Why English is more precise
Generation models learned from millions of captions for images and videos, and most of those captions are in English. The model understands simple scenes in Russian well, but professional shooting terms (shot type, camera movement, light) work more reliably in English. This is most noticeable with Midjourney V8.2: on KADR (kadr-ai.ru) it accepts Russian too, but it is better to give it the request in English.
Hence a simple rule: you can describe the scene in Russian, but shooting terms are better written in English.
Way 1. Russian + terms from the dictionary
You write in Russian and insert the shot, light, camera and style as English words from the dictionary below.
Рыжий кот спит на подоконнике, за окном падает снег, close-up, soft light, slow push in, film grain.
(«A ginger cat sleeps on the windowsill, snow is falling outside the window», followed by the English terms.)
The simplest way, no translator needed.
Way 2. A translator
Describe the scene in Russian in detail and translate it with any translator. Before pasting, check two things:
- the character’s lines and the text on the image stayed in the language you need, in quotation marks;
- the translator did not spoil the terms (for example, «наезд», a push in, is sometimes translated as «collision» instead of «push in»). Check against the dictionary.
Way 3. A text AI
Ask ChatGPT, Claude or DeepSeek:
Ты промпт-инженер для нейросетей генерации видео. Я опишу сцену по-русски, а ты напиши промпт на английском, 40 до 80 слов: план, камера, герой, действие, место, свет, стиль, звук. Реплики героя оставь по-русски в кавычках. Сцена: [ваше описание].
(«You are a prompt engineer for video generation AI. I will describe a scene in Russian, and you write a prompt in English, 40 to 80 words: shot, camera, character, action, place, light, style, sound. Keep the character’s lines in Russian in quotation marks. Scene: [your description].»)
A detailed template: AI prompt generator.
Template
[Shot], [camera movement]. [Who] [does what] [where]. [Light], [style]. Sound: [sound].
Example:
Medium shot, slow push in. A woman in a red coat reads a letter at a train station. Golden hour light, film grain. Sound: distant train, soft wind.
Dictionary: 60 words
Shot
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| сверхкрупный план | extreme close-up |
| крупный план | close-up |
| средний план | medium shot |
| общий план | wide shot |
| вид сверху | top-down shot, bird’s eye view |
| снизу вверх | low angle |
| сверху вниз | high angle |
| из-за плеча | over the shoulder |
| от первого лица | POV shot |
Camera
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| статичная камера | static camera |
| наезд | push in, dolly in |
| отъезд | pull back, dolly out |
| панорама влево, вправо | pan left, pan right |
| наклон вверх, вниз | tilt up, tilt down |
| облёт | orbit |
| камера следует за героем | tracking shot |
| с рук | handheld |
| подъём камеры | crane up |
| замедленная съёмка | slow motion |
Full dictionary of moves: camera movements for AI video.
Light
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| мягкий свет | soft light |
| жёсткий свет | hard light |
| контровой свет | backlight |
| золотой час | golden hour |
| синий час, сумерки | blue hour |
| свет из окна | window light |
| студийный свет | studio lighting |
| неоновый свет | neon light |
| свет свечей | candlelight |
| пасмурно | overcast light |
Style
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| фотореализм | photorealistic |
| кинематографичный кадр | cinematic shot |
| зерно плёнки | film grain |
| плёнка 35 мм | 35mm film |
| малая глубина резкости | shallow depth of field |
| размытый фон | bokeh |
| акварель | watercolor |
| мягкая 3D-анимация | soft 3D animation |
| аниме-стиль | anime style |
| пластилин | clay animation |
| чёрно-белый | black and white |
| минимализм | minimalist |
Mood
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| уютно | cozy |
| тревожно | tense |
| спокойно | calm |
| празднично | festive |
| мечтательно | dreamy |
| драматично | dramatic |
| ностальгически | nostalgic |
Sound
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| без музыки | no music |
| фоновый шум | ambient |
| звуковой эффект | sound effect |
| говорит | says |
| шёпотом | whispers |
| тишина | silence |
Common mistakes
- Translating lines and on-image text. They stay in the language you need, in quotation marks.
- Empty words («beautiful», «masterpiece», «8K»): they add nothing and make the image generic.
- A prompt that is too long. 40 to 80 words is usually enough.
General rules: how to write video prompts.
In short
You do not need to know English for prompts. Describe the scene in Russian and insert the shot, camera, light and style terms in English from the dictionary. Or translate the description with a translator, or ask a text AI. Keep the character’s lines and the text on the image in the language you need, in quotation marks.
