Video · guidance updated 4 Oct 2026
Runway prompt guide
Gen-4.5 (current build dated 2026-07-29) is Runway's flagship model. It makes 2–10 s clips from text or image, is strong on sequenced, timed instructions and camera choreography, and its docs describe no native audio. Text-to-video outputs 16:9 only.
How to prompt Runway
- For text-to-video, describe both what we see and how it moves: subject, action, environment, camera, lighting, style.
- For image-to-video, describe only the motion (subject, camera, scene); don't re-describe what the image already shows.
- Open with the camera and shot: '[shot type/movement] shot of [subject] [action] in [environment]'.
- Use Runway's camera vocabulary: close up, wide, aerial, low angle, POV, dolly, push in, pull back, truck, tracking, crane, orbit, whip pan, handheld, static, rack focus.
- Phrase everything positively: write 'locked camera, the camera remains still', not 'no camera movement'.
- Turn abstract ideas into visible physical actions ('the woman smiles and waves').
- Swap subjective words like beautiful or professional for concrete lighting, lens and material details.
- Sequence events in order, optionally with timestamps such as [00:00 through 00:03], giving each beat a realistic amount of time.
- Keep one scene per clip; ask for longer durations when you chain several actions.
- Remove any instructions that contradict each other, and don't over-pad; clarity beats length.
- Write descriptive prose, not requests addressed to the model.
The shape of a good prompt
[Camera shot + movement] shot of [subject with key visual details] [primary action] in [environment]. [Lighting / time of day]. [Style / film look]. [Optional timed beats: [00:00 through 00:03] …; [00:03 through 00:06] …]
Avoid
- Negative phrasing ('no blur', 'don't move')
- Conversational or command phrasing ('can you please add…')
- Abstract or conceptual language
- Re-describing an input image in image-to-video
- Multiple scene changes or transformations in one clip
- Long prompts full of conflicting instructions
Example
Request a cowboy on a horse at sunset
Low-angle tracking shot of a weathered cowboy on a rearing black horse on a dusty ridge at sunset. Strong backlight from the low sun creates a golden rim light and silhouettes of dust in the air. [00:00 through 00:03] The horse rears up and the cowboy grips the reins. [00:03 through 00:06] The horse lands and gallops toward camera as the camera slowly pulls back. Classic 35mm western film look, warm orange palette.
