Prompt Blocks

Good Seedance prompts usually read like stacked production notes.

Block 1: Style And World

Bad:

cinematic
high quality
cool lighting

Better:

what kind of piece this is
what visual tradition it borrows from
what the light behaves like
what the environment feels like

Example shape:

[Style] high-end fashion commercial, photoreal, glossy black studio, controlled specular highlights, cool blue edge light

The point is not fancy vocabulary. The point is specifying a usable visual world.

Lighting — The Biggest Quality Lever

If you only add one thing to a weak prompt, add a lighting description. Lighting has the single biggest impact on video quality.

Lighting Type	Mood	Use case
golden hour	Warm, magical, nostalgic	Lifestyle, outdoor, hero shots
rim light	Dramatic, cinematic	Portraits, action, product
natural window light	Soft, authentic, clean	Talking heads, UGC, corporate
overcast	Moody, neutral, grounded	Drama, documentary
neon	Urban, energetic, bold	Night scenes, music, fashion
backlit	Silhouette, mystery, contrast	Cinematic, artistic
candlelight	Intimate, warm, romantic	Lifestyle, mood
blue hour	Cool, melancholic, cinematic	Outdoor transitions, drama
soft diffused	Clean, commercial, safe	Product, corporate, talking heads
dramatic stage lighting	High contrast, performative	Keynote, presentation, music

Block 2: Subject Identity

Say what must stay stable:

person
outfit
silhouette
product form
key prop

If the identity matters, say so directly:

[Subject] one female performer, stable face, silver bob haircut, reflective black jacket, no extra performers

If it is a product, state the invariant:

[Subject] one foldable phone, purple-to-ice-blue gradient body, ultra-thin hinge, no human model

Block 3: Time Slices

Use explicit segments for any multi-beat prompt.

Examples:

[00:00-00:05]
0-3 seconds
Shot 1 / Shot 2 / Shot 3

Each time slice should define:

camera
action
payoff

Not an entire paragraph of unrelated wishes.

Time slices define what happens — not how the model cuts between them. Do not specify transition types or editing rhythm; the model handles that natively. See failure-modes #13.

Block 4: Camera Language

Specify one camera move per shot. Combining multiple moves causes jitter and instability.

The 8 Types

Movement	Use it for	Example prompt phrase
Slow push-in / dolly in	Emotional focus, intimacy	`slow push in toward her face`
Pull-out / dolly out	Reveal context, scale	`gradual dolly out revealing the full cityscape`
Pan left / right	Horizontal scanning, following action	`slow pan right across the mountain ridge`
Tracking shot	Following subject movement	`tracking shot following the runner through the crowd`
Orbit / arc	Product showcase, hero motion	`smooth orbit around the subject, 90 degrees`
Aerial / drone	Scale, geography, epic establishing	`aerial shot descending slowly toward the rooftop`
Handheld	Realism, urgency, documentary feel	`handheld camera, slight natural shake`
Fixed / locked-off	Tension, stillness, stability	`camera holds fixed framing`

Critical Camera Rules

One camera move per shot — always
Use rhythm words, not technical specs: gentle, gradual, smooth work — 24fps, f/2.8 do not
Separate subject motion from camera motion: "the dancer spins slowly, camera holds fixed framing" — not "spinning camera around a dancing person"
The camera should intensify as the scene intensifies, not show off independently

Block 5: Action Choreography

The subject needs a visible behavior:

sings
points
unfolds
snaps fingers
cuts vegetables
presses NOS
draws sword

If the hero is not doing anything concrete, Seedance fills the gap with mush.

Block 6: Sound And Rhythm

This is one of the repo's biggest tells about Seedance.

The better prompts often specify:

beat type
SFX cues
dialogue energy
cut rhythm

Use sound when it affects motion or pacing:

[Sound] trap beat, heavy 808 kick, metallic click on product unfold, cuts land on beat

Block 7: Constraints

Seedance only responds to positive instructions. Negative phrasing (no blur, don't shake) is ignored by the model. Always rewrite constraints as what you want to see:

You want	Don't say	Say this
Good anatomy	(nothing)	`anatomically correct, natural proportions`
Stable hands	`no broken hands`	`detailed natural hands, correct finger count`
No shaking	`no camera shake`	`stable framing, smooth motion`
No flickering	`avoid flickering`	`consistent lighting, no temporal flicker`
Person stays consistent	`don't change the face`	`avoid identity drift, consistent appearance`
Clean background	`no clutter`	`minimal clean background, simple composition`
Realistic motion	`no stiff movement`	`physically accurate, natural motion flow`

Use constraints to preserve the core subject, not to write a wall of generic negatives.

Block 8: Intensity And Motion

Seedance responds to explicit intensity. Never be vague about how fast or strong something is.

Weak	Strong
car drove by	`car blazed past at high speed`
wings flapping	`wings beating vigorously, rapid powerful strokes`
she walked	`she strode with purpose, quick determined steps`
fire burned	`fire erupted violently, flames leaping 10 feet high`
rain fell	`heavy rain sheeted down diagonally in the wind`
he nodded	`he gave a sharp decisive nod`

Useful intensity words: vigorous, rapid, explosive, forceful, sudden, dramatic, gentle, gradual, subtle, delicate.

Avoid the literal word fast — it is the #1 quality killer, causing jitter, artifacts, and unstable output. Use high speed, vigorous, rapid instead.

Practical Rule

If a prompt block cannot be linked to a visual decision, cut it.