Sora2 Prompt Advanced Guide
Adapted from “Sora 2 Prompt Advanced Guide: 15 Optimisation Techniques & 10 Scenario Templates”. Use it as your SEO-ready playbook for consistent, cinematic Sora2 prompts and subtitle workflows.
Prompt fundamentals
Five principles anchor a stable Sora2 prompt: clarity, structure, chronological order, correct camera grammar, and alignment with the desired outcome.
Use the recommended structure: camera type → subject detail → action beats → environment → lighting mood → technical parameters. This keeps Sora2's AI video generator consistent and makes subtitle timestamps easier to review.
- Camera type: close-up, medium, wide, low angle, drone, etc.
- Subject detail: age, ethnicity, skin tone, hairstyle, wardrobe, body posture.
- Action beats: describe start → middle → end, using connective language.
- Environment: outline foreground / midground / background layers explicitly.
- Lighting mood: specify hour, direction, colour temperature, neon/holographic sources.
- Technical parameters: frame rate, motion speed, depth of field, LUT, focal length.
15 optimisation tips
Grouped into beginner (1-5), intermediate (6-10), and advanced (11-15) so teams can layer detail progressively.
🟢 Beginner 1-5 · lock the subject
Ensure every render recreates the same character or object.
- Tip1 · Age & physique: state an age range and body type to avoid generic defaults.
- Tip2 · Ethnicity & skin tone: write “East Asian complexion”, “deep brown skin” etc. for diversity.
- Tip3 · Hair: length, texture, colour, styling details.
- Tip4 · Wardrobe: include fabric, cut, hero colour, accent colour (e.g. “emerald silk suit”).
- Tip5 · Pose & demeanor: describe stance, facial expression, eye direction, emotional tone.
🟡 Intermediate 6-10 · choreograph motion & space
Move from static portraits to convincing shots.
- Tip6 · Action sequencing: write steps using “initially / then / finally” or equivalent connectors.
- Tip7 · Three-layer depth: call out what sits in foreground, midground, and background.
- Tip8 · Camera movement: specify push-ins, orbits, crane ups, lateral tracking, etc.
- Tip9 · Focus & depth: request rack/follow focus or shallow/deep depth explicitly.
- Tip10 · Sensory cues: mention ambient sounds or visual hints (steam, rain, dust) to shape mood.
🔴 Advanced 11-15 · cinematic storytelling
Use filmmaker vocabulary to drive emotion and polish.
- Tip11 · Focus control: instruct rack focus or follow focus transitions.
- Tip12 · Depth of field: note shallow bokeh, deep focus, or background defocus requirements.
- Tip13 · Compound camera moves: combine verbs like “slow push in while orbiting clockwise”, “crane up while tilting down”.
- Tip14 · Mood & symbolism: add emotional tone, symbolic props, contrast, visual metaphors.
- Tip15 · Visual texture: describe particle effects, lighting shifts, colour gradients that support the story arc.
10 scenario templates
Copy-ready blueprints covering character portraits, product hero shots, city nightscapes, wildlife, sci-fi, and abstract art. Use them as starting points, then customise values to match Sora2 brand campaigns and subtitle localisation goals.
- Portrait close-up · key/fill/rim lighting, bokeh, expression cues.
- Product showcase · rotating tabletop, three-point lighting, reflective surfaces.
- Aerial landscape · altitude, compass direction, landmark callouts.
- Action sports · slow-motion percentage, path, velocity.
- Interior walkthrough · camera route, colour temperature, material texture.
- Food macro · steam/heat particles, crispy texture language, macro focus.
- City nightscape · neon, light trails, holographic signage, rain reflections.
- Nature documentary · location coordinates, species behaviour, long-take resilience.
- Sci-fi future · cyberpunk elements, UI projections, saturated complementary colours.
- Abstract art · fluid/particle behaviour, colour transitions, tempo modulation.
4-step iteration loop
Follow the loop from draft to broadcast-ready output so Sora2 prompts, subtitles, and distribution assets stay aligned.
- Step1 · Baseline: confirm camera, subject, action, environment, and lighting are covered.
- Step2 · Detail: plug gaps in wardrobe, materials, motion pace, emotional intent.
- Step3 · Control: define camera moves, focus, depth, frame rate, and any compound paths.
- Step4 · Story: layer mood keywords, symbolism, time-of-day transitions, and finishing effects.
Agent skills automation stack
Bundle Sora2 agent skills into your project so that every video prompt automatically triggers downstream subtitle and localisation steps.
Start with a core trio: prompt templating, subtitle QA, and localisation rollout. Add adjacent skills—asset tagging, copy drafting, compliance checking—as your workflow scales.
- Prompt templating agent skills: inject brand-safe language, guardrails, and scenario presets into every generation.
- Subtitle automation skills: auto-review terminology, timing, and formatting, then flag clips that need human review.
- Localisation skills: translate summaries, rewrite channel copy, and push deliverables to regional folders.
- Analytics skills: track turn-around time, success rate, and agent ownership so you can report ROI on automation.
Common mistakes & how to fix them
The guide highlights recurrent issues and actionable fixes so your Sora2 prompt strategy stays scalable across AI video campaigns.
- Vague adjectives → swap for measurable descriptions (lens, focal length, hue).
- Missing action beats → add start / during / end steps with verbs.
- Lighting omissions → state light source, direction, intensity, fill/rim usage.
- Terminology drift → maintain a glossary so translations stay consistent.
Practical case studies
Five annotated examples show how each iteration adds clarity.
Case 1 · Commercial portrait
- Provide concrete numbers (35 years old, 50mm lens at f/2.0).
- Add lighting calls (rim light, soft fill, slightly low angle push-in).
- Spell out emotional tone: “professional yet approachable”.
Case 2 · Food documentary
- Describe surfaces (marble counter, golden sear, pink glaze).
- List action sequence “place → contact → sear → press gently”.
- Shallow DoF, 70% slow motion, steam particles as visualised sizzling sound.
Case 3 · Cyberpunk city
- Reference Blade Runner aesthetics, specify neon palettes.
- Include holograms, light trails, rain reflecting signage.
- Combine push-in + slight lift, use 24mm wide-angle low angle.
Case 4 · Wildlife documentary
- Pin exact location (Amboseli, Mount Kilimanjaro).
- Differentiate subjects (adult female + three calves of varying ages).
- Side tracking at herd speed, golden hour rim light, 70-200mm lens at 135mm.
Case 5 · Abstract art experiment
- Liquid metal morphing sphere → spikes → waves → sphere in an 8-second loop.
- Colour gradient blue → purple → orange over a black background.
- Gold particle orbits, 50% slow motion, 8K macro lens for hypnotic rhythm.