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AI video text prompts

30 ways to put words in an AI video: titles, lower thirds, captions, neon signs and lyrics that wrap around a performer. Every clip is spelled exactly and shows its text from the first second, beside the exact prompt that made it.

Clips last tested

How to write it, in short

  • Put every on-screen word in 【 】 brackets. Brackets spelled exactly in 8 of 8 test takes, quotation marks in 4 of 5. Once, with a typewriter font, the brackets themselves showed up on screen; adding "brackets" to the negative prompt fixed it.
  • Show text in the first second. Write the first text in a 0–1s beat and say it stays visible. A title that fades in at 3 s reads as an empty clip to anyone scrolling past.
  • Hold multi-line text still. A two-line lower third sliding in within a second misspelled twice. Already on screen and still, it was exact for the whole clip. Animate only single short words.
  • Pin the style harder than the words. Spelling held; typeface drifted (a serif horror title came out thin sans, cursive neon came out block). Name the family, weight, colour and position.
  • Let the scene hide the letters. Text behind a speaker and rings around a body pass behind people on their own. That occlusion is what in-scene text does that a code overlay can't.
  • One caption per sentence. Give each sentence its own timed caption that replaces the last. One word per beat piled the words into a sentence.

All prompts

30 prompts
Text behind the speaker: a talking-head video where the topic word sits behind the speaker01

Text behind the speaker

a talking-head video where the topic word sits behind the speaker

Placement Huge word on the back wall, behind the headBest for YouTube intros, interviews, podcasts

Medium shot of a young woman with short bleached hair in a mustard cardigan talking to camera in a bright studio. Behind her the word 【BOLD】 in huge white heavy sans-serif capital letters fills the back wall from edge to edge, her head and shoulders in front of the letters, so the letters pass behind her. 0–2s: she smiles and starts talking. 2–6s: she gestures with one hand as she talks. 6–8s: she finishes and nods. Throughout: locked-off camera, soft even studio light, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Opening title over a landscape: open a film or trailer with its title over a wide landscape02

Opening title over a landscape

open a film or trailer with its title over a wide landscape

Placement Centered title over an aerial shotBest for Film openings, trailers, travel videos

Aerial wide shot of a snowy pine valley at sunrise, a frozen river winding through it and low mist between the trees. Photoreal live-action film footage. 0–1s: the title 【THE LONG WINTER】 fades in fast at the center of the screen in large thin white serif capital letters with wide letter spacing. 1–8s: the title holds still at the center while the camera drifts slowly forward over the valley, the mist moving below and the sun rising over the ridge. Throughout: the title fixed at the center of the frame and visible from the first second, cold blue light warming to gold, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Horror title card: a horror or thriller title that unsettles from the first frame03

Horror title card

a horror or thriller title that unsettles from the first frame

Placement Single title on black, letters drifting apartBest for Horror trailers, creepy shorts, cold opens

A horror film title card on a black screen. 0–1s: the title 【HOLLOW】 fades in fast at the center, thin high-contrast serif capital letters with very wide letter spacing, white on black. 1–7s: the title holds, faintly flickering, its letters slowly drifting further apart. 7–8s: it fades to black. Throughout: a single title on black, still frame, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Lower third name tag: name and role for an interview or documentary subject04

Lower third name tag

name and role for an interview or documentary subject

Placement Two lines, bottom left, beside the subjectBest for Interviews, documentaries, tutorials

A garage workshop with a long workbench, a pegboard of hand tools and a half-open roller door, a red tool chest beside the bench, daylight from the roller door and a lamp on the bench. Photoreal live-action documentary interview footage. A woman in her fifties with cropped black hair and a white streak, round tortoiseshell glasses and an olive canvas apron, the olive apron dusted with sawdust, sits in the right third of the frame, talking to someone just off camera. A lower-third graphic is already on screen in the very first frame and never moves: a white bar at the bottom left with the name 【MARA LIND】 above the title 【MASTER CARPENTER】 in a clean sans-serif. 0–4s: she talks and gestures with one hand. 4–8s: she pauses, smiles and keeps talking. Throughout: locked-off medium shot, the still lower third visible for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Location and date stamp: tell the audience where and when a scene is set05

Location and date stamp

tell the audience where and when a scene is set

Placement Small typed line, lower-left cornerBest for Period films, flashbacks, documentaries

A narrow city side street at dusk in the 1980s, paper lanterns glowing over small shopfronts, a man in a grey suit cycling past on an old black bicycle, wet pavement. Photoreal live-action film footage with warm film grain. 0–1s: a location stamp types on quickly in the lower-left corner and is complete within the first second, reading 【TOKYO, 1987】 in small white typewriter-style monospaced capital letters. 1–8s: the stamp holds still in the lower-left corner while the cyclist rides past and people walk under the lanterns. Throughout: locked-off wide shot, the stamp visible from the first second and fixed in place, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Neon sign title: a title that exists in the world as a glowing sign06

Neon sign title

a title that exists in the world as a glowing sign

Placement Neon sign above a door, in the sceneBest for Noir openings, bar and diner scenes, music videos

A rainy city street at night outside a small diner, wet asphalt reflecting the lights. Photoreal live-action footage. 0–1s: a neon sign above the diner door flickers on and reads 【NIGHTJAR】 in red cursive neon tubing. 1–8s: the sign glows steadily with a faint buzz, its red light reflected in the puddles as rain falls. Throughout: locked-off wide shot, the sign lit from the first second, steady rain, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Giant letters in the landscape: a title built into the landscape at monumental scale07

Giant letters in the landscape

a title built into the landscape at monumental scale

Placement Giant 3D letters standing in the sceneBest for Trailers, brand films, music video openers

A vast white salt flat at golden hour under a clear sky. Giant weathered concrete letters spelling 【ECHO】, each letter three storeys tall, stand in a row in the middle distance. Photoreal live-action film footage. 0–1s: the whole word is already in frame and readable, seen from a low camera just above the ground. 1–8s: the camera rises slowly on a crane, revealing the long shadows of the letters stretching across the salt flat and a tiny figure in a red coat walking past them for scale. Throughout: the word stays fully in frame and readable, warm low sunlight, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Slam title: an action title that hits like a punch08

Slam title

an action title that hits like a punch

Placement Heavy metal title, center, with sparksBest for Action trailers, gaming videos, sports promos

An action film title card in a dark smoky warehouse. 0–1s: the title 【IRONCLAD】 slams onto the center of the screen in huge heavy brushed-steel sans-serif capital letters, the camera shaking hard on impact and a burst of orange sparks flying out from behind the letters. 1–8s: the title holds at the center while embers drift past it and the camera pushes in slowly, the steel catching orange light. Throughout: the title visible from the first second and readable for the whole clip, hard orange backlight through smoke, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Chapter card: mark a new part or chapter between scenes09

Chapter card

mark a new part or chapter between scenes

Placement Two centered lines on blackBest for Short films, documentaries, long tutorials

A film chapter card on a black screen. A chapter card is already on screen in the very first frame and never moves: the small words 【PART ONE】 in white serif capital letters with wide spacing, centered, above the larger title 【THE ARRIVAL】 in white serif capital letters. 0–6s: the card holds still on black with faint moving film grain. 6–8s: it fades slowly to black. Throughout: two centered lines of text on black, still frame, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Word written on a fogged window: a word written by a hand inside the scene, for suspense10

Word written on a fogged window

a word written by a hand inside the scene, for suspense

Placement Finger-written word on a fogged windowBest for Suspense, horror, romance, music videos

Close-up from inside a parked car at night of a fogged-up side window, rain outside and blurry orange streetlights beyond the glass. Photoreal live-action suspense footage. 0–1s: a fingertip has already drawn a large letter H in the condensation and starts the next letter. 1–4s: the finger finishes writing 【HELP】 in big shaky capital letters, the glass clear where it passed, the streetlights showing through the strokes. 4–8s: the hand pulls away out of frame and drops of water run down from the letters. Throughout: locked-off close-up, the word reads correctly from inside the car, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Social video captions: captions for a talking-to-camera social video11

Social video captions

captions for a talking-to-camera social video

Placement One caption per sentence, centered lowBest for Reels, Shorts, TikTok, ads

Social video filmed in landscape: a man in his thirties with curly red hair and a grey hoodie, the grey hoodie sleeves pushed up, talks excitedly to camera in a bright kitchen, framed from the chest up in the center of a wide 16:9 frame. Every sentence he says has its own bold white all-caps caption with a thin black outline, centered in the lower third, on screen from the moment he starts speaking, each caption replacing the one before. 0–3s: 【I TRIED IT FOR A WEEK】. 3–5s: 【AND HONESTLY?】. 5–8s: 【THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING】, the last word in yellow. Throughout: handheld selfie framing, a caption visible from the very first frame, one continuous take.

Lyric ring around a dancer: a sung line that wraps around a performer in 3D12

Lyric ring around a dancer

a sung line that wraps around a performer in 3D

Placement Ring of words circling the bodyBest for Music videos, dance edits, lyric videos

Low-angle wide shot at night of an empty roadside gas station under a white canopy, wet asphalt reflecting the lights, a red vintage fuel pump beside a pillar. A dancer in his twenties with a shaved head, a mint-green bowling shirt and wide cream trousers dances in place facing the camera. 0–1s: the words 【SHINE ALL NIGHT】 appear as big glossy red letters on a ring that circles his chest, like a halo lying on its side. 1–8s: the ring of words slowly turns around him as he dances, the letters passing behind his back and coming round in front of him, readable as they cross the front. Throughout: locked-off camera, the red ring of words visible from the first second, cinematic night light, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Layered lyric: a small sung line stacked on a huge red echo of it13

Layered lyric

a small sung line stacked on a huge red echo of it

Placement Small lowercase line over huge red capsBest for Music videos, lyric videos, Reels

Medium close-up of a singer in her twenties with long box braids and a silver puffer jacket singing into a vintage chrome microphone on a dark stage, a single purple spotlight behind her. Photoreal live-action music video footage. Two lines of lyric text are already on screen in the very first frame and never move, centered in the lower half of the frame: the small line 【i keep falling】 in thin white lowercase letters sits directly on top of the huge line 【FALLING】 in tall bold red condensed capital letters that spans the width of the frame. 0–4s: she sings with her eyes closed. 4–8s: she opens her eyes and sings toward the camera. Throughout: locked-off shot, both lines of text still and visible for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Callout pinned to a moving object: a label that rides along with a moving product14

Callout pinned to a moving object

a label that rides along with a moving product

Placement White label with a pointer lineBest for Product ads, sports edits, explainers

Side-on tracking shot of a trail runner in a bright orange windbreaker running along a cliff-top path at sunrise, the sea far below. Photoreal live-action sports footage. A small white rounded label reading 【FEATHERLIGHT】 in bold black sans-serif capital letters, joined by a thin white pointer line to her left running shoe, is on screen from the very first frame. 0–1s: the label is already attached to the shoe and readable. 1–8s: she keeps running and the label stays pinned to the shoe, moving with it stride by stride. Throughout: the camera tracks alongside at her speed, the label readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Text framing the face: short stacked words on both sides of a close-up face15

Text framing the face

short stacked words on both sides of a close-up face

Placement Two stacked lines each side of the faceBest for Music videos, covers, campaign spots

Tight close-up of a woman with freckles and copper hair pulled into a high bun, looking straight into the lens against a plain black backdrop, her face in the center of the frame. Text is already on screen in the very first frame and never moves, two short stacked lines on each side of her face: on the left 【NEVER】 in bold white capital letters above 【STILL】 in bold red capital letters, and on the right 【ALWAYS】 in bold white capital letters above 【MOVING】 in bold red capital letters. 0–4s: she holds the gaze, then blinks slowly. 4–8s: a faint smile appears. Throughout: locked-off close-up, hard side light, all four words still and visible for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Stretched lyric line: tall stretched red lyric lines that replace each other16

Stretched lyric line

tall stretched red lyric lines that replace each other

Placement Stretched red condensed caps, lower thirdBest for Music videos, lyric videos, dance edits

Wide shot of a man with a shaved head and a gold chain dancing alone in an empty laundromat at night, rows of washing machines glowing under fluorescent light. Photoreal live-action music video footage. One lyric line at a time sits across the lower third in tall, vertically stretched, deep red condensed capital letters, each line replacing the one before; the first line is already on screen in the very first frame. 0–4s: 【RUN IT BACK】 while he spins on the spot. 4–8s: 【ONE MORE TIME】 while he slides along the row of machines. Throughout: locked-off camera, a red lyric line readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Title in negative space: a huge title in the empty side of a wide shot17

Title in negative space

a huge title in the empty side of a wide shot

Placement Tiny figure, title fills two-thirdsBest for Trailers, title cards, brand films

Extreme wide shot of a vast pale sand desert under a hazy white sky, a tiny lone figure in a red cloak walking along a dune ridge in the left third of the frame. Photoreal live-action film footage. The single word DRIFT, in huge black condensed sans-serif capital letters with nothing around it, fills the empty right two-thirds of the frame, already on screen from the very first frame and never moving. 0–8s: the figure walks slowly along the ridge as wind lifts thin veils of sand. Throughout: locked-off camera, the title still and readable for the whole clip, soft flat light, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Credits over a driving shot: names that replace each other over a car on the open road18

Credits over a driving shot

names that replace each other over a car on the open road

Placement Small names, lower right, one at a timeBest for Short films, road movies, travel edits

Aerial tracking shot of a vintage teal convertible driving along an empty desert highway at golden hour, long shadows across the road. Photoreal live-action film footage. Opening credits sit one at a time in the lower right of the frame in small white serif capital letters, each name replacing the one before, a name on screen from the very first frame. 0–3s: 【JUNE ARCHER】. 3–5.5s: 【THEO VANCE】. 5. 5–8s: 【RIO MARSH】. Throughout: the camera follows the car smoothly from above, a credit readable for the whole clip, warm low sun, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Projected text: words thrown by a projector across a wall and a face19

Projected text

words thrown by a projector across a wall and a face

Placement Projected white letters, dark roomBest for Thrillers, music videos, art films

A bare concrete loft at night with pale plaster walls. A projector beam from the left throws the word 【REMEMBER】 in large white sans-serif capital letters across the wall. A woman with a shaved head and a green bomber jacket stands at the right end of the word, so the wall carries most of the letters and only the last letters fall across her cheek, bending over her face. Photoreal live-action film footage. 0–1s: the projector is already on and the whole word is readable. 1–8s: she turns her face slowly into the light, the last letters sliding across her cheek, dust drifting in the beam. Throughout: locked-off medium shot, the word readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Words orbiting a head: a short phrase circling a portrait, for covers and intros20

Words orbiting a head

a short phrase circling a portrait, for covers and intros

Placement Phrase on a circular path around the headBest for Podcast covers, music videos, profile intros

Close-up portrait against a pale blue painted studio backdrop: a woman in her thirties with a cropped platinum bob, round red-tinted sunglasses and gold hoop earrings looks into the lens and talks. 0–1s: the phrase 【COVER STORY】 followed by a small red star repeats evenly around a circular path around her head, in bold red capital letters, like a tilted halo, already circling in the first frame. 1–8s: the circle of words slowly rotates around her head, the letters disappearing behind her head on one side and coming back round in front on the other, each COVER always followed by STORY. Throughout: locked-off close-up, soft even studio light, the red circle of words visible from the first frame, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Text message on screen: a message bubble floating beside the person reading it21

Text message on screen

a message bubble floating beside the person reading it

Placement Blue message bubble beside the faceBest for Drama, thrillers, explainers

A woman with a shaved undercut and a yellow sleep shirt sits up in bed in a dark bedroom at night, her face lit blue by the phone in her hand. Photoreal live-action drama footage. A single blue rounded phone message bubble floats in the air beside her head, reading 【ARE YOU AWAKE?】 in white sans-serif letters, already on screen in the very first frame and never moving. 0–4s: she reads the phone and frowns. 4–8s: she looks up toward the door, worried. Throughout: locked-off medium shot, the message bubble still and readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Skywriting: a word written in smoke across the sky22

Skywriting

a word written in smoke across the sky

Placement White smoke letters, blue skyBest for Brand films, proposals, travel edits

Wide shot of a clear blue summer sky above a beach. Photoreal live-action footage. The word 【HELLO】 in huge white smoke letters is already fully written across the sky in the very first frame, a small red vintage biplane finishing the trail of the last letter. 0–1s: the whole word is readable as the plane trails off to the right. 1–8s: the plane flies away and the smoke letters slowly drift and soften in the wind, still readable. Throughout: locked-off camera looking up from the sand, the word readable for the whole clip, bright sun, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Split-screen lyric: one lyric line running across two performers in split screen23

Split-screen lyric

one lyric line running across two performers in split screen

Placement Two halves, neon divider, one lineBest for Music videos, duets, lyric videos

A split-screen music video frame, divided down the middle by a thin vertical pink neon line. On the left half, a woman with long silver hair sings in a red phone booth at night. On the right half, a man with a blue mohawk sings on a rainy rooftop. Photoreal live-action footage. One lyric line runs straight across both halves in the lower third in bold white capital letters, reading 【WE OWN THE NIGHT】, already on screen in the very first frame and never moving. 0–8s: both of them sing, each in their own half. Throughout: locked-off framing, the neon divider and the lyric line still and readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Particles assemble a title: embers that gather into a title, then blow away24

Particles assemble a title

embers that gather into a title, then blow away

Placement Glowing ember letters on blackBest for Trailers, game intros, fantasy titles

A title sequence on a dark background. 0–1s: a swirl of glowing golden embers rushes together at the center of the screen and forms the title 【EMBER】 in large glowing serif capital letters, readable by the end of the first second. 1–6s: the title holds at the center, the embers inside the letters shimmering. 6–8s: the letters break apart into embers that blow away to the right. Throughout: locked-off frame, the title readable from the first second until it scatters, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Burn-through title: a title that burns through paper from the center25

Burn-through title

a title that burns through paper from the center

Placement Letters burned through old paperBest for Thrillers, westerns, period dramas

A sheet of old cream paper fills the screen, black behind it. 0–1s: the title 【CINDER】 burns through the center of the paper in large serif capital letters, the edges of the letter-shaped holes glowing orange, readable by the end of the first second. 1–7s: the burn slowly creeps outward from the letters, the edges glowing and smoke curling up, the word still readable. 7–8s: the paper curls and darkens. Throughout: locked-off close-up, the title readable from the first second, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Typewriter / redacted document: a typed dossier name blacked out with a marker26

Typewriter / redacted document

a typed dossier name blacked out with a marker

Placement Typed name, red stamp, marker redactionBest for Thrillers, spy films, true crime

Top-down close-up of a manila thriller dossier on a dark wooden desk under a desk lamp. Photoreal live-action film footage. In the very first frame the page already shows the large typed name 【AGENT FALCON】 in black typewriter capital letters, with a red rubber stamp reading 【CLASSIFIED】 above it, the rest of the page soft and out of focus. 0–1s: both are readable. 1–5s: a black-gloved hand draws a thick black marker bar across the second word only, FALCON, blacking it out while AGENT stays clear. 5–8s: the hand lifts away, leaving AGENT readable beside the black bar. Throughout: locked-off overhead shot, warm lamp light, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Countdown timer: a red timer ticking down in the corner27

Countdown timer

a red timer ticking down in the corner

Placement Red digital timer, top rightBest for Thrillers, heist scenes, game trailers

An empty underground parking garage at night under flickering fluorescent lights, a man with a full grey beard and a burgundy beanie waiting beside an open car door, glancing at his watch. Photoreal live-action thriller footage. A red digital countdown timer sits in the top-right corner of the frame in bold digital-clock numerals, on screen from the very first frame: it reads 【00:08】 at the start and counts down one second at a time, reaching 【00:00】 at the end. 0–6s: he looks around the garage, more and more on edge. 6–8s: he jumps into the car and slams the door. Throughout: locked-off medium shot, the timer readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

End card and logo resolve: a fictional brand mark settling on a clean end card28

End card and logo resolve

a fictional brand mark settling on a clean end card

Placement Logo mark and wordmark, centeredBest for Product ads, brand films, YouTube outros

A clean end card on a warm off-white background. 0–1s: a simple fictional brand mark drops into the center with a soft bounce and settles: a round orange sun symbol above the wordmark 【QUILLO】 in bold rounded dark grey capital letters, readable by the end of the first second. 1–8s: the mark holds still at the center with a soft shadow beneath it while a gentle sheen of light sweeps across it once. Throughout: locked-off frame, the mark readable from the first second, minimal and clean, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Title on a moving surface: a word painted on a train that rolls past29

Title on a moving surface

a word painted on a train that rolls past

Placement Painted letters on a boxcarBest for Road movies, brand films, music videos

A long freight train rolls across open prairie at golden hour. The word 【ATLAS】 is painted in huge white block capital letters along the side of a dark blue boxcar. Photoreal live-action film footage. 0–1s: the boxcar is already in front of the camera with the whole word in frame and readable. 1–6s: the camera tracks alongside the train at the same speed, so the word stays in frame as the prairie slides past behind. 6–8s: the camera slows and the boxcar pulls ahead out of frame. Throughout: side-on tracking shot, the word readable until it leaves, warm low sun, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Engraved / carved title: carved letters revealed by raking torchlight30

Engraved / carved title

carved letters revealed by raking torchlight

Placement Roman capitals carved in stoneBest for Trailers, fantasy, documentary openers

A weathered stone tablet stands in a dark mossy temple ruin. The word 【ORIGIN】 is deeply carved into the stone in large Roman capital letters. Photoreal live-action film footage. 0–1s: a beam of torchlight already rakes across the tablet and the carved word is readable in its light. 1–8s: the beam sweeps slowly from left to right across the stone, deepening the shadows inside each carved letter, dust drifting through the light. Throughout: locked-off frontal shot, the carved word readable for the whole clip, one continuous take, no subtitles.

Questions

Text placement prompts: FAQ

How do I get readable text in an AI video?

Keep it short and in capitals, put each word in 【 】 brackets, and name the position, size and typeface family. Put "no subtitles" at the end of the prompt and misspelled letters, extra words and watermarks in the negative prompt. Every clip here was spelled exactly that way.

Should I use quotation marks or 【 】 brackets for on-screen text?

Brackets. In our Seedance 2.5 tests, bracketed words were spelled exactly in 8 of 8 takes and quoted words in 4 of 5. If the brackets ever appear on screen, add "brackets" to the negative prompt.

Why does the text in my AI video appear late?

Models tend to save a title for the middle of the clip. Write the first text in a 0–1s beat and add "visible from the first second" to the closing line. If a good take still starts slow, trim the start: three clips here are trimmed, so this library shows real clip lengths instead of an 8-second beat bar.

Can AI video put text behind a person?

Yes, and it does it on its own. Say the word fills the wall behind the speaker and their head and shoulders are in front of it. Rings of text around a dancer and words orbiting a head also pass correctly behind the body.

How do I make a lyric video with AI?

Give each line its own timed beat, in brackets, from the first second, and describe where it sits: on a ring around the performer, around their head, or as captions. Use one phrase plus a separator for circling text, so it reads in order.

What text still fails in AI video?

Fine print, long sentences, two lines that animate in fast, glitch or VHS-damaged titles (the model cleans them up) and real logos. Short words held still are the safest.

Was every clip made with the same model?

Yes: Seedance 2.5, 480p, 16:9, text to video, silent. 27 clips run the full 8 seconds; three are trimmed so they open on readable text: the lyric ring (6.5 s), the particle title (6.8 s) and the text message (7 s).