Text to Video Prompt Guide – Powtoon

This guide provides examples of the types of videos that you can create using Veo and shows you how to modify specific parts of a prompt to produce different results.

All examples shown in this article were created inside Powtoon.

Basic for writing Prompts

Additional Details for Prompts

Using a reference Image

Negative Prompts

Aspect Ratios

Basics for writing prompts

Good prompts are descriptive and clear. To get your generated video closer to what you want, start with identifying your core idea and then refine your idea by adding keywords and modifiers.

The following elements should be included in your prompt:

Subject: The object, person, animal, or scenery that you want in your video.
Context: The background or context in which the subject is placed.
Action: What the subject is doing (for example, walking, running, or turning their head).
Style: This can be general or very specific. Consider using specific film style keywords, such as horror film, film noir, or animated styles like cartoon style render.
Camera motion: Optional: What the camera is doing, such as aerial view, eye-level, top-down shot, or low-angle shot.
Composition: Optional: How the shot is framed, such as wide shot, close-up, or extreme close-up.
Ambiance: Optional: How the color and light contribute to the scene, such as blue tones, night, or warm tones.

Examples of prompts and generated output

In the following sections, we will provide prompt examples, and the associated AI output.

Icicles

Snow leopard

This prompt demonstrates the output that Veo 2 and Veo 3 might generate.

Running snow leopard

This prompt has more detail and demonstrates generated output that might be closer to what you want in your video.

More tips for writing prompts

The following tips help you write prompts that generate your videos:

Use descriptive language: Use adjectives and adverbs to paint a clear picture for Veo.
Provide context: If necessary, include background information to help Veo understand what you want.
Reference specific artistic styles: If you have a particular aesthetic in mind, reference specific artistic styles or art movements.
Enhance the facial details in your personal and group images: Specify facial details as a focus of the photo like using the word portrait in the prompt.

Add more details to prompts

These examples show you how to refine your prompts to generate your videos.

Subject description

Context

This example shows you how to specify context.

Action

This example shows you how to specify action.

Style

This example shows you how to specify style.

Camera motion

This example shows you how to specify camera motion.

Composition

This example shows you how to specify composition.

Ambiance

This example shows you how to specify ambiance.

Audio

Audio is supported with Veo 3.

Clearly specify if you want audio. We recommend that you use separate sentences in your prompt to describe the audio. The following are examples of audio described as part of a prompt:

Sound effects:
- The audio features water splashing in the background.
- Add soft music in the background.
Speech:
- The man in the red hat says, "Where is the rabbit?" Then the woman in the green dress next to him replies, "There, in the woods."

Use reference images to generate videos

You can bring images to life by with Powtoon Imagine. First generate an image using Text-to-Image. Then insider the Powtoon Studio, use the image as a reference. The Image will be the first frame of the generated video.

When using image-to-video, we recommend the following:

Ensure that actions and speech descriptions align with each subject present in the input image.
When multiple subjects are present in the input image, clearly specify which character is performing an action or speaking. To differentiate between multiple characters in an input image, use the most distinguishing descriptive details available. For example:
- The man in the red hat.
- The woman in the blue dress.

Negative prompts

Negative prompts can be a powerful tool that helps specify what elements to keep out of the video. Describe what you want to discourage the model from generating by describing what you want the model to generate. Follow these tips:

❌ Don't use instructive language or words like no or don't. For example, "No walls" or "don't show walls".
✅ Do describe what you don't want to see. For example, "wall, frame", which means that you don't want a wall or a frame in the video.

Aspect ratios

Aspect ratio	Description
Widescreen or 16:9	The 16:9 aspect ratio is the most common aspect ratio for televisions, monitors, and mobile phone screens (landscape). Use this when you want to capture more of the background like scenic landscapes.
Portrait or 9:16	Rotated widescreen. This aspect ratio is popularized by short form video applications, such as YouTube shorts. Use this aspect ratio for portraits or tall objects with strong vertical orientations, such as buildings, trees, waterfalls, or buildings.

Note: The 9:16 aspect ratio isn't supported by Veo 3

Widescreen - aspect ratio of 16:9

This is a prompt example of the widescreen with an aspect ratio of 16:9.

Portrait - aspect ratio of 9:16

Source material: [Google Cloud Vertex AI Video Generation Prompt Guide](https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/docs/video/video-gen-prompt-guide) (CC BY 4.0 License: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)). [Content adapted.]

Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
Close up (composition) of melting icicles (subject) on a rock wall (context) with cool blue tones (ambiance), zoomed in (camera motion) maintaining close-up detail of water drips (action).

Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
A cute creature with snow leopard-like fur is walking in winter forest, 3D cartoon style render.

Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
Create a short 3D animated scene in a joyful cartoon style. A cute creature with snow leopard-like fur, large expressive eyes, and a friendly, rounded form happily prances through a whimsical winter forest. The scene should feature rounded, snow-covered trees, gentle falling snowflakes, and warm sunlight filtering through the branches. The creature's bouncy movements and wide smile should convey pure delight. Aim for an upbeat, heartwarming tone with bright, cheerful colors and playful animation. Consider adding subtle, whimsical sound effects to enhance the joyful winter atmosphere.

Subject description	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
This description can include a subject, multiple subjects and actions, such as "white concrete apartment building."	An architectural rendering of a white concrete apartment building with flowing organic shapes, seamlessly blending with lush greenery and futuristic elements

Context	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
The background or context in which the subject will be placed is very important. Try placing your subject in a variety of backgrounds like on a busy street, in outer space	A satellite floating through outer space with the moon and some stars in the background

Action	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
What is the subject doing like walking, running, or turning their head.	A wide shot of a woman walking along the beach, looking content and relaxed and looking towards the horizon at sunset.

Style	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
You can add keywords to improve generation quality and steer it to closer to intended style, such as shallow depth of field, movie still, minimalistic, surreal, vintage, futuristic, double-exposure.	Film noir style, man and woman walk on the street, mystery, cinematic, black and white.

Camera Motion	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
POV shot, aerial view, tracking drone view, tracking shot	A POV shot from a vintage car driving in the rain, Canada at night, cinematic.

Composition	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
How the shot is framed (wide shot, close-up, low angle)	Extreme close-up of a an eye with city reflected in it.

Ambiance	Prompt	VEO 2 Output	VEO 3 Output
Adding colors helped make the image look unique and convey intended emotions "muted orange warm tones," "natural light," "sunrise/sunset". Color palettes play a vital role in photography, influencing the mood and emotional impact of an image, and making the image style consistent. For example, a warm, golden palette can infuse a romantic and atmospheric feel into a photograph. Example of color palettes: "pastel blue and pink tones," "dim ambient lighting," "cold muted tones"	A close-up of a girl holding adorable golden retriever puppy in the park, sunlight.

Prompt	Generated output
Bunny with a chocolate candy bar. (Text-to-Image)
Bunny runs away.

Prompt	Veo 3 Output
Generate a short, stylized animation of a large, solitary oak tree with leaves blowing vigorously in a strong wind. The tree should have a slightly exaggerated, whimsical form, with dynamic, flowing branches. The leaves should display a variety of autumn colors, swirling and dancing in the wind. The animation should feature a gentle, atmospheric soundtrack and use a warm, inviting color palette.
Generate a short, stylized animation of a large, solitary oak tree with leaves blowing vigorously in a strong wind. The tree should have a slightly exaggerated, whimsical form, with dynamic, flowing branches. The leaves should display a variety of autumn colors, swirling and dancing in the wind. The animation should feature a gentle, atmospheric soundtrack and use a warm, inviting color palette. With negative prompt - urban background, man-made structures, dark, stormy, or threatening atmosphere.