Models / Seedance / Reference to video
Seedance reference to video prompting guide
Last checked 2026-10-11Seedance 2.x (ByteDance) · Seedance 2.0 / 2.0 Fast / 2.5
How to prompt Seedance in reference-to-video mode. Every point links its source; community tips are marked. Your agent gets the same guide through the Atlas MCP (get_guide).
Prompt structure
asset bindings→subject with ref→action→scene→lighting color→camera→style→constraints
- Formula: precise subject + action details + scene/environment + lighting & colour tone + camera movement + visual style + image quality + constraints. source ↗
- Open with a one-paragraph summary (duration, aspect, one continuous shot, what the first frame looks like and where the last frame lands), then lock subject/world with numbers (8 metres, 85-200mm, golden-hour side sun), then timestamped blocks. community source ↗
- Time-segmented prompts for 10 s+: '0–3s: … 3–6s: … 6–10s: … 10–15s: …'. community source ↗
What the text should describe
- Bind subjects to assets every time they appear: 'Zhang San@Image 1', or define 'the woman in a red dress in Image 1 as Subject 1'. Video refs: 'Reference <camera movement/action/style> in Video N'. source ↗
- fal: refer to uploads as @Image1.., @Video1.., @Audio1..; up to 9 images, 3 videos (2–15 s combined, 480p–720p), 3 audio (≤15 s); max 12 files total; at least one image or video required. source ↗
- For a character use a headshot plus a full-body photo. source ↗
- Give every @asset an explicit job: '@Image1's character as the subject', 'reference @Video1's camera movement', 'BGM references @Audio1', 'wearing the outfit from @Image2'. Never just 'reference @Video1' — say what to take (camera, action, effects, rhythm). community source ↗
- Split identity across two refs and assign them in the first line: 'Use image 1 for her full body, dress and broom. Use image 2 for her face, eyes and hair.' Repeat the outfit wording verbatim and end with 'Preserve her face, hair, outfit and broom throughout.' community source ↗
What not to describe
- Multi-view character sheets are NOT recommended: the model may read angles as different people and ID drift worsens. source ↗
- Don't mix first/last-frame roles with reference assets. source ↗
Camera vocabulary
- Standard terms work (medium shot, close-up, slow push-in, smooth lateral tracking, fixed shot). Use ONE camera movement per shot; combining push, pull, pan and move raises instability. source ↗
Responds well to
- Name body parts with range, speed and force (slowly raise a hand, quickly turn the head); prefer slow, continuous movement; show emotion through physical detail, not 'very sad'. source ↗
Duration and limits
- fal Seedance 2.0: duration 4–15 s or 'auto'; 480p/720p/1080p/4k; aspect auto, 21:9, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4, 9:16; generate_audio default true. source ↗
Multi-shot
- Complex clips: timeline storyboard 'Shot 1 / Shot 2 / Shot 3', each with who + where + doing what + camera + audio; don't force per-shot durations. source ↗
Avoid and failure modes
- Constraint phrases: 'keep it subtitle-free', 'avoid generating any text or subtitles', 'do not generate a logo', 'do not generate a watermark'. Subtitles cannot be suppressed 100%. source ↗
- Keep dialogue in one language; avoid mixing Chinese and English except proper nouns. source ↗
- Prefer positive mechanisms over long negative lists ('enters through the rear doorway' not 'do not teleport'); keep a few targeted exclusions for observed failures and place each rule next to the event it governs. community source ↗
- Don't ask for 'static camera' and 'orbit' in the same segment; don't overload 4–5 s with many scenes. community source ↗
Negative prompt
Not supported; describe what you want instead. source ↗
Real prompts, credited
AI video hack nobody's talking about: give each reference image a job. Seedance 2.5 on @makeugc Don't upload one picture and hope the model keeps the character. A single image has to carry the face, the outfit and the props at once, and something starts to drift by the third shot. Upload two instead, and assign them in the very first line of the prompt: "Use image 1 for her full body, dress and broom. Use image 2 for her face, eyes and hair." One image for the body. One image for the face. One sentence that says which is which. Then describe the outfit with the exact same words every time it matters, and end the prompt with "Preserve her face, hair, outfit and broom throughout." The result: a 25-second chase where the witch who hits the road sign is still clearly the same witch who falls into the corn. 🔖I’ve pinned the prompt in the comments - save it so you don’t lose it.
Seedance 2.5 Prompt: Animate @[char1 ref] as Neri, 24, and @[char2 ref] as her father Daro, 58. Preserve each reference's face, hair, outfit and proportions. Visual style: animated painted forms with crisp contours and faceted light. Keep the references' long silhouettes, angular faces and broad clothing shapes, with restrained brush texture and expressive anime-influenced acting. Extend this treatment to the folded dragon skin and monumental stone tiers. Amber light cuts through teal dusk. The girl keeps youthful proportions. 30 seconds in a sixty-meter circular open-air arena with steep stone tiers and packed, continuous rows of spectators. A girl in a moss-green cap stands between seated adults in the east front row, immediately behind the arena's continuous guardrail. Her left hand grips the rail; her right holds one ivory paper flower with folded petals and a rolled stem. The tw
SEEDANCE 2.5 PROMPT — 15s, 16:9 @Image 1 defines the four kittens, their accessories, their order, and the street. Preserve exactly: grey kitten with pink bow and katana in front, orange kitten with brown bob wig and toy submachine gun second, beige kitten with gold tiara third, dark grey kitten with green helmet and rocket launcher last. The wall, palm, sidewalk and black sedan stay fixed in place. [GENERATION GOAL] One continuous 15-second photorealistic comedy shot of four real kittens walking upright like an elite movie squad heading into a mission, then panicking at a cucumber. Real live-action look, real fur, soft overcast daylight. No cuts, no music, no subtitles, no slow motion. [CAMERA] Smooth sideways tracking shot at kitten height, moving RIGHT at their walking speed, keeping the whole squad centred. At 9 seconds the camera stops moving and holds. [0-3s] Empty sidewalk besi
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Sources
- docs.byteplus.com/en/docs/modelark/seedance-2-0-prompt-guide
- docs.dev.runwayml.com/api/
- fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedance-2.0/image-to-video/api
- fal.ai/models/bytedance/seedance-2.0/reference-to-video/api
- github.com/dexhunter/seedance2-skill/blob/main/SKILL.md
- github.com/mattvideoproductions/MVP-Prompts/blob/main/seedance25_prompting_guide.txt
- seedrouter.ai/docs/seedance-2-0
- x.com/ZentrixHQ/status/2108836442759626917