Plan the piece before you prompt
Before you build with blocks, you decide what you are building. A video is the same: first decide what story you want to tell, then make one small picture for each part of the story.
- Before this course: AI Image and Video Tools (course 1.7). You already know how generators work, how to write a basic prompt, and the honesty rules. This course puts those skills into a whole project.
- A short project brief answers five questions: Who is it for? What should they feel or do? How long is it? Where will it be published (this sets the format, for example vertical 9:16 or wide 16:9)? What must be real and what may be AI?
- A shot list is a table of shots. A storyboard is a small drawing or image for each shot. Planning on paper is free; generating over and over costs time and, in many tools, credits.
- A simple shot list has these columns:
| Shot | What we see | Camera | Length | Real or AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A coffee cup on a window sill, steam rising | Slow push-in | 4 s | AI |
| 2 | The owner opening the shop door | Still, eye level | 3 s | Real |
- Tools limit clip length, resolution and format, so check the tool's help page before you plan.
- Pick a goal for a 20 to 30 second piece, for example a short ad for a made-up business.
- Write the five brief questions (audience, feeling, length, platform, real versus AI) in five short lines.
- Split the story into 5 to 8 shots. Write one line per shot.
- Draw a rough box sketch for each shot on paper, or use a storyboard template.
- Make the shot list table with the five columns shown above.
- Check each shot against the limits of your tool (clip length, format).
- Check: every shot has a camera note, a length and a mark for real or AI, and the lengths add up to your target.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Do not open an AI tool yet. Plan first."
[Text on screen: Brief: who, feeling, length, platform, real or AI] "Write five lines: who it is for, what they should feel, how long, where it plays, and what is real."
[Screen: shot list table next to six rough sketches] "Then list your shots and sketch each one."
[Host] "Planning is free. Generating again and again is not."
Write a five-line brief and a six-shot list for a 25-second piece about a made-up business. Sketch each shot.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "AI Visual Projects: plan, prompt and finish a visual piece" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Plan the piece before you prompt". What the lesson teaches: - Before this course: AI Image and Video Tools (course 1.7). You already know how generators work, how to write a basic prompt, and the honesty rules. This course puts those skills into a whole project. - A short project brief answers five questions: Who is it for? What should they feel or do? How long is it? Where will it be published (this sets the format, for example vertical 9:16 or wide 16:9)? What must be real and what may be AI? - A shot list is a table of shots. A storyboard is a small drawing or image for each shot. Planning on paper is free; generating over and over costs time and, in many tools, credits. - A simple shot list has these columns: - Shot - What we see - Camera - Length - Real or AI - 1 - A coffee cup on a window sill, steam rising - Slow push-in - 4 s - AI - 2 - The owner opening the shop door - Still, eye level - 3 s - Real The exercise I'm working on: Write a five-line brief and a six-shot list for a 25-second piece about a made-up business. Sketch each shot. --- I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Plan the piece before you prompt" from the course "AI Visual Projects: plan, prompt and finish a visual piece". Here's what the lesson says: Before you build with blocks, you decide what you are building. A video is the same: first decide what story you want to tell, then make one small picture for each part of the story. The activity: Write a five-line brief and a six-shot list for a 25-second piece about a made-up business. Sketch each shot. --- Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Shot-by-shot prompts
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Keeping characters and objects consistent
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Fixing errors and keeping a log
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Combining AI clips with real footage and sound
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Copyright, labels and disclosure
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Finish, deliver and review
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Final project
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Quiz
Name two things a project brief should say.
Who it is for, what they should feel or do, how long it is, where it will play, and what is real versus AI (any two).
What is a shot list?
A table of shots with what we see, camera, length and whether each is real or AI.
Which six parts can a shot prompt include?
Subject, action, setting, camera, light and mood, and style.
Why paste the same style sentence into each shot prompt?
So the shots look like one family.
What do reference images help with?
Keeping a character, object or style consistent across shots, in tools that offer the feature.
Where should real text and logos be added?
In your editing app, not in the AI prompt.
Why keep a prompt log?
To save time, repeat what worked, and show how the piece was made.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office (Jan 29, 2025), is purely AI-generated material protected by copyright?
No; human selection, arrangement and modification can be protected.
Does YouTube require disclosure for a realistic scene that did not happen?
Yes; you select "Yes" under "AI use" when uploading.
Does a missing watermark or label prove a file is real?
No; marks can be lost, for example by screenshotting.
Final exam
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Certificate
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