How to direct AI video, shot by shot
Plan the camera, acting, references, and timing before you generate. Director chat is free. You only spend credits when you press Generate.
- Free
- Director chat
- 12
- shots per plan
- 4
- reference sheets
Plan first
What the Director is
The Director is a free chat that turns your idea into a shot plan. It only writes the plan. It never renders by itself.
The header says it plainly: “Plan first. Nothing here spends credits.” You only pay when you press a priced Generate button.
Canvas and Cinema
Where to find it
Open the Director on the Canvas page when you want a shot plan and reference sheets that can become tiles.
Open it on the Cinema page when you want help writing one finished, copy-ready prompt. After you confirm the idea, Cinema shows a “Use this prompt” button.
Describe the frame
Speak any camera language
There is no fixed camera-word menu. Describe the shot as you would tell a camera operator. English or Chinese both work: close-up (特写), extreme close-up, wide shot (全景), low angle, high angle, over-the-shoulder (过肩镜头), camera movement (运镜), pan, zoom, or shallow focus.
Wide shot (全景)
Show the subject and the wider setting.
Extreme close-up
Move attention to the face and small details.
Low angle
The subject looks powerful.
High angle
The subject looks approachable.
Write what the face does
Direct the acting
Put the expression into words. Compare “worried — eyebrows drawn together, tense mouth” with “bursting into a joyful laugh, eyes crinkled.” Specific, visible actions give the shot a clearer acting target.
Worried
Eyebrows drawn together, tense mouth.
Joyful
A joyful laugh with eyes crinkled.
Prompt for real texture
The realism recipe
Add these craft words when you want a person to look like a real photograph: “Ultra-realistic real-world photography, shot on a 35mm lens, natural daylight, visible pores, natural skin texture, subtle film grain, no plastic skin, no CGI.” The example images on this page were made with Nano Banana Pro.
With the recipe
Natural skin detail stays visible.
Without it
The skin has a smooth, plastic AI look.
One beat at a time
How a plan works
A Canvas plan can contain up to 12 shots and up to 4 reference sheets. Every shot has a title, angle, movement, tone, a short image prompt kept at 240 characters or fewer, and a duration.
For the same beat, the plan can show a Cheap draft path and a Premium path. The system calculates the real credit numbers and shows them under the plan. The Director does not invent prices.
Keep the room consistent
Lock your scene with a reference
Attach a picture with “Add a picture”, or select a picture on the board and press “Use selected picture”.
That picture becomes @图片1. It is the authority for the scene layout, room geometry, set dressing, colour, and lighting. The Director points every shot prompt at it instead of inventing a competing room.
Pin references at the cursor
The @ trick in prompt boxes
Type @ inside an image prompt box or video prompt box to open the reference picker at that spot. This does not work in the Director chat box. Use the prompt boxes on tiles.
In a video box, @图片N controls the look or appearance. @视频N controls the motion. The tile's own source image is @图片1, so extra images begin at @图片2. Videos begin at @视频1.
Reuse a character sheet
Keep the same person across shots
Ask for a character sheet. The Director can plan a six-view turnaround grid with front, angled, profile, and back views of the same person.
The sheet is not attached to later shots automatically. Select the finished sheet on the board and press “Use selected picture” before you plan the next scene.
No special mode needed
B-roll and product shots
Just describe a no-people shot. Name the product or detail, the framing, the light, and the action you want to see.
No-people B-roll
Describe the object, framing, light, and visible action.
Join finished clips
Stitch your shots into one video
Pick 2 to 20 ready video clips. They must all use the same aspect ratio and each one must be ready to stitch.
Stitching costs 0 credits.
Two honest answers
Director FAQ
Does chatting cost credits?+
No. Director chat is free.
Does the Director render by itself?+
Never. The Director only makes text plans. Only your press on a priced Generate button can spend credits.
Plan before you generate
Direct your next video one clear shot at a time
Open Canvas, tell the Director what you want to make, and review the plan before you choose a priced Generate button.
Open CanvasLast updated: August 31, 2026