Shot List Before Generation

Shot List Before Generation

Plan the cut first. Generating clips and finding an edit afterwards is what wastes the credits.

higgsfield video cinematography shots planning

What it is for

Generating clips and looking for an edit afterwards is what burns the credits. Planning the cut first means each generation has a job, and a clip that does not do its job is discarded on sight rather than kept because it looked nice.

The skill

Write the shot list before generating anything. Generation is the expensive
step and an unplanned clip is usually unusable next to the one before it.

For each shot:
- **Duration** in seconds. Real cuts are 1.5-4s; a 10s generated shot is almost
  always cut down to 3 anyway.
- **Camera move** — one per shot, named: push in, pull out, orbit left, crane
  up, static. Two moves in one generated shot fight each other.
- **Subject and action** in one clause. "A woman turns toward the window."
- **Light** — direction and quality. "Low sun from the left, hard shadows."
  This is the single field that most controls whether two shots cut together.
- **What must NOT move** — the background, the horizon, the logo.

Continuity rules that save regenerations:
- Keep light direction constant across a scene, or the cut reads as a mistake.
- Keep the lens language constant: do not mix a wide-angle push with a
  telephoto orbit inside one scene.
- Generate the ESTABLISHING shot first and let it set palette and light; the
  rest are matched to it, not to the prompt.

Only after the list is written, generate — in order, checking each against the
previous one rather than against the brief.

How to install it

1. Open the tool and start a new conversation, project or template.
2. Paste the text below wherever the tool keeps standing instructions
   — usually called system prompt, instructions, or persona.
3. Save it so it applies to every run rather than a single message.

Did it work for you?

Where it came from

Skills app Original