Production playbook
Plan AI video with a shot list that can survive revisions
A shot list prevents the most common AI-video mistake: asking one generation to do the work of an entire edit. Plan small, purposeful shots first, then generate and assemble them.
Set the project locks before writing shots
Write these once at the top of the project. Repeat the relevant ones in each prompt. They prevent the sequence from changing format or visual language halfway through.
Format lock
Choose the aspect ratio and intended placement: vertical social post, landscape presentation, square product placement, or a different defined deliverable.
Subject lock
Name the exact product, person, wardrobe, color, logo treatment or object that must remain recognizable.
World lock
Set the location, time of day, weather, surface materials and palette that make the shots feel like one scene.
Motion lock
Choose a restrained camera language: smooth and deliberate, handheld and immediate, or locked-off and graphic.
A five-shot product or brand sequence
| Shot | Job | Framing | Prompt direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 · Establish | Tell the viewer where they are. | Wide or medium-wide | Show the subject in its environment with simple, readable movement. |
| 02 · Detail | Make one craft or product feature tangible. | Close-up or macro | Focus on texture, a hand interaction, a surface or a small reveal. |
| 03 · Proof | Show the thing working. | Medium | Give the subject one clear action with the feature visible. |
| 04 · Feeling | Provide a human reaction or atmospheric release. | Portrait or wider context | Use a slower beat; do not introduce a new location. |
| 05 · End frame | Leave room for a message, logo or cut. | Clean centered frame | Ask for stable composition and restrained movement near the end. |
Copy this shot-list template
PROJECT LOCKS Format: [aspect ratio and platform] Subject: [exact person, product or object] World: [location, time, palette, materials] Camera language: [one or two recurring qualities] SHOT [number] Job: [what this shot makes the viewer understand or feel] Duration: [short, specific beat] Frame: [wide / medium / close-up / macro] Action: [one visible action] Camera: [one movement or locked-off] Prompt: [full shot prompt] Keep fixed: [details that must match the previous shot] Edit note: [what shot should come before or after]
Generate in the order you can revise
- Make the establishing frame first. It tells you whether the world, subject and aspect ratio are working before you spend time on details.
- Generate the critical detail next. If the close-up cannot show the feature clearly, rewrite that one shot instead of rebuilding the entire sequence.
- Use your best frame as a reference. When a workflow accepts a still, a strong prior frame is a better continuity anchor than a paragraph of description.
- Leave edit handles. Avoid making every clip resolve exactly on the beat. A little stable material before and after an action gives the edit room to breathe.
What to remove from a shot list
Cut anything that cannot be seen in a single short shot: backstory, a second location, a second camera angle, a different outfit, or a new emotional arc. Those may be good ideas, but they belong in later shots. A sequence gains energy from contrast between controlled beats, not from one overloaded prompt.
Build the sequence one clear shot at a time
Start with the video studio, then use the model catalogue to match your desired inputs, length and format to a real option.