Four Questions Before You Prompt
Four questions to answer before you write a prompt, each answered by one phrase in a real prompt. Four stills, four prompts, Midjourney.
The prompts
Copy them, run them, change whatever you want. No signup.
cinematic film still, a single robed figure cresting an immense sand dune ridge, the ridgeline running away into a horizon of identical vast dunes, wind lifting a fine plume of sand from the crest, warm amber first light on the windward face against the deep cool blue of the lee shadow, immense scale and solitude, minimalist composition, photorealistic, shot on 70mm, film grain, cinematography in the style of Greig Fraser in Dune --ar 9:16 --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration, recognizable franchise
cinematic film still, a wooden sailing frigate heeled hard over in the trough of an enormous storm swell, walls of black water rising above the mastheads on both sides, torn sails and lantern light on deck, warm lantern glow against the cold blue-green of the water and the slate sky, immense scale and violence, photorealistic, shot on 70mm, film grain, cinematography in the style of Roger Deakins --ar 9:16 --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration
cinematic film still, a lone figure standing tiny on a wet rooftop before a colossal holographic advertising face projected across the entire side of a megastructure tower, rain falling through the projection, warm amber rooftop light against the cold blue-violet of the projection and the mist, immense scale and alienation, photorealistic, shot on 70mm, film grain, cinematography in the style of Roger Deakins in Blade Runner 2049 --ar 9:16 --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration, recognizable franchise
cinematic film still, an immense wall of green-black ocean rearing far above a long concrete seawall and an empty coastal road, spray tearing off the crest in the wind, no people anywhere in frame, warm sodium streetlights still burning along the empty road against the cold blue-green of the water and the slate storm sky, immense scale and dread, photorealistic, shot on 70mm, film grain, cinematography in the style of Roger Deakins --ar 9:16 --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration, people, crowd
Why it works
A prompt is easier to write once you know what the shot is for. Answer these four questions first, and each answer becomes a phrase you can put in the prompt and point at in the frame.
Who is the shot about? The first prompt opens with a single robed figure cresting a dune ridge. Name one person in the prompt. Then the viewer knows who to watch.
What trouble are they in? The frigate is heeled hard over in the trough of an enormous storm swell. Trouble gives the viewer a reason to stay. You can see at once that this ship is in danger.
What are they looking at? The rooftop figure stands before a colossal holographic advertising face. The viewer looks where the person looks. Your eye goes from him up to the face.
Where does the light come from? The seawall prompt asks for warm sodium streetlights still burning along the empty road. Show the source in the frame. Warm lamps you can see stand out against the cold sea.
Before you run it
Check the settings on each prompt. All four were made with --style raw --stylize 250 --v 8.2.
Name the person before the place. The dune prompt names the figure first and the dunes second. The render makes him the one dark shape on the bright sand, with his footprints leading to him.
Run the rooftop prompt more than once. It gave four renders. In some the face fills the frame and the figure is a speck. Keep the render where you can see both the person and what they are looking at.
Write the answer, not the question. “A sad person” answers nothing. “A single robed figure on a dune ridge at first light” answers who, where and when.
To make it yours, keep your four answers and change the rest. Swap the people and the place, and write one phrase in the prompt for each answer.