How to Prompt Like a Director

[SHAPE: native 16:9 wide frame / vertical 9:16 / 4:5]. [THE CLAUSE THAT MUST NOT FAIL, e.g. the object alone on a plain stand, no person]. [PLACE, with its one impossible rule], [2 OR 3 NAMED DETAILS]. [SUBJECT, named] [ONE PHYSICAL ACTION], [WHERE THEY SIT IN FRAME]. Shot from [CAMERA POSITION], [DISTANCE], [CAPTURE MEDIUM: handheld Super 16 / 35mm film still]. [LIGHT SOURCE] from [DIRECTION], [COLOUR], falling on [SURFACE]. [WHAT THE EMPTY SPACE IS FOR]. [LOCKED LOOK BLOCK, pasted verbatim]. Not [NEAREST WRONG IDEA], not [SECOND WRONG IDEA].

[ONE CAMERA MOVE: slow push-in / slow dolly-in / handheld drift / locked off, no camera shake]. [SUBJECT] [ONE ACTION, as physical beats: turns her head, leans in, rests her chin on his shoulder]. [2 OR 3 THINGS IN THE WORLD THAT MOVE: dust drifts, the screen flickers, lanterns sway]. [ONE LIGHT CHANGE, if any: headlights dim]. Keep [WHAT MUST NOT CHANGE: her face, the product label, the car] sharp and unchanged. [SAME CAPTURE MEDIUM AS THE STILL]. Natural motion, no sudden movement.