The single biggest gap between “AI video tools are a toy” and “AI video tools are replacing stock footage in my workflow” is prompt craft. Most creators lose two weeks to vague prompts before they figure out what a good one actually looks like.
This post is the shortcut. Thirty-seven prompts, grouped by use case, that we’ve run through Deevid AI enough times to trust. Each one is a template — substitute your subject, keep the structure.
The anatomy of a Deevid prompt
Before the list: every prompt below follows the same five-part skeleton. Write your own this way and you’ll be 80% of the way to professional output.
[subject] [action] in [setting],
[lighting/mood],
[camera move/lens],
[motion detail],
[duration]
If your prompt is missing any of those five, expect a render you won’t ship.
Why the structure matters: Deevid’s prompt enhancer will fill in the gaps if you leave them empty — but the gaps it fills are its defaults, not yours. Writing all five yourself means you stay in control of the style.
Product shots (prompts 1-10)
Product work is where Deevid earns its keep fastest. These prompts are built for ecommerce and brand B-roll.
1. Clean studio rotation. A ceramic mug rotates slowly on a walnut turntable, soft window light from the left, shallow depth of field, 35mm lens, imperceptible camera push-in, 10 seconds.
2. Liquid pour. Dark espresso pours into a translucent porcelain cup, warm tungsten light, close-up macro lens, steady camera, slow-motion 60fps feel, 8 seconds.
3. Hand-held product reveal. A vintage leather notebook is placed on a concrete surface, overhead shot tilting down to reveal the embossed cover, soft overcast light, subtle dust motes, 6 seconds.
4. Fabric texture explore. Extreme close-up of heather-grey wool fabric, slow camera drift across the surface, natural window light, focus pull from foreground to mid-ground, 8 seconds.
5. Perfume bottle on marble. A faceted crystal perfume bottle sits on black Carrara marble, slow 180° orbit, cool blue rim light with warm fill, subtle mist at the base, 12 seconds.
6. Packaging unboxing. Hands in soft focus unwrap a matte black cardboard box, tissue paper parts to reveal a minimalist product, top-down shot, soft daylight, 10 seconds.
7. Food hero shot. A ramen bowl with steam rising, overhead shot slowly lowering to 45°, warm restaurant lighting, shallow focus on the egg yolk, 8 seconds.
8. Liquid bloom. A single drop of ink falls into clear water, high-speed macro, pure black background, rim light catches the swirl, 6 seconds.
9. Tech product on desk. A minimal black keyboard beside a cup of coffee, morning light through a window, slow dolly-left across the desk, shallow depth of field, 10 seconds.
10. Outdoor gear on stone. A leather boot on wet slate rock, overcast lighting, droplets beading on the surface, camera slowly orbits to reveal the treads, 12 seconds.
Narrative shots (prompts 11-18)
Narrative is where character consistency and longer clips matter most. Keep clips short enough to stitch without drift.
11. Character enters a room. A figure in a charcoal coat opens a weathered wooden door at dusk, backlight spills through the doorway, low-angle shot following into the frame, 6 seconds.
12. Hands on a workbench. Close-up of a craftsman’s hands shaping clay on a spinning wheel, warm afternoon light through a studio window, slow dolly-in, 8 seconds.
13. Walking into frame. A silhouette walks toward camera down a rain-slicked city street at night, neon signage reflected in puddles, shallow focus, slight hand-held feel, 8 seconds.
14. Looking up. A young woman tilts her head up, golden hour catches her face, shallow background of a wheat field, camera slowly pushes in, 6 seconds.
15. Over-the-shoulder. Over-the-shoulder shot of a writer at a desk, rain streaks on the window, warm desk lamp, camera slowly tilts toward the notebook, 8 seconds.
16. Conversation establishing. Two figures at a café table, pulled back wide shot, warm interior light, steady camera, the scene plays naturally with no dialog, 10 seconds.
17. Figure in landscape. A lone hiker stands on a windswept ridge at dawn, wide shot, mist rolling below, camera slowly cranes down and in, 12 seconds.
18. Hand reaching out. A hand reaches slowly toward the viewer, shallow focus, soft window light, black background, 6 seconds.
Portrait (prompts 19-24)
Portrait work rewards tight framing and careful lighting language.
19. Classic three-quarter. A portrait of a 40-year-old man in a charcoal sweater, three-quarter angle, soft diffused key light from camera-left, slight smile, head turns slightly right, 6 seconds.
20. Golden-hour close-up. Close-up portrait of a young woman, golden hour light through foliage, soft haze, subtle head tilt, 8 seconds.
21. Studio editorial. Editorial portrait against a painted grey backdrop, rim-lit from behind, high-fashion styling, subject exhales slowly, 6 seconds.
22. Rembrandt lighting. A musician lit by Rembrandt lighting, half face in shadow, warm tungsten, subject closes eyes briefly, 8 seconds.
23. Window light sitting. A craftsman sits by a workshop window, afternoon light across their face, looks down at their hands, 10 seconds.
24. Street candid. A street portrait at dusk, bokeh from passing traffic, subject turns toward camera, shallow depth of field, 6 seconds.
Motion graphics & abstract (prompts 25-31)
Where text-to-video shines for brand work without real-world footage.
25. Liquid color transition. Abstract liquid transition from deep orange to navy blue, organic flow, fluid simulation look, loops cleanly, 4 seconds.
26. Paint bloom on canvas. A drop of saffron-orange paint blooms into crisp white canvas, overhead macro, slow expansion, 5 seconds.
27. Particle swirl. Warm amber particles swirl in a dark void, camera slowly pulls back to reveal a logo-shaped form, 6 seconds.
28. Smoke ribbon. A single ribbon of white smoke curls upward against a black background, slow motion, rim-lit, 4 seconds.
29. Light leak. Warm light leaks across a textured canvas surface, organic sweep, old-film grain overlay, 5 seconds.
30. Geometric morph. A clean geometric shape slowly morphs through five related forms, flat color, subtle shadow, 8 seconds.
31. Title card reveal. An abstract ink splash against warm parchment, slow reveal of a blank title card underneath, handwritten-era feel, 6 seconds.
Editorial / documentary (prompts 32-37)
Observational, grounded, the feel of real footage.
32. Craft workbench. Documentary-style push-in on a woodworker at a bench, observational camera, natural window light, steady hand-held feel, 10 seconds.
33. City morning. Wide shot of a quiet city intersection at dawn, one person crosses with a coffee cup, warm low sun, steady camera, 12 seconds.
34. Archive-style interior. An empty archive library, warm lamp light, slow camera track down the central aisle, 10 seconds.
35. Kitchen observational. An older chef preps vegetables on a wooden board, close to mid-shot, warm kitchen lighting, observational camera, 10 seconds.
36. Train window POV. First-person POV through a train window at dusk, landscape streaks past, slight motion blur, 10 seconds.
37. Field at golden hour. Wide landscape of a wheat field at golden hour, a figure walks through frame from left to right, slight wind on the grain, 12 seconds.
How to actually use this list
Three rules, learned the hard way:
- Run every prompt three times, not once. Deevid (and every other tool) produces meaningful variance between seeds. The best output is rarely the first one — it’s usually the second or third. Always ask for three.
- Keep a running prompt journal. When one prompt lands a result you love, note exactly what you had in the Camera and Motion fields. That’s your new personal library.
- Stop reaching for the enhancer on strong prompts. The enhancer is designed to rescue weak prompts. When you write a five-part prompt yourself, the enhancer will usually make it worse — it’ll add camera specs you didn’t want. Skip it.
The fastest way to get good at this is to run the list end-to-end, note which three prompts produce your personal best results, and study the difference between those and the weakest seven. That’s the gap between amateur and professional prompt craft.
If you want the deeper dive on how we scored these, read our testing methodology. Or skip the prompts and start the 3-day trial to try them yourself.