Prompting video models on Replicate

Distilled from Replicate's blog posts on prompting video models (2025-2026). Techniques are model-agnostic and focus on transferable principles.

Choose a model with the API, not from memory

This skill describes general prompting techniques. To choose a model, use the find-models skill and query the Replicate API. The video model landscape changes weekly. Don't assume specific models exist or are still state-of-the-art based on names you've seen before. Always search the API for current options, then read the schema before running anything.

For pricing and feature comparison, see the compare-models skill.

Scene description

A good video prompt is a scene description, not a caption. Write what happens, where, and how it looks.

Layer these elements into every prompt

1. Subject: Who or what is in the scene (a person, animal, object, landscape).
2. Context: Where the subject is (indoors, a city street, a forest, a spaceship corridor).