Reference videos are useful only when a prompt captures timing and change, not just the first frame.
A practical shot-by-shot workflow:
1. Mark the clip duration and divide it into clear beats.
2. Describe the subject, environment, composition, and lens feel.
3. Record camera movement separately from subject movement.
4. Note lighting direction, color changes, transitions, and audio cues.
5. Keep model-specific syntax separate from the visual description so the prompt stays editable.
For a faster first draft, ShotToPrompt can analyze a short reference clip and return editable prompts for Universal, Veo, Kling, and Seedance:
Before generation, review the result against the original clip. Remove unsupported details, keep the timing explicit, and adjust the model-specific version instead of treating any generated prompt as final.