shot-prompt-builder

name	shot-prompt-builder
description	Convert a scene plan into stronger image or video generation prompts by using explicit shot language, movement, lighting, depth, and subject texture instead of generic style prefixes.

Shot Prompt Builder

Use When

• AI-generated scenes are part of the short.
• Existing prompts are too vague, repetitive, or style-prefix heavy.
• The scene plan already knows roughly what each beat should show, but the prompts need to become generation-ready.

Core Rule

• Do not prepend the same aesthetic prefix to every scene and call that prompt design.
• Each prompt should encode why this shot is different: framing, movement, subject, texture, and lighting.

Inputs

• scene description
• optional shot language: shot_size, camera_movement, lens_mm, depth_of_field, lighting_key, color_temperature
• optional texture_keywords
• optional high-level style context for the whole project
• optional provider fields: duration, aspect_ratio, negative_prompt, start_image, end_image, reference_elements, motion_strength, seed, provider, model, and rights_notes

Output

• one generation prompt per visual scene
• optional hero-scene markers for the scenes that deserve extra effort
• optional provider-ready fields for image-to-video, text-to-video, multi-shot, or reference-driven providers

Prompt Construction Order

1. Camera: lens and depth of field
2. Framing and movement: wide, close-up, tracking, dolly, whip pan, etc.
3. Subject: the concrete thing happening in the scene
4. Texture: tactile descriptors, environment details, material cues
5. Lighting and color: high-key, neon, golden hour, tungsten, cold office, etc.
6. Style: only as a light final nudge, not the whole prompt

For video providers, also specify:

• first frame or start image when image-to-video is safer than text-to-video
• end image or last-frame seed when continuity matters
• reference elements for character, object, style, or environment
• duration, aspect ratio, motion strength, and negative prompt
• provider/model and rights notes for any reference media

Good Prompt Behavior

• prompts from adjacent scenes should not read like minor variations of the same sentence
• hero moments get stronger contrast, framing, or movement language
• the wording should be specific enough that an image model has a clear visual target
• prompts should reflect the beat's editorial job, not just its topic

Bad Prompt Behavior

• cinematic beautiful high quality futuristic style
• repeating the same style clause on every scene
• only naming the subject with no shot intent
• scenes with no texture clues or no change in camera language

Pair With

• Run after scene planning and before timestamps-to-visuals if the pipeline is going to request generated scenes.
• Pair with scene-variation-check first if the underlying scene plan is already repetitive.

Aggregated From

• calesthio/OpenMontage shot_prompt_builder.py
• rushindrasinha/youtube-shorts-pipeline niche-aware draft prompts

Validation Checklist

• Each prompt encodes framing and subject, not just vibe.
• Adjacent prompts are visually distinct.
• Hero scenes are marked and read as higher-impact shots.
• Style language supports the prompt instead of replacing it.