A good prompt tells AI who is in the scene, where they are, which action happens, how the camera sees it, and what must be avoided.

A strong AI storyboard prompt = scene + character + action + camera language + lighting and colour + style + negative constraints.

Standard template

Shot number:Scene:Time:Subject:Action:Shot size:Camera angle:Camera movement:Composition:Lighting:Colour:Style:Visual focus:Avoid:

Example

Shot 01 Scene: A rain-soaked street in a future city. Wet ground reflects light; tall buildings and neon billboards sit in the distance. Time: Early morning, under a cool blue sky. Subject: A young female detective with short black hair, wearing a dark trench coat; tired but alert. Action: At the corner, she checks a transparent electronic map, then slowly looks up at a distant building. Shot size: Medium shot. Camera angle: Slight low angle. Camera movement: Slow push-in. Composition: The character occupies the right side, leaving depth in the city street on the left. Lighting and colour: Soft cold morning light, with blue-purple neon reflected on wet ground and small orange lamps as accents. Style: Cinematic, realistic sci-fi, cyberpunk, high detail, widescreen. Avoid: Distorted figure, extra fingers, blurred face, garbled text, low resolution, excessive cartoon styling.

Key principles

  1. One shot, one core action. Avoid putting too many sequential events into a single shot.
  2. Describe the image before the emotion. “Looking down at a map” is easier for AI to render than “she feels lost.”
  3. Make camera language explicit. Specify shot size, angle, and movement.
  4. Keep character traits consistent. Repeat core details such as hair, clothing, age, and temperament.
  5. Keep style words coherent. Do not mix realistic cinema, anime, watercolour, 3D, and oil painting in the same storyboard set.