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Seedance 2.5 and 2.0 Prompt Guide: How to Write Prompts That Work, 30-Second Takes Included, With Examples You Can Run (2026)

Updated · Live figures last changed · 5 min read · The GenMagic team

A good Seedance prompt describes one shot, in order: who or what, the one thing that happens, where, how the camera moves, the light and style, and the length. Name each reference image by its number, say what must stay the same, and leave studio and character names out. The rest of this guide shows how, with four prompts you can open in the studio and run as they are.

This guide covers the structure, camera words, motion, reference images, style, sound and length, what to avoid and examples.

A note on who wrote this: GenMagic runs Seedance 2.0, 2.0 Mini, 2.0 Fast and 2.5 and writes from the prompts its users run on them. Which of the four to use is in Seedance 2.5 vs 2.0 vs Fast vs Mini. Prompts for other models: Veo 3.1, Wan 3.0, Kling 3.0, Hailuo 3.

Table of contents

  1. The structure
  2. Camera words
  3. Motion: one action per clip
  4. Reference images
  5. Style
  6. Sound and length
  7. What to avoid
  8. Examples you can run
  9. Questions

The structure

Write one shot, in this order:

  1. Style: "Stylized 3D animation", "Anime, cel shading", "Photoreal documentary".
  2. Subject: who or what, with the traits that must not change (hair, clothes, colors, size).
  3. Action: the one thing that happens, in the order it happens.
  4. Setting: where and when (place, time of day, weather).
  5. Camera: how it moves and how close it is.
  6. Light and color: "soft morning light", "warm colors", "high contrast".
  7. Length: "8 seconds". The setting in the studio decides it; saying it helps the pacing.

A template to copy: " [Style]: [subject with fixed traits] [does one thing], [setting]. [Camera move], [light], [length]."

Camera words

Plain film words work best, one move per shot:

  • Push-in / slow dolly in: moves toward the subject, for emphasis.
  • Tracking shot: follows the subject from the side or behind.
  • Orbit / camera arc: circles the subject.
  • Handheld: slight natural shake, documentary feel.
  • Static shot: the camera stays still, the scene moves.
  • Aerial / drone shot: from above, for landscapes and places.
  • Close-up, medium shot, wide shot: how much of the subject fills the frame.

Motion: one action per clip

  • One main action per clip. "He lines up the putt, takes the shot, and throws his arms up" is one beat; a whole story is several clips.
  • Put actions in time order: "first... then... at the end...".
  • Give the action room: a complex move needs 8 to 10 seconds, a reaction 4 to 6.
  • Continue a scene by using the last frame of one clip as the first frame of the next.

Reference images

Seedance 2.0, 2.0 Mini, 2.0 Fast and 2.5 take reference images, which is how series creators keep a character the same:

  • Name each image by number in the prompt: "Image 1 is Milo's character sheet, the same fox from several angles. Image 2 is the forest location."
  • Repeat the fixed traits in words too: the reference shows them, the words lock them in.
  • Use a character sheet (front, side, back on a plain background) rather than a scene: character sheets.
  • Seedance refuses photos of real people's faces as references or first frames; use illustrated or 3D characters, or Wan 3.0 for real faces.

Style

  • Describe the look, not a studio: "stylized 3D animation, soft family-film lighting", "anime, cel shading, clean line art", "35mm film look, shallow depth of field". Studio, film and character names are refused.
  • Keep one style line for a series and paste it into every prompt, word for word.

Sound and length

  • Sound: Seedance can add sound to the clip; describe it ("ambient harbor sound", "birdsong"). For clips built around a spoken line, Veo 3.1 is made for dialogue.
  • Length: 4 to 15 seconds on Seedance 2.0, Mini and Fast; up to 30 seconds in one take on Seedance 2.5.
  • Resolution: draft at 480p on Seedance 2.0 Mini ($0.05 a second on GenMagic today), then re-render the keepers at 720p or on Seedance 2.0 up to 4K.

What to avoid

  • Several scenes in one prompt. Split them into clips.
  • Contradictions: "static shot" and "the camera flies over the city" in one prompt.
  • Readable text in the frame: short words can work, but signs and captions often come out wrong; add titles in your editor.
  • Real people, brands and existing characters: refused, and not yours to use.
  • Vague subjects: "a person walking" gives a different person every time; "a tall woman in a yellow raincoat with a black umbrella" gives the same one.

Examples you can run

Each link opens the GenMagic studio with the model and the prompt ready; you see the price before you generate.

A 3D sports moment (Seedance 2.0 Mini): "Stylized 3D animated scene: a cheerful cartoon golfer with a red cap and a striped polo lines up a putt on a sunny island green, takes the shot, the ball curls in, he throws his arms up. Soft family-film lighting, smooth camera arc, 8 seconds." Open in the studio

An anime cut-in (Seedance 2.0): "Anime style, cel shading: a young swordswoman with short silver hair and a red scarf draws her sword on a windy rooftop at sunset, her scarf whips in the wind, fast push-in to her eyes. Vivid sky, speed lines, 6 seconds." Open in the studio

A documentary insert (Seedance 2.0): "Photoreal documentary insert: an old fisherman mends a net on a wooden pier at dawn, gulls overhead, gentle waves, slow handheld tracking shot from the side, soft morning light, natural colors, 8 seconds, ambient harbor sound." Open in the studio

A long continuous take (Seedance 2.5): "One continuous shot, stylized 3D animation: a small red fox with a green backpack walks through a glowing forest at dusk, crosses a log bridge over a stream, stops at a clearing full of fireflies and looks up at the first stars. Slow tracking shot that rises at the end, warm colors, 20 seconds." Open in the studio

More prompts by what you make: anime, 3D animation, short films, kids' cartoons.

Teaching AI video or images on YouTube, in a course or in n8n templates? The creator program pays 15% in cash of what the people you bring pay in their first month.

Questions

How long should a Seedance prompt be? Two to four sentences: one shot with its subject, action, setting, camera, light and length. Longer prompts that describe several scenes get mixed up.

How do I keep the same character in every Seedance clip? Add the same character sheet as a reference image to every clip, name it in the prompt ("Image 1 is ..."), and repeat the character's fixed traits word for word.

Why did Seedance refuse my image? Seedance refuses photos of real people's faces as references or first frames. Use an illustrated or 3D character, or Wan 3.0 for a real face.

Can I write Seedance prompts in other languages? English works most reliably; test another language on a short draft first.