Expanding Short Prompts into Detailed Scenes
Transform simple ideas into rich, structured prompts that produce stunning results
Short prompts often leave Sora2 guessing, resulting in fragmented visuals. Learn how to expand a simple idea into a detailed, structured scene that produces coherent results.
The 5-Step Expansion Process
Identify the Type
Decide if it's cinematic, anime, fantasy, realistic, or another style. This sets the overall visual tone.
Specify the Scene
Where is the subject? Indoors, outdoors, a city, natural landscape, or a specific location?
Add Atmosphere
Describe mood, emotion, or weather conditions that enhance the scene's feeling.
Choose Camera Angle
Wide shot, close-up, aerial view, medium shot, or first-person perspective?
Define Lighting
Morning, afternoon, neon lights, dramatic shadows, or specific lighting conditions?
Real Example: Dragon Scene
❌ Short Prompt
"A dragon flying."
Problems:
- No visual style defined
- No specific location
- No atmosphere or mood
- No camera perspective
- No lighting conditions
✅ Expanded Prompt
"A cinematic scene of a majestic dragon flying over a misty mountain range at sunrise, epic atmosphere, aerial view, soft morning light."
Components:
- Type: cinematic scene
- Scene: majestic dragon flying over misty mountain range
- Atmosphere: epic, sunrise
- Camera: aerial view
- Lighting: soft morning light
More Expansion Examples
Simple → Detailed
Original:
"a car"
Expanded:
"A cinematic scene of a vintage red sports car parked on a coastal highway, nostalgic atmosphere, medium shot, golden hour lighting"
Simple → Detailed
Original:
"a house"
Expanded:
"A fantasy scene of a magical cottage hidden in an enchanted forest, mysterious atmosphere, wide establishing shot, ethereal moonlight"
Simple → Detailed
Original:
"a person"
Expanded:
"A portrait scene of an elderly artist painting in her sunlit studio, contemplative atmosphere, close-up shot, natural window light"
Expansion Tips
✅ Do This
- • Start with a clear visual style
- • Specify exact locations
- • Add emotional context
- • Choose appropriate camera angles
- • Define lighting conditions
- • Use descriptive adjectives
❌ Avoid This
- • Vague single-word descriptions
- • Generic locations
- • No mood or atmosphere
- • Unclear camera perspective
- • No lighting details
- • Overly complex sentences
The Result
Expanding in this structured way dramatically improves the model's ability to generate coherent and visually appealing images. You'll get:
Better Focus
Clear, specific results instead of random fragments
Visual Quality
Higher detail and professional composition
Consistency
Predictable, stable results every time
💡 Practice Exercise
Try expanding these simple prompts using the 5-step process:
- • "a cat"
- • "a city"
- • "a tree"
- • "a robot"
Start Expanding Today
Use our Sora2 Prompt Generatorto practice expanding simple prompts into detailed scenes. The structured templates will guide you through each component, making it easy to create compelling prompts that produce stunning results.