Extreme Close-Up Eyes
Extreme close-up of a person's eyes as a light change travels across the iris. Shallow depth of field, 85mm look, photoreal, identity stable, no extra faces.
Cinematic Shot Prompts for Coverage, Angles, and Lenses
These cinematic shot prompts are coverage language: close-up, wide, high angle, insert. Use them as cinematic shot prompt examples when you need a specific frame, then generate the clip in Media.io.
Name the Shot Size, Then Generate Coverage You Can Cut
Cinematic shot prompts start with CU, wide, OTS, or aerial. Choose Text to Video, paste the size and one move, then generate a plate that can sit in a scene.
1
Choose "Text to Video"
Open Media.io and choose Text to Video so your cinematic shot scene starts from a written prompt. Stay on this path for the Seedance 2.5 text-to-video workflow.
2
Enter Your Prompt
Paste one of these cinematic shot prompts into the box. Name the shot size first: ECU, OTS, wide, aerial, or insert. Then add one move. Use Inspire Me, duration, or resolution controls if you need a tighter test.
3
Generate and Download
Generate a short clip first, review motion and artifacts, then download the take you want to cut. Results vary, so rewrite one note at a time instead of stacking extra effects.
Close-Up, Wide, OTS, and Aerial Shot Prompt Examples
Medium Close-Up Dialogue Hold
Medium close-up of a person listening, then a tiny inhale before they speak. Soft window light, naturalistic, camera almost locked. No generated captions.
Wide Establishing Town Square
Wide establishing shot of a town square at sunrise, long shadows, a single cyclist crossing. Deep focus, photoreal, architecture stable, no extra landmarks inventing themselves.
Low-Angle Hero Doorway
Low angle of a character standing in a monumental doorway. 24mm, slight dolly in, powerful but grounded. No warping pillars.
High-Angle Isolation
High angle looking down at a person sitting alone at a long table. Cool overhead practicals, quiet, cinematic. No extra diners appearing.
Over-the-Shoulder Listen
Over the shoulder of one character watching another across a kitchen table. Natural parallax, shallow focus on the far face, photoreal, both identities stable.
Macro Insert: Watch Hands
Macro shot of a watch second hand and a thumb hesitating above it. Tiny drift, cinematic insert, photoreal, no brand-name invention if you need a generic watch.
Aerial Coastal Establish
Aerial shot of a coastline at dusk, slow drift inland toward a lighthouse. Stable terrain, cinematic, no extra structures popping in.
Two-Shot Bench Silence
A clean two-shot of two people on a park bench, both looking forward, late afternoon. Locked camera, storytelling coverage, photoreal, no extra pedestrians dominating.
Dutch-Angle Hallway
A slightly dutch hallway shot as a character walks toward a red exit light. Tense, controlled, not a full 45-degree tilt. Architecture locked.
Rack-Focus Table to Door
Foreground glass on a table racks focus to a figure appearing at the door. Locked camera, cinematic, photoreal, no morphing room.
Photo-to-Coverage Push
Preserve the frame. Camera: convert the still into a slow push-in while keeping composition and identity. No reframing that loses the original shot size intent.
Catchlight ECU Portrait
An ECU of eyes, a blink, a catchlight shift. Camera: locked ECU. Filmmaking coverage, identity locked, no extra faces.
Medium Close-Up Hold
A medium close-up dialogue hold, a swallow, a glance off. Camera: almost locked. Photoreal, no extra people.
Wide Establishing Square
A wide establishing of a town square at dawn, one figure crossing. Camera: locked tripod. Photoreal architecture, no extra crowds.
Low-Angle Hero Door
A low-angle hero in a doorway, a step over the threshold. Camera: low locked. Cinematic shot, identity locked.
Ceiling-High Table Isolate
From high above, a figure at a table in a large room. Camera: slow push from above. Isolation, photoreal, no extra furniture spawning.
Far-Face OTS Nod
An OTS listen, the far face in focus, a nod. Camera: OTS. Two people only, photoreal.
Macro Insert Watch
A macro insert of watch hands, a tiny wrist move. Camera: ECU. Coverage insert, photoreal metal, no extra jewelry.
Cliff-Road Aerial Drift
An aerial of cliffs and a road, slow drone drift. Camera: aerial. Photoreal, no extra landmarks.
Park-Bench Shared Look
A two-shot on a park bench, silence, a shared look. Camera: locked. Narrative coverage, photoreal, no extra extras.
Tilted Corridor Push
A tilted corridor, one practical, a figure far. Camera: slow push. Tension, photoreal, no extra doors morphing.
Glass-to-Doorway Rack
A rack from a glass on a table to a door opening. Camera: locked. Photoreal, no extra people until the door.
Push-In Coverage
A slow push-in on a seated character, same shot size intent throughout. Camera: dolly in. Identity locked, no reframing chaos.
Profile Silhouette Window
A profile silhouette against a window, dust, a breath. Camera: locked. Cinematic composition, photoreal, no extra figures.
Shot Size First, Move Second, Then Generate the Plate
A shot prompt is not a story dump. It is size, angle, lens, subject, and one optional move.
A coverage prompt formula
- SHOT SIZE: ECU, CU, medium, wide, or establishing.
- ANGLE: low, high, OTS, aerial, or dutch (use sparingly).
- LENS: 24, 35, 50, 85, macro, or anamorphic look.
- SUBJECT + BEAT: who is in frame and what tiny thing happens.
- MOVE OR LOCK: static is a valid cinematic choice.
What close up and wide shot prompts should specify
- Close up prompts need a precise subject: eyes, hands, a watch, a mouth about to speak.
- Wide shot prompts and establishing shot prompts need geography and time of day more than facial acting.
- Low angle prompts and high angle prompts change power; say why the angle exists.
- Over the shoulder prompts should name which face is in focus.
- Macro shot prompts should include a tiny motion so the insert is not a still.
- Aerial shot prompt examples need a destination in the landscape, not a random flyover.
- Filmmaking shot prompts should name the shot size before the camera move.
Why DPs Generate Inserts and Wides as Separate Clips
A macro of hands is often more useful than another floating wide. Generate the coverage, then cut.
Text-to-video coverage library
Create establishing shots, two-shots, and inserts as separate clips.
Coverage from a described frame
Describe the original composition, then add a push-in or a tiny live action.
Angle control in the brief
Write low, high, OTS, or aerial instead of hoping "cinematic" picks an angle.
Edit-ready holds
Generate locked shots that can sit under dialogue you record later.
Cinematic Shot Prompts for Angles, Coverage, and Inserts
1. What are good cinematic shot prompts?
A named shot size and angle: ECU eyes, wide town square, low-angle doorway, OTS kitchen, macro insert.
2. How is this different from a camera movement prompt?
Shot prompts start with framing and angle. Movement is optional. A locked close-up can still be cinematic.
3. Should I stack several shot sizes in one prompt?
No. Generate coverage as separate clips so you can cut them.
4. Do I need film-school language?
It helps. Shot size, angle, and lens are more reliable than mood adjectives.
5. Can I generate these in Media.io?
Yes. Write the coverage brief and generate one shot at a time.
6. Why does the angle drift?
The prompt may have added too much motion. Lock the camera or slow the move. Results vary.
How Directors Generate Cuttable Coverage Instead of Floating Wides
Ivy Q.
DP
Size Before Move. If the prompt does not name CU or wide, I do not know what coverage I am getting. I paste that brief into Media.io Text to Video, generate a short clip, and download the take I want to cut.
Samir D.
Editor
Inserts Save Scenes. A macro of hands is often more useful than another floating wide. I run the prompt in Media.io Text to Video first, then download only the test that holds.
Brooke A.
Director
OTS Means OTS. I write the shoulder, the focus, and the table. Media.io Text to Video is where I paste the rewrite, generate, and keep the better take.
