Using Styles in AI Prompts for Images and Videos

A classic style from the 1940s and 1950s, characterized by its dark, moody visuals, high contrast lighting, and themes involving crime, moral ambiguity, and femme fatales. Examples: The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944).

A genre known for its depiction of the American frontier, cowboys, outlaws, and rugged landscapes. Often explores themes of justice, revenge, and frontier life. Examples: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Unforgiven (1992).

Explores futuristic themes, speculative technologies, space exploration, and the impact of science on society, often using visual effects and imaginative storytelling. Examples: Blade Runner (1982), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

The 1950s Melodrama film style, often referred to as Technicolor Melodrama or Hollywood Melodrama, is characterized by its heightened emotions, lush visuals, and focus on domestic and societal tensions. This style became popular during the 1950s, with directors like Douglas Sirk being key figures in shaping the genre.

This era is marked by several distinctive trends and characteristics that defined the decade’s films, and it’s characterized by a blend of stylistic choices, technological advancements, and genre popularity.

The Retro Film Style evokes the aesthetics and visual elements of past cinematic eras, typically drawing inspiration from the 1950s to the 1980s. It often features warm color palettes, film grain effects, soft focus, and vintage filters to recreate the nostalgic look of older film stocks. This style emphasizes authenticity and nostalgia, incorporating retro props, costumes, and set designs to transport viewers to a bygone era.

Golden Hour refers to the warm, soft lighting during the hour just after sunrise or before sunset, creating a dreamy, romantic atmosphere. This lighting bathes scenes in gentle amber hues and enhances the natural beauty of landscapes or intimate moments between characters.

• Examples: Call Me by Your Name (2017), La La Land (2016).
• Ideal AI Video Prompt: “Create a shot of two people sitting on a bench overlooking a lake at sunset. The scene is bathed in warm, golden light, with soft shadows and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves. The moment feels intimate and serene.”

The Blue Hue aesthetic captures the cool, ethereal light that occurs just after sunset or during twilight, giving scenes a moody, introspective feel. This lighting often evokes melancholy, mystery, or a sense of calm.

• Examples: Drive (2011), Moonlight (2016).
• Ideal AI Video Prompt: “Depict a quiet city street at twilight, illuminated by the faint blue light of dusk. The scene should have a slightly surreal, dreamlike quality, with streetlights just beginning to flicker on and subtle reflections on the wet pavement.”

Cyberpunk visual style embodies a neon-lit, gritty, urban dystopia with high-tech and low-life themes. The aesthetic is characterized by towering cityscapes, vibrant neon lights, holographic displays, and a sense of technological decay.

• Examples: Blade Runner (1982), Ghost in the Shell (1995), The Matrix (1999).
• Ideal AI Video Prompt: “Generate a bustling, rain-soaked city at night with towering skyscrapers adorned with holographic advertisements. The streets are illuminated by neon signs in vivid pinks and blues, and shadowy figures navigate the urban sprawl amidst the rain and steam rising from manholes.”

Steampunk is a retro-futuristic aesthetic blending Victorian-era fashion and design with advanced, anachronistic technology powered by steam and clockwork mechanisms. This style combines historical settings with imaginative inventions.

• Examples: The Golden Compass (2007), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Steamboy (2004).
• Ideal AI Video Prompt: “Create a scene set in a Victorian-era city with cobblestone streets and towering brass clockwork structures. Show characters dressed in elaborate, steampunk-inspired clothing, interacting with steam-powered machinery, while an airship floats in the foggy sky above.”

Documentary Style focuses on capturing events and interactions as they happen, with an emphasis on realism and authenticity. This style often employs natural lighting, handheld cameras, and a candid, observational approach to storytelling.

• Examples: The Act of Killing (2012), 13th (2016).
• Ideal AI Video Prompt: “Depict a bustling marketplace with handheld camera angles, capturing the natural interactions of vendors and buyers. Use natural lighting to emphasize realism, and focus on the small, authentic details of everyday life.”

Expressionist and Surrealist Cinema focuses on portraying psychological states and emotional experiences through stylized visuals. This style often employs distorted sets, exaggerated lighting contrasts, and symbolic imagery to create a dream-like or nightmarish atmosphere.

• Examples: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Eraserhead (1977).
• Ideal AI Video Prompt: “Create a surreal scene in a dark, twisted cityscape with distorted, angular buildings and long, looming shadows. The lighting should be stark and high-contrast, with eerie figures moving slowly through the unnatural landscape.”

Quentin Tarantino’s style is known for its blend of sharp, witty dialogue, nonlinear storytelling, and homage to various film genres, particularly crime, exploitation, and spaghetti westerns. His films often feature graphic violence juxtaposed with dark humor, memorable soundtracks, and intense close-ups, creating a visceral and immersive experience. Tarantino’s work frequently incorporates pop culture references, elaborate set pieces, and long, suspenseful scenes that build tension before explosive confrontations.

Wes Anderson’s style is defined by its distinctive visual symmetry, meticulous color palettes, and whimsical, storybook-like aesthetic. His films often feature quirky, emotionally complex characters and dry, deadpan humor, with a heavy emphasis on nostalgic details and playful, carefully composed shots. Anderson’s use of precise framing, lateral camera movements, and recurring motifs gives his work an instantly recognizable, almost handcrafted feel.

Stanley Kubrick's style is characterized by meticulous attention to detail, symmetrical and visually striking compositions, and a mastery of different genres. His films often explore themes of human nature, isolation, and the dark sides of society, using long takes, controlled camera movements, and a haunting, often ironic use of music. Kubrick's storytelling emphasizes ambiguity and psychological depth, challenging audiences to question reality and the motives of his complex characters.

Deep focus is a technique where everything in the frame, from the foreground to the background, remains sharply in focus. This approach allows the audience to see all elements of the scene clearly, emphasizing the relationships between characters and their surroundings. It is often used to convey complexity and depth within a scene.

• Ideal AI Video/ Image Prompt: “Generate a scene set inside a grand, old library. The camera view should capture the entire room with rows of towering bookshelves extending into the distance. Show a person reading a book in the foreground, while another character searches the shelves in the background, both clearly in focus, emphasizing the depth and scale of the space.”

Shallow depth of field isolates the subject by keeping them in sharp focus while blurring the background. This technique draws attention to a specific element in the frame, creating an intimate or emotional effect, and emphasizing the subject against its environment.

• Ideal AI Video/ Image Prompt: “Create a close-up shot of a young woman holding a delicate flower, with her face in sharp focus while the background fades into a soft blur of pastel colors. The bokeh effect should give a dreamy, ethereal feel to the scene, highlighting her contemplative expression and the small details of the flower.”

A fisheye shot uses an ultra-wide-angle lens to capture a distorted, curved perspective, creating a sense of immersion or exaggeration. This style is known for its distinct spherical effect, making scenes appear as if viewed through a bubble, often emphasizing dynamic, action-filled, or surreal visuals.

"Generate an image of a bustling skateboard park from a low angle using a fisheye lens effect. Capture skaters in mid-air, with the curved perspective amplifying the action and energy, and include the surrounding park elements slightly warped around the edges to enhance the immersive feel.”