
# Complete Sora 2 Prompting Guide

OpenAI's Sora 2 generates high-quality videos with automatically synced audio from text prompts. The model excels at creating realistic and imaginative scenes with natural motion and physics.

## ⚠️ CONTENT RESTRICTIONS

### What Sora 2 Cannot Generate

**Sora 2 has strict content policies and will reject:**
- **NSFW content** - No adult or sexually explicit material
- **Copyrighted characters** - No Disney, Marvel, anime characters, etc.
- **Copyrighted music** - No recognizable songs or branded audio
- **Real people** - No public figures, celebrities, or real individuals
- **Human faces in input images** - Currently rejected by the system

**⚠️ Violations will cause generation failures with no credit refund.**

## 🎯 Sora 2 Works Best With

- **Original creative content** with unique characters
- **Detailed scene descriptions** with specific actions
- **Natural physics and motion** - water, fire, wind effects
- **Cinematic storytelling** with clear narrative arcs
- **Abstract and artistic concepts** without real-world references

## Basic Prompting Structure

A well-crafted Sora prompt should include:

- **Subject**: Who or what is the main focus
- **Setting**: Where the scene takes place
- **Action**: What is happening in the scene
- **Style**: Visual aesthetic and mood
- **Camera work**: Movement and framing
- **Audio**: Sounds, music, and atmosphere

### Basic vs Detailed Prompts

**Basic**: A robot walks through a city

**Detailed**: A sleek silver robot with glowing blue eyes walks confidently through a futuristic neon-lit city at night. Rain reflects the colorful lights on wet pavement as the robot's footsteps echo. Ambient electronic music with distant city sounds.

## Audio Generation

Sora 2 automatically generates synchronized audio including:

- **Dialogue and speech** - Natural conversation and narration
- **Sound effects** - Environmental and action sounds
- **Ambient audio** - Background atmosphere and mood
- **Musical elements** - Instrumental background music

### Audio Prompting Tips

```
Soft piano music with gentle rain sounds
Epic orchestral score with dramatic crescendo
Bustling cafe ambiance with coffee machine sounds
Ocean waves with seagull calls and wind
```

## Professional Style Examples

### Cinematic Scenes

**Epic Landscape**:
```
A majestic dragon soars over a vast mountain range at golden hour, its wings casting shadows on the peaks below. The camera follows in a sweeping aerial shot as the dragon glides through wispy clouds. Epic orchestral music with wind sounds and distant thunder.
```

**Urban Adventure**:
```
A parkour athlete leaps between rooftops in a cyberpunk city, neon lights reflecting off rain-soaked surfaces. The camera tracks the fluid movements as they navigate obstacles with precision. Electronic music with urban ambiance and distant traffic.
```

### Character-Driven Stories

**Emotional Moment**:
```
An elderly craftsman carefully carves intricate details into a wooden sculpture in his workshop. Warm sunlight streams through dusty windows as wood shavings fall to the floor. Gentle acoustic guitar with workshop ambiance and distant birds.
```

**Adventure Scene**:
```
A young explorer discovers a hidden cave filled with glowing crystals. Their flashlight beam reveals ancient symbols on the walls as they move deeper into the cavern. Mysterious ambient music with echoing footsteps and dripping water.
```

### Abstract and Artistic

**Surreal Concept**:
```
Floating islands drift through a pastel sky filled with giant soap bubbles. Each island has its own miniature ecosystem with tiny waterfalls cascading into the clouds below. Dreamy ambient music with gentle wind chimes and flowing water.
```

**Artistic Style**:
```
In the style of a watercolor painting: A field of wildflowers sways in the breeze as butterflies dance between the blooms. The scene has soft, flowing brushstrokes and vibrant colors that blend naturally. Peaceful classical music with nature sounds.
```

## Camera Techniques

### Movement Types

**Tracking Shot**:
```
The camera smoothly tracks alongside a vintage car driving down a winding coastal road at sunset, keeping pace with the vehicle as ocean waves crash against the cliffs below.
```

**Dolly Zoom**:
```
A dramatic dolly zoom focuses on a lighthouse keeper as storm clouds gather, the background stretching while the subject remains in sharp focus, creating a sense of impending drama.
```

**Aerial View**:
```
An aerial drone shot spirals around a medieval castle on a hilltop, revealing the surrounding countryside and distant mountains as the camera slowly pulls back to show the full landscape.
```

### Framing Techniques

- **Close-up**: Focus on details and emotions
- **Wide shot**: Establish setting and scale
- **Medium shot**: Balance character and environment
- **Bird's eye view**: Show patterns and relationships
- **Low angle**: Create drama and power
- **High angle**: Show vulnerability or overview

## Physics and Motion

Sora 2 excels at realistic physics simulations:

### Natural Elements

```
Water cascades down rocky cliffs, creating mist that catches rainbow light
Fire dances and flickers, casting warm shadows on surrounding objects  
Wind moves through tall grass, creating waves of green motion
Snow falls gently, accumulating on branches and melting on warm surfaces
```

### Object Interactions

```
A paper airplane glides through the air, catching updrafts and spiraling down
Marbles roll down a wooden ramp, bouncing and scattering across the floor
Fabric billows and flows in the breeze, revealing its texture and weight
Liquid pours from a pitcher, forming streams and splashing into a glass
```

## Style Variations

### Artistic Styles

- **Watercolor**: Soft, flowing brushstrokes with bleeding colors
- **Oil painting**: Rich textures with visible brush marks
- **Pencil sketch**: Detailed line work with shading
- **Digital art**: Clean, precise with vibrant colors
- **Vintage film**: Grainy texture with warm color grading

### Genre Styles

- **Sci-fi**: Futuristic technology and alien landscapes
- **Fantasy**: Magical elements and mythical creatures
- **Horror**: Dark atmosphere with suspenseful elements
- **Romance**: Soft lighting and intimate moments
- **Adventure**: Dynamic action and exploration

## Advanced Techniques

### Storytelling Elements

**Character Development**:
```
A young artist struggles with a blank canvas, then inspiration strikes. Their face lights up as they begin painting with passionate strokes, colors flowing across the surface as their vision comes to life.
```

**Narrative Arc**:
```
A seed falls into rich soil, sprouts into a small plant, grows through seasons of rain and sun, and finally blooms into a magnificent tree that provides shelter for forest creatures.
```

### Emotional Resonance

**Joy and Wonder**:
```
A child discovers a music box in an attic, winding it up to reveal a tiny dancing figure. Their eyes widen with delight as the melody plays and memories of their grandmother flood back.
```

**Melancholy and Beauty**:
```
Autumn leaves fall gently around an empty park bench where an elderly man once fed pigeons. The golden light filters through bare branches as the last leaf drifts to the ground.
```

## Pro Tips Summary

1. **Be specific about physics** - Describe how objects move and interact
2. **Include audio descriptions** - Ambient sounds enhance the experience
3. **Use cinematic language** - Think like a film director
4. **Avoid copyrighted content** - Create original characters and concepts
5. **Describe lighting and mood** - Set the emotional tone
6. **Include camera movement** - Dynamic shots are more engaging
7. **Keep it realistic** - Sora excels at believable scenarios
8. **Layer details** - Multiple elements create rich scenes

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

### Content Issues
- Using real celebrity names or likenesses
- Referencing copyrighted characters or brands
- Including inappropriate or violent content
- Requesting specific copyrighted music

### Technical Issues
- Vague or overly simple prompts
- Conflicting physics or impossible scenarios
- Ignoring audio elements in descriptions
- Not specifying camera work or style

## Best Practices

### Planning Your Video
1. **Start with concept** - What story are you telling?
2. **Define the mood** - What emotion should viewers feel?
3. **Choose your style** - Realistic, artistic, or stylized?
4. **Plan the motion** - What moves and how?
5. **Consider audio** - What should viewers hear?

### Iterating and Improving
- **Test variations** - Try different approaches to the same concept
- **Build on success** - Expand prompts that work well
- **Learn from failures** - Analyze what didn't work and why
- **Study examples** - Learn from successful community prompts

## Getting Help

If you need assistance with Sora 2:
- Experiment with the example prompts in this guide
- Start simple and gradually add complexity
- Join the community to share and learn from others
- Contact support for technical issues

## Conclusion

Sora 2 is a powerful tool for creative video generation. Success comes from understanding its strengths, respecting its limitations, and crafting detailed, imaginative prompts that bring your vision to life.

Remember: Focus on original content, detailed descriptions, and realistic physics for the best results! 🎬✨


Master OpenAI Sora 2 video generation with professional prompting techniques, tips, and best practices