With Seedance 2.5, you can create videos by describing scenes and motion in natural language.
A simple scene may only require one or two sentences. For more complex videos with multiple actions, you can get more controlled results by clearly describing the subject, action, setting, camera movement, style, and audio.
1. Start with the Basics
When writing a prompt, start by thinking about the following elements:
| Subject + Action + Scene + Camera + Style + Audio
You don’t need to include every element in every prompt. Focus on the details that matter most for the result you want.
Element | What it describes | Example |
Subject | The main person or object | a young woman, a smartphone, a cat |
Action | What the subject is doing | walks slowly, holds up a product |
Scene | Location, time, and environment | a quiet café at sunset |
Camera | Shot composition and camera movement | close-up, tracking shot |
Style | The overall visual look and mood | cinematic, UGC, documentary |
Audio | Dialogue, music, ambience, and sound effects | conversation, piano music, city ambience |
Simple Example
A woman slowly walks through a quiet street in Seoul at night. Neon signs reflect on the wet pavement as the camera follows behind her. Realistic cinematic style with natural city ambience.
More Detailed Example
A woman wearing a black coat slowly walks through a narrow street in Seoul at night after the rain. Neon signs reflect across the wet pavement. The camera follows behind her with subtle natural movement. Realistic cinematic lighting with distant traffic and soft city ambience.
💡 Tip
A longer prompt does not always produce a better result.
Focus on clearly describing who or what is in the scene → what happens → where it happens → how the camera captures it.
2. Describe Actions Clearly
Instead of using vague instructions such as “moves naturally,” describe what you actually want to see on screen.
Basic Prompt
A woman talks naturally to the camera.
Improved Prompt
A woman looks directly at the camera and speaks in a relaxed manner. She makes subtle hand gestures while talking, occasionally nods, blinks naturally, and maintains a friendly expression.
You can add subtle movements such as:
Looks directly at the camera
Nods slightly
Makes subtle hand gestures
Blinks naturally
Smiles slightly
Turns toward the product
Holds the product up toward the camera
Takes a slow step forward
Avoid adding too many actions to a single scene. Focus on the movements that are most important to the result.
3. Structure Longer Videos in Time Order
Seedance 2.5 can generate videos up to 30 seconds long.
If your video includes several actions or scene changes, avoid listing everything in one sentence. Instead, organize the prompt in chronological order.
Example
0–5 seconds A woman sits at a café table looking at her laptop. The camera shows her upper body from the front. 5–12 seconds She looks away from the laptop, turns toward the camera, and begins speaking naturally. 12–20 seconds While speaking, she picks up her coffee with one hand and smiles slightly. The camera slowly moves closer. 20–30 seconds She takes a sip of coffee, puts the cup down, and looks back at the camera. Natural café ambience continues in the background.
For longer videos, think of the scene as a sequence:
| Beginning → Action → Change → Ending
Avoid
The woman talks, drinks coffee, stands up, walks outside, waves, turns around, picks up her phone, and starts running.
When too many actions are packed into one sentence, the sequence can become unclear.
Instead, break important actions into separate steps or time ranges.
4. Specify Camera Framing and Movement
Camera instructions can help you control how the scene is presented.
Term | Description |
Close-up | Frames the face or product closely |
Medium shot | Typically frames the subject from the waist or chest up |
Wide shot | Shows the subject together with the surrounding environment |
Tracking shot | Follows a moving subject |
Dolly in | Moves the camera gradually toward the subject |
Dolly out | Moves the camera gradually away from the subject |
Orbit shot | Moves the camera around the subject |
Handheld | Creates subtle, natural handheld camera movement |
Static camera | Keeps the camera completely fixed |
Bird’s-eye view | Shows the scene directly from above |
Moving Camera
A man walks through a busy outdoor market. The camera moves alongside him at the same pace with subtle natural handheld movement.
Static Camera
Keep the camera completely fixed throughout the video. Maintain the same framing with no zoom or camera movement.
For more complex camera work, describe movements in the order they should happen instead of combining several camera instructions at once.
5. Distinguish Music, Sound Effects, Dialogue, and Subtitles
Seedance 2.5 supports natural-language instructions for music, sound effects, dialogue, and subtitles.
When you want to distinguish these elements more explicitly, you can use the following special syntax:
Content | Syntax | Example |
Music |
| (Soft, rhythmic piano music plays in the background) |
Sound Effects |
| <A bell rings in the distance> |
Dialogue |
| {Hello, welcome back.} |
Subtitles |
| 【Chapter One: Departure】 |
Example
A woman slowly walks into a quiet train station at night.
The camera follows her from behind.
(Soft piano music plays in the background)
<A distant train horn sounds>
{I thought I would never come back here.}
【Chapter One: Departure】
This syntax is optional.
For simpler scenes, you can still write everything in natural language:
A woman enters a quiet café and says, “Is anyone here?” Soft piano music plays in the background.
The special syntax is especially useful when dialogue, music, sound effects, and subtitles appear together in the same scene.
6. Make It Clear Who Is Speaking
When a scene contains dialogue, clearly identify the speaker.
For a single character, you can combine the action and dialogue:
The woman looks at the camera and smiles slightly.
{This might be my favorite one so far.}
When multiple characters appear, specify who says each line.
Example
The woman looks at the man.
Woman: {Are you ready?}
The man looks back at her and smiles.
Man: {Let's do it.}
You can also describe gestures or expressions together with dialogue.
The woman raises the product slightly, smiles at the camera, and says:
{I've been using this every morning for the past week.}
7. Treat Sound as Part of the Scene
If sound is important to the mood or storytelling, describe it as part of the prompt.
Background Music
(Light, upbeat acoustic music plays softly in the background)
Ambient Sound
<Quiet conversations and subtle sounds of cups and dishes can be heard in the café>
Sound Effect
<A short notification sound plays as the phone screen lights up>
Environmental Sound
<Gentle rain can be heard outside along with distant traffic>
If dialogue is the main focus, you can also describe how loud the music should be.
(Soft background music plays at a low volume without overpowering the dialogue)
8. Use References for a Clear Purpose
Use References
When using image, video, or audio references, clearly describe what each reference should be used for.
Instead of simply attaching multiple references, assign a specific role to each one.
Character Reference
Use the character from @Image 1. Keep the facial features, hairstyle, and overall appearance consistent throughout the video.
Outfit Reference
Use the character from @Image 1 wearing the outfit shown in @Image 2.
Motion Reference
Use the character from @Image 1 and follow the body movement shown in @Video 1.
Camera Reference
Follow the camera movement and shot composition shown in @Video 1.
Style Reference
Keep the character from @Image 1 while applying the lighting and visual style of @Image 2.
Audio Reference
Have the character from @Image 1 move in sync with the rhythm and timing of @Audio 1.
💡Tip
Instead of saying “Use these references,” clearly specify what you want Seedance to take from each reference.
Edit an Existing Video
Seedance 2.5 can also use a reference video as the source for an edit, rather than simply using it as inspiration.
Upload the video you want to edit along with any additional references, then clearly describe what should stay the same and what should change.
Replace a Character
Keep the scene and camera movement from @Video 1, but replace the person with the character from @Image 1.
Add an Object
Add the product from @Image 1 to the table in @Video 1. Keep the existing lighting and camera movement unchanged.
Remove an Object
Remove the red chair in the background of @Video 1. Keep the rest of the scene and character movement unchanged.
Edit Audio
Remove the background music from @Video 1 while keeping the dialogue and ambient sound.
💡 Tip
For video editing prompts, use clear instructions such as add, remove, replace, or change instead of vague wording such as “refer to.”
Extend an Existing Video
You can also extend a reference video before or after its existing content.
Specify where the extension should begin, what should happen next, and which elements of the original video should remain consistent.
Continue After the Video
Continue naturally from the final scene of @Video 1. The character from @Image 1 walks into the frame from the right and looks toward the existing character.
Continue the Story
Continue the story from @Video 1. The character opens the door and walks outside into a rainy street at night. Maintain the cinematic mood and lighting of the original video.
Extend Before the Video
Extend the scene before the beginning of @Video 1. The character from @Image 1 walks toward the building, opens the door, and enters before transitioning naturally into the first scene of @Video 1.
💡 Tip
For video extensions, clearly describe where to continue from + what happens next + what should remain consistent with the original video.
9. Combine Multiple Prompt Elements
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can combine character actions, camera movement, dialogue, and audio in a single prompt.
UGC-Style Video
A young woman stands in a bright kitchen holding a skincare product in her right hand. The video looks naturally recorded on a smartphone with subtle handheld movement. She looks directly at the camera, smiles naturally, and raises the product slightly. {I've been using this every morning for the past week.} She turns the bottle toward the camera so the front of the product is clearly visible, then looks back at the camera. (Light upbeat background music plays softly) <Natural indoor room ambience>
Cinematic Video
A man walks alone through a foggy forest just before sunrise. His coat moves gently in the wind as warm sunlight gradually appears between the trees. The camera slowly tracks behind him before transitioning to a wide shot that reveals the surrounding forest. (Soft orchestral music gradually builds) <Wind through the trees and distant birds> {I knew there was no turning back.}
Product Commercial
A black wireless earbud case sits on a clean reflective surface. Start with a close-up product shot. The case slowly rotates as the camera moves smoothly around it. Soft studio lighting creates subtle highlights along the edges. <A short, crisp electronic sound plays as the case opens> (Minimal futuristic electronic music plays in the background) 【Designed for every moment.】
10. If the Result Isn’t What You Expected
Actions happen in the wrong order
Instead of listing multiple actions in one sentence, describe them step by step.
Before
She drinks coffee, stands up, looks at the camera, and picks up her phone.
Try
First, she takes a sip of coffee. She puts the cup down and looks at the camera. After a short pause, she stands up and picks up her phone.
Movement looks too busy or unnatural
Reduce unnecessary actions and focus on the most important movement in the scene.
The camera moves unexpectedly
Be more explicit about the camera behavior.
Keep the camera completely fixed. Maintain the same framing with no zoom or camera movement.
Or:
The camera slowly moves toward the character’s face throughout the shot.
The character’s action is too vague
Replace abstract instructions with visible actions.
Before
The woman acts naturally with the product.
Try
The woman looks at the product, picks it up with her right hand, turns the front toward the camera, and smiles slightly.
The visual mood doesn’t match your intent
Instead of relying only on broad style terms such as “cinematic,” “beautiful,” or “realistic,” describe the lighting, time of day, color, and environment.
Before
A cinematic café.
Try
A quiet café during golden hour. Warm sunlight enters through the large windows, creating soft highlights and long shadows across the wooden tables.
11. Prompt Checklist
Before generating your video, check the following:
Is the main subject clearly defined?
Have you described the subject’s actions clearly?
Have you described the location and environment when needed?
Have you specified the camera framing or movement when needed?
For longer videos, are actions organized by time or sequence?
Do you need dialogue, music, sound effects, or subtitles?
If needed, have you used
(),<>,{}, or【】to distinguish audio and text elements?If you’re using multiple references, have you clearly assigned a purpose to each one?
Are there any unnecessary or conflicting instructions?
You don’t need to write a long, detailed prompt from the beginning.
Start with the subject + main action + scene, then add camera, style, audio, and finer motion details as needed.