, use only the beats needed to make that change legible. Give each beat a visual action that could be shown on screen. Runway’s longer-video workflow likewise recommends planning a brief treatment with a beginning, middle and end, key characters and locations, and an emotional journey.
Turn the beats into a shot list
Make each storyboard frame a candidate generation. For every shot, record the story beat, target duration, subject and action, location, framing, camera movement, lighting, palette or style, continuity notes, and required references. This separates what the audience must understand from how a particular shot should look.
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Runway’s workflow uses 5–10-second storyboard frames as a typical example for potential generations; that is guidance for its workflow, not a universal duration rule. Google Veo’s prompt guide recommends considering framing, camera movement, style, lighting, character appearance, location, action and dialogue. OpenAI’s Sora 2 prompting guide also covers framing, depth of field, action in beats, lighting and palette.
If an event involves several actions or a precise cause and effect, break it into separate shots that can be generated and edited independently. A shot list is also a useful place to specify the end pose or composition needed to connect to the next clip.
Make a continuity sheet and gather references
Write down the details that should stay stable whenever a character or location returns. Keep the notes concise enough to reuse while prompting.
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- Character identifiers: face, hair, build and other recognizable features.
- Wardrobe and story-state details: clothing, carried objects, injuries or changes.
- Location and atmosphere: layout, weather, time of day and light direction.
- Screen direction: where a character enters or exits, and their position relative to others.
- Visual treatment: palette, lighting style and any recurring design choices.
Create clean reference images or character plates that show the angles and wardrobe the shot list needs. If the film returns to a location, an environment reference can help anchor those shots too. Runway recommends multi-angle character plates because using only a forward-facing image can lead to subtle identity changes. Google documents up to three reference images for Veo 3.1, while the Sora 2 guide describes reusable character references. These features can help guide appearance; they do not promise identical results across shots.
Relevant documentation: Runway’s workflow, Google’s Veo 3.1 API guide and the Sora 2 guide.
Prompt one shot at a time
Use a consistent order so each prompt carries the shot’s essentials without burying the action in unrelated detail:
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- Shot and framing: wide, medium or close shot; angle; camera movement.
- Subject and continuity anchors: identifying features, clothing and props relevant to this shot.
- Action: one principal action, optionally described as a few clear beats.
- Setting: place, time and necessary background details.
- Light and look: lighting, palette and visual medium or style.
- Sound or dialogue: include it only when supported and important.
- End state: specify where the subject or camera should finish if the next edit depends on it.
For example, a prompt might describe a medium shot of a woman in a yellow raincoat entering the same closed station, placing a brass key on the counter, and looking toward a door at frame left; specify the desired lighting and end pose. The next shot can then begin from the relevant visual state rather than asking one generation to cover the entire sequence.
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Start with the essential action and reference image, then add details only when they improve the result. Runway’s Gen-4 prompting guide recommends beginning simply and adding subject motion, camera motion, scene motion and style incrementally. Veo’s guide emphasizes specific character, location, action and camera choices. OpenAI cautions that a prompt is a creative wish list rather than a contract: repeated generations can differ.
Generate, inspect and revise against the cut
Review each take for the required action, recognizable subject, matching wardrobe and props, and a usable final pose or composition. Then place candidate clips next to their neighbors early. A visually impressive standalone clip may still fail as a continuity bridge or make the story’s cause and effect unclear.
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When revising, change one or two prompt elements at a time so you can see what helps. Keep alternate takes when results vary. Where the platform supports them, use image references, first/last-frame controls or clip extension to anchor a sequence; availability and behavior depend on the specific product and version.
The documented controls are not interchangeable. Veo 3.1’s API documentation describes up to three reference images, video extension and first/last-frame generation. The Sora 2 guide describes extension using the initial clip as context and says shorter clips generally follow instructions more reliably. Runway’s Gen-4 guide describes generating 5- or 10-second clips from an input image and text prompt. These are vendor specifications, not guarantees of continuity or quality; check the linked documentation for current access and behavior.
Assemble the short film in an editor
Select takes for story clarity and continuity, then arrange them in editing software. The edit supplies structure that separate generations may not: shot order, cut timing, sound and transitions can make a decision or consequence understandable. If a generated transition is confusing, a deliberate cut may be more dependable than asking a prompt to perform several linked actions at once. Runway’s longer-film workflow explicitly recommends combining generated clips in editing software to create longer narrative content.
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Compare tools by the controls your film needs
There is no universal best choice established by these product guides. Compare the exact controls available to you, the length and complexity of your planned shots, reference workflow, editing needs, access and current terms.
| Documentation reviewed | Documented controls or workflow | Practical caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Runway longer-film workflow and Gen-4 guide | Storyboard planning, character plates, image-plus-text generation and editing assembly; the Gen-4 guide describes 5- or 10-second generations. | Character plates can reduce variation but do not establish perfect identity continuity. Capabilities vary by product version. |
| Google Veo 3.1 API guide | Up to three reference images, video extension and first/last-frame control. | The prompt guide addresses single shots; planning and review are still needed to assemble a multi-shot narrative. Check current model access and API behavior. |
| OpenAI Sora 2 prompting guide | Character references, extension using the original clip as context, and prompt-level shot description. | Generation is probabilistic, and the guide says shorter clips generally follow instructions more reliably. Documented controls can change. |
Check the sequence before calling it finished
- Recurring characters use the intended identifiers and reference assets.
- Wardrobe, hair, props and injuries agree with the story state.
- Location layout, lighting direction, weather and time of day make sense across cuts.
- Screen direction and character positions do not shift accidentally.
- The end state of each shot gives the next shot a plausible starting point.
- Each sequence contains a visible change or decision that advances the story.
- Sound, dialogue and pacing support the emotional arc.
Know what prompting cannot guarantee
More detailed instructions do not turn generation into deterministic filmmaking. Models may mishandle complex physical interactions, cause and effect, spatial relationships or precise timed actions; OpenAI’s Sora overview identifies these as limitations. References, character plates and extensions can help anchor a sequence, but do not eliminate variation. The cited official guides do not establish comparative success rates or a benchmark ranking, so a tool choice should be based on its current documented controls and your own review of generated takes.
Model names, availability, clip limits, reference counts, resolutions, API details and terms may change. Check the official documentation linked above for the version and access path you plan to use before building a workflow around a specific feature.
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