Prompting

# Prompting best practices (Sora)

## Contents
- [Mindset & tradeoffs](#mindset--tradeoffs)
- [API-controlled params](#api-controlled-params)
- [Structure](#structure)
- [Specificity](#specificity)
- [Style & visual cues](#style--visual-cues)
- [Camera & composition](#camera--composition)
- [Motion & timing](#motion--timing)
- [Lighting & palette](#lighting--palette)
- [Character continuity](#character-continuity)
- [Multi-shot prompts](#multi-shot-prompts)
- [Ultra-detailed briefs](#ultra-detailed-briefs)
- [Image input](#image-input)
- [Constraints & invariants](#constraints--invariants)
- [Text, dialogue & audio](#text-dialogue--audio)
- [Avoiding artifacts](#avoiding-artifacts)
- [Editing & extensions](#editing--extensions)
- [Iterate deliberately](#iterate-deliberately)

## Mindset & tradeoffs
- Treat the prompt like a cinematography brief, not a contract.
- The same prompt can yield different results; rerun for variants.
- Short prompts give more creative freedom; longer prompts give more control.
- Shorter clips tend to follow instructions better; even though `16`s and `20`s are available, start shorter when precision matters.

## API-controlled params
- Model, size, seconds, and character IDs are controlled by API params, not prose.
- Put desired duration in the `seconds` param; the prompt cannot make a clip longer.
- `1920x1080` and `1080x1920` require `sora-2-pro`.

## Structure
- Use short labeled lines; omit sections that do not matter.
- Keep one main subject and one main action.
- Put timing in beats or counts if it matters.
- If you prefer a prose-first template, use: