Time-lapse
How to prompt a time-lapse shot in AI video
To prompt a time-lapse shot in AI video, describe your scene first, then add the camera line as its own sentence: "locked-camera time-lapse. Movement: hold one fixed camera position while time moves rapidly forward." Finish it with the speed, what stays fixed and how the shot ends, as in the full recipe below.
Fixed camera while time races forward.
Best for: Compressing hours into seconds — skies, crowds, and construction.
The recipe
locked-camera time-lapse. Movement: hold one fixed camera position while time moves rapidly forward. Speed: fast time compression with a stable camera. Framing: keep the same composition and horizon as motion passes through the frame. End: finish from the same camera angle with visible passage of time.
How to prompt a time-lapse shot in AI video
- 01
Describe the shot
Write one or two sentences for the subject, setting and light before any camera language.
- 02
Add the time-lapse recipe
Append the recipe as its own sentence: "Camera: locked-camera time-lapse. Movement: hold one fixed camera position while time moves rapidly forward. Speed: fast time compression with a stable camera. Framing: keep the same composition and horizon as motion passes through the frame. End: finish from the same camera angle with visible passage of time."
- 03
Keep one move per shot
Remove any other camera instructions so the model commits to a single, readable move.
- 04
Generate and review the ending
Check the final frame matches the End line. If the move drifts, shorten the clip or restate what must stay fixed.
One move is one shot. To carry it into the next shot, pin where each clip starts and ends with first-frame / last-frame and chain the shots into a short film with one cast in every shot. Still picking software? Here is what to look for in a short-film tool.
Try this prompt
“A lighthouse on a rocky coast at golden hour, waves breaking softly below, warm light on the stone. Camera: locked-camera time-lapse. Movement: hold one fixed camera position while time moves rapidly forward. Speed: fast time compression with a stable camera. Framing: keep the same composition and horizon as motion passes through the frame. End: finish from the same camera angle with visible passage of time.”
Opens the studio with this prompt filled in · 65 free credits