How do you prompt an AI video model for specific visual styles or moods?

What are the core components of an effective video prompt?

To effectively guide AI video models like Gemini Omni Flash or Veo, Google advises breaking your idea down into key components. This structured approach helps the model generate the content you want. Clear and specific instructions are crucial for customizing the model's behavior and eliminating ambiguity, leading to better video output.

The essential components of a video prompt include the subject, action, scene or context, and camera angles. The subject defines the 'who' or 'what' your video focuses on. Actions describe the 'verb' of your video, detailing what is happening. The scene or context specifies the 'where' and the 'when' of your video, setting the environment. Camera angles define the shot's viewpoint, directly influencing how the audience perceives the subject, though Google notes that some advanced camera angles are not officially supported.

How do you describe visual styles and moods in a prompt?

Gemini Omni Flash and Veo offer extensive customization through textual prompts, allowing you to define specific visual styles and moods. Using the correct keywords and prompt structure helps these models generate your desired content. To achieve particular aesthetics or emotional tones, provide clear and specific instructions that eliminate ambiguity.

It is important to include all necessary instructions and information in your prompt, rather than assuming the model has all the required details. By being direct and explicit about the visual style, such as 'cinematic lighting,' 'vibrant colors,' or 'moody atmosphere,' you guide the AI toward the intended outcome. Similarly, describing emotional tones like 'joyful,' 'tense,' or 'calm' helps the model reflect these feelings in the generated video.

How can examples improve AI video generation?

Examples show the model what a successful or desired output looks like, providing a clear reference point for its generation process. This method helps the model understand your expectations more precisely.

This approach helps the model narrow its focus, allowing it to generate more accurate and relevant results that align with your intended visual style or mood. For instance, if you want a specific artistic style, you might describe a few different scenarios that embody that style.

How do you maintain consistency in characters and style across multiple videos or scenes?

Maintaining consistency in visual style, character appearance, and voice across multiple scenes or videos is crucial for a cohesive narrative. Google recommends giving your character a name and a specific voice style to ensure reusability and consistency. When describing a character, apply that description consistently by copying and pasting the entire, unchanged character description into your prompt for every new scene or action.

To ensure consistent visual, stylistic, and voice output across multiple scenes, use the same seed parameter. This parameter helps the AI model reproduce similar characteristics in subsequent generations. Additionally, if you are using an image-to-video feature, the quality of your source image is important for maintaining visual consistency and detail in the generated video.

Which AI video model should you choose for specific needs?

The Gemini API offers two primary models for generating video: Gemini Omni Flash and Veo 3.1. Google advises using Gemini Omni Flash as your default model for video generation. This model is designed for advanced reasoning and instruction following, providing superior video coherence, multi-input reasoning (supporting text, images, audio, and video inputs simultaneously), character consistency, factual accuracy, and multi-turn conversational editing, such as element replacement or perspective changes.

Gemini Omni Flash is a fast, multimodal model that excels at quickly turning text prompts and images into short videos. It also allows you to refine results across multiple turns using the Interactions API. For specific capabilities, such as scene extension, last-frame control, or integration with legacy pipelines, Veo 3.1 is recommended. Veo 3.1 is also a model for generating video with native audio and supports features like video extension, frame-specific generation, and image-based direction through the generateContent API.

What general best practices apply to prompting for AI video?

Prompt design is the process of creating natural language requests that elicit accurate, high-quality responses from an AI model. An effective way to customize model behavior is to provide clear and specific instructions. Google's Gemini 3 models are designed for advanced reasoning and instruction following, responding best to prompts that are direct, well-structured, and clearly define the task and any constraints.

For generating high-quality videos with Gemini Omni and Veo, clear and direct prompts that eliminate ambiguity are essential. For short videos, dedicate each prompt to a single, focused moment. When using the image-to-video feature, focus your prompt specifically on the motion you want to see.

Common questions

What is prompt design for AI video?

Prompt design is the process of creating natural language requests that elicit accurate, high-quality responses from an AI model. For AI video generation, this means crafting prompts that guide models like Gemini Omni Flash or Veo to produce the desired visual content, styles, and moods.

How do I ensure my AI video model understands my instructions?

To ensure the AI video model understands your instructions, provide clear and specific details in your prompt. Eliminate ambiguity and include all necessary information the model needs to solve the problem, rather than assuming it has all the required context. Clear and direct prompts lead to better video output.

What are the main differences between Gemini Omni Flash and Veo 3.1 for video generation?

Gemini Omni Flash is recommended as the default model for video generation, offering superior video coherence, multi-input reasoning, character consistency, and conversational editing. It excels at quickly turning text and images into short videos. Veo 3.1 is used for specific capabilities like scene extension, last-frame control, integration with legacy pipelines, and generating video with native audio.

How do I keep a character looking the same in different video scenes?

To keep a character consistent across different video scenes, give the character a name and a specific voice style. Then, consistently copy and paste the entire, unchanged character description into your prompt for every new scene or action. Using the same seed parameter across generations also helps ensure consistent visual and stylistic output.