Now that AI video generators exist, anyone can make videos with AI that would look realistic and entertaining just by using a text prompt. From making film scenes to product videos, advertisements, social media posts, or even stories, you can easily generate videos with the help of AI just from your prompts.
But creating a realistic video is not as easy as just writing something in a text box for an AI video generator. What matters is the clarity of the description of the object, its movements, the setting, the camera angles, and other aspects.
That’s when AI video prompting comes into play.
Here, we will tell you everything about creating realistic videos with AI prompts, how to structure prompts correctly, and how to take advantage of Hailuo prompts to make better videos with AI.
What Makes an AI-Generated Video Look Realistic?
There are various factors that go into making an AI-generated video seem realistic.
A realistic video needs:
Natural motion
Characters that remain consistent throughout
Realistic lighting
Realistic shadows
Realistic expressions on faces
Realistic movement of objects
Realistic environment
Camera movements that are realistic
Perspective consistency
Realistic textures
Telling an AI model to “make a realistic video” might not be enough to get what you want.
Instead, you have to tell the model what it should see and how that scene should work.
For instance, instead of saying:
“A man walking down the city.”
You can say:
“A realistic young man dressed in a black jacket walks slowly along a bustling downtown street at the golden hour. Natural light is reflected from other buildings as people move around naturally in the background. The video shows the man through a smooth handheld shot following his movements along with a shallow depth of field.”
How to Structure an AI Video Prompt
A useful AI video prompt can be divided into several important components.
1. Describe the Main Subject
1. Explain the Main Subject
First of all, you need to describe what the video is going to be about.
Tell us about the person, animal, product, vehicle, or thing that should be depicted in the picture.
You may provide useful details, such as:
Age/overall appearance
Clothing
Location
Physical appearance
Product design
Color
Facial expression
Example:
“An attractive young lady dressed in a beige jacket with her leather handbag…”
Descriptions will give the AI additional data.
2. Describe the Action
The next step is to describe the action the main subject performs.
Do not just tell what the subject looks like but describe the movements.
Examples:
“She approaches the camera slowly, looking around the street.”
It is possible to describe more complicated actions too.
“For instance, a chef is carefully placing fresh food onto a white ceramic plate, where steam goes up from the dish.”
3. Describe the Environment
3. Describe the Environment
The environment provides a backdrop for the scene.
Use elements such as:
Location
Weather
Time of Day
Background Elements
Architecture
Landscape
Ambience
Example:
“The setting occurs in a modern restaurant with warm wood décor, large windows, low lighting, and people sitting in the background.”
This information can help flesh out the created scene even further.
4. Specify Camera Movement
Camera directions play an extremely important role in the end result.
Some examples of camera movements that you may choose include:
Camera push-in with slow motion
Tracking shot
Pan
Tilt
Zoom
Establishing shot
Close up
Over the shoulder shot
Hand-held camera motion
Example:
“The camera gradually moves in on the subject while using shallow focus.”
Instead of just stating “cinematic camera movement,” explain what the camera must do.
5. Describe Lighting
Lighting is an important aspect of realism.
You can state:
Daylight
Sunset lighting
Studio lighting
Shadows
Cloudy lighting
Neon lighting
Interior lighting
Low-key lighting
For instance:
“Softer sunlight shines through the window creating natural shadows in the room.”
Specifying lighting will allow you to set the mood and appearance of your scene.
6. Include Realistic Motion
Realistic motion is one of the most difficult things in AI-generated video.
When writing your prompt, explain how the subject is going to move.
Instead of writing:
“A woman is running in a forest.”
You can write:
“A woman is running naturally in the forest along the narrow path, with slight movements of the hair and clothes while leaves are gently moving in the wind.”
That way you provide additional information to the AI about how the motion should be.
Also, you can describe how other elements should move like:
Trees swaying in the wind
Flowing water
Rising smoke
Hair movement
Reactions of clothes to movement
Cars moving in the traffic
Background people walking naturally
7. Use Realistic Camera Language
Camera terminology may prove useful when conveying the kind of shot one wants.
For instance:
Wide shot: Good for setting the scene.
Medium shot: Good for shooting a person together with the background.
Close-up: Good for accentuating facial expressions or specific product shots.
Tracking shot: The camera follows the subject.
Dolly in: The camera comes closer to the subject.
Pan: The camera moves sideways.
Tilt: The camera moves up and down.
Use of proper camera terminology could be beneficial here.
How to Write Hailuo Prompts
Hailuo is a video generator created by MiniMax that is capable of generating video using text and images.
When writing a Hailuo prompt, the same approach works here: give as much details as possible about the object, actions, setting, camera movement, lighting, and style.
Ambiguous prompt will produce ambiguous results, but when a well-structured prompt is provided, the AI gets a much clearer vision of what to draw.
Instead of:
“A woman walking in a city.”
you could use a more structured prompt like:
“A realistic young woman in a long black coat walks down a busy street in the evening in a city. Traffic goes naturally in the background, while people are walking on the sidewalk. Golden hour sunlight reflects from the windows of skyscrapers. Camera tracks her in a slow moving shot from behind with shallow depth of field. Realistic motion, realistic proportions, urban environment.”
Such a Hailuo prompt contains a number of layers instead of one simple description.
Hailuo Prompts for Cinematic Videos
If you wish to make a cinematic video, do not say just that; provide the description of the desired visual effects and camera movements.
For instance:
“One traveler is standing on a mountain and looking out to the valley beneath him. Golden rays of sunlight are shining through and illuminating the scenery. Slowly, clouds cover the far away mountains. A camera starts its work with a wide-angle shot and gradually comes closer to the traveler. Cinematic atmosphere, realistic lighting, natural wind blowing, cinematographic composition.”
Here are included:
Subject
Location
Time of the day
Lighting
Movement of the environment
Movement of the camera
Composition
Realism
All this helps Hailuo in creating the picture.
Hailuo Prompts for Realistic People
Realistic Human Subjects Prompt Examples in Hailuo Prompts
Human beings may prove to be difficult subjects when working with AI video models; therefore, specific prompts will come in handy.
For instance,
“An adult male wearing navy blue business attire sits within a modern office and converses in a natural manner with someone seated opposite him on a table. The subject makes slight hand movements and keeps realistic facial expressions. Natural sunlight illuminates from the windows. Eye-level camera shots with slightly handheld movement. Photorealistic rendering with natural human movement.”
In this prompt, emphasis has been put on the facial expression, movement of the body, lighting, camera shots, and environmental setting rather than just the physical appearance.
Hailuo Prompts for Product Videos
AI-created product videos may prove helpful for marketing and social media content.
For instance:
“A luxury black smartwatch is placed on a polished dark background in a contemporary studio setting. The camera pans around the watch as light reflections are formed on the glass screen by soft studio lights. The object stays in focus and perfectly positioned in the scene. Luxury advertising style, realistic materials, reflections, smooth panning of the camera.”
When creating product videos, consistency and accurate representation are key.
In case the actual look of the product matters, adding a relevant picture as reference would come in handy.
Hailuo Image-to-Video Prompts
Text-to-video is not the only method to generate AI videos.
In image-to-video, you can give an existing image and describe how it should move.
If you have an image of a car, for instance, then your prompt could be:
“The car moves slowly in front along the wet streets of the city in the nighttime. Reflections of neon lights can be seen on the wet roads while it rains slightly. The camera follows the car with a low-angle cinematic motion. The original look and proportions of the vehicle should be maintained.”
It is especially important to end your prompt in this way if you want to keep the original appearance.
When composing prompts for image-to-video, pay attention to movement and camera work rather than rephrasing all the things which can be seen in the reference image.
How to Maintain Character Consistency
It is essential to maintain character consistency when designing several scenes.
The change of the character’s appearance from shot to shot will lead to inconsistency in the final video.
One way to ensure consistency is by maintaining the same important character information in prompts.
Examples include:
“A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, beige trench coat, and a black handbag…”
Repeat the information each time the character shows up in your prompt.
You can also include references where possible.
During the design of sequences, it is best not to change unnecessary information in your prompt.
Use Negative Instructions Carefully
Most AI video generators allow you to use negative prompts or instructions to prevent certain elements in the video.
Depending on the AI video generator, you might want to avoid getting the following in your video:
Distorted faces
Additional fingers
Strange body movements
Flashing effects
Abnormal deformations
Motion
Blur
However, negative prompts should not be used in place of good positive descriptions.
Common AI Video Prompt Mistakes
The most powerful AI video generator cannot produce high-quality results if the input is ambiguous.
Too Much Vagueness
“A beautiful cinematic video” is an example of a prompt that provides very little context for the model.
Too Many Actions in One Prompt
Inputting too many unrelated actions into one prompt may create problems in consistency for the model.
Stick to the most important components of the scene.
Ignoring the Camera
If the camera is not specified in the prompt, the movement suggested by the model may be inconsistent.
Omitting the Lighting
Lighting plays a significant role in the realism and atmosphere of the scene.
Changing the Characteristics of a Character
Changing the appearance, attire, or physical properties of a character in the prompt will render the character inconsistent.
Description of Only the Subject
A subject without any description of the environment or action will create a motionless scene.
A Simple Formula for Better AI Video Prompts
The following method will help you make an AI video prompt:
[Subject] + [Action] + [Environment] + [Camera Movement] + [Lighting] + [Style] + [Motion]Such as:
“Professional photographer in dark jacket shoots a landscape from the rocky mountain top. The setting is at dawn with slowly moving clouds in the valley. The camera starts from a wide angle and moves closer to the photographer. Natural sunlight forms soft shadows. Realistic photorealistic style, realistic human motion, wind and environment details.”
Note that you don’t have to follow this exact pattern each time. It’s just a helpful template.
How to Improve AI Video Results
Coming up with an effective prompt usually takes trial and error.
If you don’t get the output that you want on the first try, figure out why.
For instance:
If the camera pans too fast, request a slow dolly pan.
If the character is inconsistent, give more information about the character or a picture of the reference.
If the setting is unrealistic, include more info about realistic lighting and texture.
If the person doesn’t do the requested action, make it simpler and clarify.
Rather than rewriting the whole prompt each time, adjust one or two aspects at a time.
Best Practices for Realistic AI Video Prompts
Some best practices that can help to get good results consistently include the following:
Being Specific
Using specific descriptions of visuals rather than just using general terms.
Actions
Describe one major action in the video along with its manner of execution.
Appropriate Camera Perspective
Let the model know if it is a close up, tracking shot, wide shot, etc.
Natural Movement
Add descriptions for natural movement of humans, objects, and environment.
Lighting
Include description about the source of light, direction, intensity, and mood when applicable.
Consistency
Make sure characters and products remain consistent within similar generations.
Try out Different Combinations
Generation of AI videos might be an iterative process.
Final Words
When creating realistic videos using AI, it is not always necessary to provide long prompts, but the right information is vital.
A good prompt will be one that provides enough information concerning the subject, the action, the environment, camera movement, lighting, motion, and the look of the final video.
While working with Hailuo prompts, it becomes easy to use the knowledge to create realistic scenes using the prompts. From creation of realistic scenes to advertisements, social media videos to cinematic clips, the process becomes much easier when you know how to create proper prompts.
Provide clear descriptions, focus on the actions, incorporate realistic environment and camera, and learn from the output in order to develop good prompts.
