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Studio: Understanding Framing

Framing allows you to generate precise, controllable frames for your video by defining camera settings, composition, and visual style.

Getting Started

After creating your character and location, you can begin by setting up your frame.

Setting up your frame

Begin by selecting your core settings:

  • Model: Select the specific AI model 
  • Resolution: Choose the visual quality of the output
  • Aspect Ratio: Define the dimensions of your shot
  • Camera Type: Select from a wide variety of camera emulations to replicate specific film or digital looks. 
    • Auto
    • Apple iPhone Pro Max
    • ARRI Alexa 35
    • RED V-Raptor
    • VHS Camcorder
  • Camera Lens: Choose a lens to define the visual depth and perspective.
    • Auto
    • AARRI Signature Prime
    • Cooke S4/i
    • Helios 44-2
    • Lomo Anamorphic
    • Sigma Cine Art

These parameters define the technical foundation of your generated frame.

Adjust composition settings

At the bottom of the Framing prompt panel , you can refine how your shot is visually constructed:

Number of outputs

Choose how many frame variations to generate.

Angle

Define the camera’s perspective:

  • Auto 
  • Bird’s-eye view
  • Dutch angle
  • Eye level
  • High angle
  • Low angle
  • Overhead
  • Over the shoulder

Shot type

Control framing and subject distance:

  • Auto 
  • Close-up
  • Extreme close-up
  • Extreme wide shot
  • Full shot
  • Macro
  • Medium shot
  • Wide shot

Lighting

Set the scene’s lighting style:

  • Auto 
  • Blue hour
  • Golden hour
  • Hard light
  • Natural / Ambient
  • Neon / Practical
  • Noir
  • Rim lighting
  • Softbox / Diffused
  • Volumetric

Using the library

Enhance your prompts by selecting from a library of pre-built assets or creating your own.

Add a Location or Character

  1. Click the Location or Character icon

  1. Browse the library
  2. Select your desired asset
  3. Click Use in Project

The selected item will be automatically inserted into your prompt at the cursor location.

Note: You can also add them by tagging using '@'. For example if your character is called Evan, you can write your prompt like "@Evan kicks the football"

For more details, see:

Creating Characters

Creating Locations

Adding a reference image

Reference images allow you to guide the AI when creating a frame, helping it match your vision more accurately. You can use images for inspiration or as exact references to maintain consistency with existing designs.

When adding images, you can choose how the model should interpret them:

  • Inspiration – the AI references the style and appearance.
  • Match exactly – the AI closely recreates the uploaded image.

Using Reference Images: Inspiration vs. Exact Match

When adding images, you can select how the AI should interpret them:

  • The AI takes cues from the image’s style, colors, composition, and overall feel, while allowing flexibility in the final result.

Best for: Creating new visuals influenced by a reference without copying it exactly.

  • The AI attempts to recreate the image as closely as possible, including composition, proportions, clothing, and key visual details.

Best for: Reproducing a specific character, scene, or design with high accuracy.

You can add images from:

  • Upload history
  • Studio creations
  • Toolkit creations
  • Files from your computer

To use an image from your library:

  1. Select the image.
  2. Click Use file.

Writing your prompt

Once your settings are configured, compose your prompt in the Framing Prompt field.

Prompting options

You can choose between two approaches:

Free Form

A single open text field for writing prompts in a flexible, traditional way.

Structured

A guided format that helps you build detailed prompts by breaking them into sections:

  • Subject / Character: Who or what is in focus? Include any secondary subject.
  • Location: Where does the scene takes place?
  • Action: What’s happening in the scene? Describe the movement.
  • Composition: Where are the subjects within the frame?
  • Style: Describe the look (e.g. cinematic, animated, 3D).
  • Mood: Describe the tone, colors, time of day, lighting

Prompting Tips

When using the Framing tool, the quality of your generation depends on how clearly you define the visual hierarchy of the shot. To get the most precise results, your prompt should account for these six key elements:

The Subject (Who or What)

Define the primary focus of the frame.

  • Details: Age, gender, clothing, hair color, or specific objects.
  • Example: "A weary astronaut in a scuffed white spacesuit" vs. just "an astronaut."

The Location (Where)

Set the stage by describing the environment surrounding the subject.

  • Details: Architecture, nature, weather conditions, and background elements.
  • Example: "A high-tech laboratory filled with holographic monitors" or "a dense, foggy pine forest at dawn."

The Action (What is Happening)

Describe the specific movement or interaction taking place.

  • Details: Use active verbs and specify the intensity of the motion.
  • Example: "Slowly reaching for a floating tether" or "sprinting through a neon-lit alley."

Composition & Framing (Where in the Frame)

Tell the AI how to arrange the elements within the shot.

  • Details: Subject placement (Rule of Thirds, centered), shot size (Close-up, Wide shot), and depth of field.
  • Example: "Extreme close-up on the subject's eyes" or "Wide shot with the character silhouetted against the horizon."

Lighting & Mood (The "Vibe")

Define the emotional tone and the light source.

  • Details: Time of day, color palette, and light quality (soft, harsh, flickering).
  • Example: "Golden hour light with warm orange hues" or "Moody, low-key lighting with deep blue shadows."

Visual Style (The Look)

Specify the medium or aesthetic of the final image.

  • Details: Film stock, digital crispness, or artistic genres.
  • Example: "Gritty 35mm film grain," "Cyberpunk aesthetic," or "Hand-drawn 2D animation style."

💡Pro Tip: If you're feeling stuck, use the Structured Prompt option. It breaks these elements into dedicated fields so you don't forget to include the technical details that make a shot look professional.

💡Pro tip: Use Auto-prompt to generate suggestions, then refine them manually. You can continue iterating until you reach your ideal result. Use the Undo button to revert to a previous version.

Combining reference images with prompts

Reference images work best when paired with a detailed prompt. In the Prompt Field, describe:

In your prompt, describe:

  • Subject details
  • Environment
  • Style and mood
  • Camera framing

Example:
A cinematic medium shot of a futuristic soldier standing in a neon-lit alley at night, soft rim lighting, shallow depth of field, cyberpunk style.

The uploaded image can guide the AI’s interpretation of these details.

Generating Frames

Once your prompt is ready, generate your Frame by clicking on the Generate button.

Generated frames will appear in the left-side panel of the prompt field.

Editing Frames

Click the Edit icon to send the frame back into the prompt field for further refinement

Clicking the @ icon will enable you to create a location or character from the shot. 

Check out Creating Characters and Creating Locations for further details.

Downloading frames

When the frame is in the main panel on the right-side, click the download button to download the selected frame.

Note: You can also download generations from My Creations.

Accessing your Frame ID

Accessing your Frame ID can be helpful if you need to contact Support.

  1. From the Framing or Directing panel, click My Creations.

  2. From the Library, toggle Show Drafts to On.
  3. Filter your Creations according for Frames.

  1. Click on any Frame.

  2. Click on the ‘i’ icon.

  3. Hover over the ‘i’ icon and select Copy.

Setting start and end frames

For precise control over video generation, you can set a generated frame or upload a reference image for the start and end frames.

From the Prompt Field:

You can set your start frame and end frame from the Framing prompt field. See Understanding Framing for more information.

From the timeline:

Alternatively, you can upload specific images directly.

  1. In the timeline , locate the Start frame or End frame.
  2. Click the Upload button (arrow icon).
  3. Choose to upload an image from your computer or choose from your creations.

When you select "Choose from your creations", you can pull images from your:

  • Upload history
  • Studio creations
  • Toolkit creations

Once you have settled on your desired frames, you can move to directing your video.

Need some more help? Check out our Studio FAQs.

Head back to our Help Center.