AI Video for Beginners, Part 1: Prepare Your First Frame
Start with a photo you took yourself. Choose the aspect ratio, compose a simple scene and plan one movement before generating your first AI video shot.
You open a video generator and stare at the prompt box. “Cinematic” sounds good, but what are you actually going to film?
Leave the prompt box for a moment. First, decide what is in the frame and how it should move.
In this series, we’ll make a short video about a café before it opens. Today, we’ll prepare just one shot.
Take a simple photo
Use your phone to photograph a cup of coffee by a window. Keep the background uncluttered and the rim of the cup fully visible. For your first attempt, avoid people, fingers and prominent text: fewer details mean fewer things the model has to keep consistent.
If you plan to post a vertical video, compose the photo in 9:16 from the start. Leave room beside the cup for a caption. Make sure the photo is sharp and the highlights aren’t blown out.
No coffee? A book or desk lamp works too. You don’t need to buy props. Using your own photo also makes image licensing simpler.
Plan just one movement
The instruction for this shot is simple:
Keep the cup still. Move the camera slowly closer.
Don’t add pouring coffee, a hand picking up the cup or a camera orbit around the table yet. Packing several actions into a short shot makes distortion more likely and problems harder to diagnose.
The workflow is: prepare the first frame → plan the movement → generate a preview → check for distortion.
Pick a tool with these three features
Choose an accessible video generator that supports image-to-video, a vertical aspect ratio and short clips. Kling, Jimeng and Runway are starting points to explore; availability and features depend on your account and region.
You don’t need to decide which model is best today, or buy an annual subscription. Check the credit cost of a single generation and use the lowest usable settings for this exercise.
That’s enough for today
Save the first-frame photo and one sentence: “A coffee cup by a window; the camera moves slowly closer.”
Check three things: a clear subject, the right aspect ratio and one simple movement. Once they’re in place, you’re ready to generate.
Continue with Part 2: generate your first usable shot, or see the full beginner’s guide.