Kling 4.0 Prompt Guide: Structure, Examples and Tips
A practical Kling 4.0 prompt guide: a six-part formula, camera and lighting vocabulary, multi-beat and dialogue tips, and eight prompts to adapt.
The core of this Kling 4.0 prompt guide: describe what the camera sees, in order, with specific nouns and verbs. Everything here applies to the single prompt box in the AI video generator. For background on the model, see What Is Kling 4.0? and the Kling 4.0 Flash early reviews.
Kling 4.0 prompt guide: the six-part formula
Cover six parts, in this order: subject, action, setting, camera, light and style, sound.
An elderly beekeeper in a white veiled hat lifts a honey-dripping frame and turns it toward the sun. A hillside apiary at sunrise. Medium close-up, slow push-in. Low backlight, 35mm film look. Sound: humming bees, a distant rooster.
| Part | In the example | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | elderly beekeeper, white veiled hat | Two visual details |
| Action | lifts, turns | Verbs in time order |
| Setting | hillside apiary at sunrise | Place and time of day |
| Camera | medium close-up, slow push-in | Framing, then a move |
| Light and style | low backlight, 35mm film look | One cue each |
| Sound | bees, rooster | Near and far layers |
Camera, light and style vocabulary
For each shot, pick one size, one or two moves, one lighting setup and one look.
Shot sizes and angles
| Term | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Wide or extreme wide | The whole location |
| Medium | Gestures and conversation |
| Close-up | A face or product |
| Macro | Droplets, fibers, fine print |
| Over-the-shoulder | Dialogue seen past one speaker |
| Low angle | A powerful-looking subject |
| High angle or top-down | Overviews and flat lays |
Camera movements
| Move | What it does |
|---|---|
| Push-in | Moves closer; builds tension |
| Pull-out | Moves away; reveals the setting |
| Pan | Turns sideways from one spot |
| Tilt | Turns up or down |
| Dolly | Glides alongside or toward the subject |
| Orbit | Circles the subject |
| Crane | Rises or drops over the scene |
| Handheld | Slight shake; documentary feel |
| Tracking | Follows a moving subject |
| FPV or drone | Fast dives or smooth aerial glides |
Give each move a speed: slow push-in, fast pan.
Lighting
| Term | Mood |
|---|---|
| Golden hour | Warm, low sun, long shadows |
| Blue hour | Cool, calm twilight |
| Overcast | Soft, even, true colors |
| Neon or practical lights | Colored glow from signs and screens |
| Low-key | Mostly dark; mystery |
| Rim light | A bright edge around the subject |
Looks and styles
| Look | Words to try |
|---|---|
| Film | 35mm grain, 16mm documentary, anamorphic widescreen |
| Commercial | glossy studio, clean white backdrop |
| Animation | cel-shaded anime, hand-drawn 2D, stop-motion clay |
| Illustration | watercolor, ink wash, comic panels |
| Retro | VHS home video, Super 8 |
Pacing words
| Word | Effect |
|---|---|
| Slow motion | Stretches a moment |
| Time-lapse | Compresses hours: clouds, crowds, traffic |
| Gradually | Spreads a change across the clip |
| Suddenly | Puts a sharp change at one moment |
| Holds on | Ends on a steady final image |
Writing multi-beat prompts
A beat is one change on screen. List beats in order with sequence words (first, then, finally), one verb each; two or three suit a short clip.
First, a street artist chalks a cat on the sidewalk. Then the drawing blinks. Finally, the cat climbs out of the drawing and trots away. Top-down shot, static camera. Sound: chalk scraping, a soft meow.
Put camera and style after the beats unless the camera changes mid-shot.
Writing sound and dialogue
Sound is generated with the picture, so close with a "Sound:" sentence built from these layers:
- Ambience: surf, office hum, wind in pines.
- Effects: footsteps on gravel, a cork popping.
- Music: mood, tempo, instrument ("slow, hopeful strings").
- Dialogue: exact words in double quotes.
Tie each line to a visible speaker and keep it short: The man in the gray coat whispers, "Keep the change." Kling AI lists multilingual speech as a Kling 4.0 feature, so write lines in the language you want. To follow your own track, upload it and write "match the rhythm of @audio1."
Phrasing tips
- Say what you want. There's no negative-prompt field: write "an empty beach at dawn," not "a beach with no people."
- Prefer concrete nouns. "A dented red pickup" beats "a cool old truck."
- One main action per beat. "She reads the letter, laughs, cries and calls her sister" needs several beats.
Example prompts by use case
Set the aspect ratio shown, then swap in your own subject.
Ad (16:9)
A grandfather lets go of his granddaughter's bike seat and she pedals off alone. Side tracking shot, warm late-afternoon light. Sound: a clicking chain, gentle ukulele.
Social hook (9:16)
A sugar cube drops into sparkling lemonade and erupts over the rim. Close-up, fast push-in, slow motion. Sound: a sharp fizz, a surprised laugh.
Cinematic (21:9)
A diver's helmet lamp sweeps across a sunken ballroom as chandeliers sway and fish scatter. Slow follow shot behind the diver, blue-green haze, light shafts from above. Sound: muffled breathing, deep creaks.
Anime or illustration (16:9)
Cel-shaded anime style. A boy chases a runaway kite along a windy seaside cliff and catches the string. Side-on tracking shot, sun-bleached pastel palette. Sound: gusting wind, cicadas.
Product (1:1, needs one product photo)
The watch in @image1 rests on folded linen as a strip of morning sun crosses the dial. Macro close-up, slow orbit, soft window light. Sound: a quiet tick, distant birdsong.
Travel or b-roll (16:9)
A yellow tram climbs a steep cobblestone street in Lisbon. Slow pan with the tram, then tilt up to the tiled facades. Bright morning light. Sound: tram bell, rattling rails.
Dialogue (16:9)
A diner at night. An older waitress refills a trucker's coffee and asks, "Long way from home?" He watches the rain and says, "Not far enough." Over-the-shoulder shot, neon flicker. Sound: rain, a jukebox.
Music visual (9:16)
A roller skater in a sequined jacket spins under a mirror ball in an empty rink. Low orbit, slow motion on the spin. Sound: funky bassline, disco strings.
Pre-flight checklist
- All six parts are covered, even briefly.
- Beats run in order, one main action each.
- Spoken lines are quoted, each with a visible speaker.
- Every upload has an @ token and one role (reference to video). After deleting a file, re-insert mentions, since numbers follow upload order.
- Ratio, length and resolution are set in settings, not the prompt. Check the ✦ cost (pricing).
- On a re-run, change one thing and compare in My Videos.
Related guides
- Text to video: prompt-only clips.
- Image to video: animate a photo.
- Credits and troubleshooting: costs and failed runs.
- Test a prompt in the AI video generator.