Writing good prompts
Popcorn’s agent is good at filling in blanks, but the more you tell it up front, the closer the first cut will be to what you imagined. You can always iterate later — but a better starting prompt means fewer rounds.
The simple template
Section titled “The simple template”Most prompts work well in this shape:
What the video is about, for whom, in what style, at what length and format.
For example:
A 30-second cinematic ad for a third-wave coffee shop, aimed at remote workers, in a warm vintage 16mm style. Vertical.
Popp can produce something good from just “30-second coffee ad” — but the version above will land much closer to what you have in mind, with fewer revisions.
What’s worth including
Section titled “What’s worth including”- Length — 6, 15, 30, 60 seconds, or “auto” and let Popp decide.
- Orientation — vertical (TikTok/Reels/Shorts), horizontal (YouTube), or square.
- Genre or mood — cinematic, comedic, documentary, retro, dreamy, hard-hitting…
- Style references — “in the style of a Wes Anderson short”, “like an Apple ad”, “hand-drawn 2D animation”. Be specific.
- Audience — who this is for. Helps with tone, pace, and copy.
- Characters — by name if you’ve already created them (
@Milo,@Luna), or by description. - Setting — where it’s set, what time of day, what the environment looks like.
- Voice — narrated by a male/female/neutral voice, accent, energy level, or a specific cloned voice.
- Music — vibe, instrument, BPM, energy.
- CTA — for ads or promos: what should the viewer do next?
You don’t need every line. Pick the ones that matter for the format.
Patterns that work
Section titled “Patterns that work”- Lead with the format. “Reaction video”, “15-second product promo”, “music video” — Popp pivots its whole approach based on this.
- Quote what you want said. If a specific line of dialogue or text overlay matters, put it in quotes.
- Reference real things. “Like the opening of Whiplash”, “like a TikTok GRWM but for a CEO” — Popp can research these.
- Include the link. For reaction videos, clip-a-video, music videos, podcast-to-video, or URL-to-video — paste the URL in the prompt. Popcorn supports YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X, and 1700+ other sites.
- Mention your characters. Type
@in the input to pick from your library. See @-mentions.
Patterns that work less well
Section titled “Patterns that work less well”- Vague single words. “funny”, “viral” — Popp will guess, but it might guess wrong.
- Too many constraints at once. Six required visual details, three required lines of dialogue, a fixed shot list, and a hard runtime — at some point the model has to bend something. Prioritize.
- Asking for things outside the format. A 6-second video can’t fit a three-act story. A vertical video can’t be a 16:9 cinematic widescreen. Match the brief to the container.
Starting points (presets)
Section titled “Starting points (presets)”The home screen has a row of starting-point prompts you can click to prefill the input — they’re a great way to see what a strong prompt for each format looks like:
- 🎬 Clip a Viral Video — make a viral clip from a YouTube link
- 📱 Social Media Short — engaging short with a strong hook
- 🛍️ Product Promo — feature-driven product pitch
- 🎵 Music Video — visual interpretation of a track
- 🌐 URL to Movie — turn a webpage into a video
- 😲 Reaction Video — react to a piece of content
- 🎙️ Podcast to Video — turn the best minute of a podcast into video
- 📣 Influencer Marketing Ad — authentic, personal product endorsement
- 📚 Educational Video — clear explanation of a topic
Each one is a complete, well-formed prompt for that format. Use them as templates if you’re not sure where to start.
When in doubt, start small and iterate
Section titled “When in doubt, start small and iterate”If you can’t decide between two directions, pick one and let Popp produce a draft. Then react to what you see. Iterating on a real video is faster (and more fun) than perfecting a prompt before the first render. See Iterating on your movie.