Reel10 Claude Code video prompts you can copy and paste
A good Claude Code video prompt names four things: the topic, the look, the length and the frame size. It also asks Claude to show a plan and one still before it renders anything. Below are ten prompts you can paste as they are, each written for a different look, with a link to that style's page.
These prompts assume Claude Code writes the scenes in HTML and JavaScript and a renderer such as HyperFrames records them to MP4 on your own computer. If you haven't set that up yet, start with how to make animated videos with Claude Code. Replace the topic in brackets with your own.
Why a prompt needs a look
Without a look, Claude falls back on a stock look with flat clip-art people and plain shapes. Naming a look gives it a palette, a type of character and a way of moving. A style kit goes further, because it holds those rules as files the agent reads. The prompts below work with or without one, but they work best when the look is written down.
Every prompt ends with the same line: show the plan, then one still, and wait. A change to a plan is one line of text. The same change after a render means rendering again.
The 10 prompts
1. A cartoon story with a cast
For a story about a habit or a mistake, where the same characters appear in every scene. See the Night-city TV toon page.
Make a 40-second 16:9 cartoon about [a bad habit]. Use thick wobbly outlines, flat colour and a night-time palette that warms up at the end. Keep the same two characters in every scene. Show me the scene plan and one still of scene 1 before you render, then wait.
2. A money story with jokes
For stories about money mistakes, with a joke every 10 to 20 seconds. See the Round-head newsroom cartoon page.
Make a 45-second 16:9 video about [a money mistake]. Use round-headed cartoon people in bright offices, one joke every 10 to 20 seconds, and big caption words on screen. Show the plan and a still first, then wait.
3. A dark data explainer
For numbers, rankings and "how it works" topics. See the Dark data explainer page.
Make a 60-second 16:9 explainer about [a topic with numbers]. Use a dark background, clean charts that draw themselves and one big number per scene. Put the source for each figure in small text at the bottom. Show the plan and a still of the first chart before you render.
4. A whiteboard explainer
For a concept that is easier to draw than to say. See the Whiteboard explainer page.
Make a 60-second 16:9 whiteboard video that explains [a concept] to a beginner. Draw each idea with a marker on a white board, one idea at a time, and erase between sections. Show the script and a still after the first drawing, then wait.
5. An isometric infographic
For systems, flows and "what happens inside" topics. See the Isometric infographic page.
Make a 45-second 16:9 video about how [a process] works. Use an isometric infographic look with small labelled blocks, arrows that animate along the path, and a soft pastel palette. Show me the plan and one still before you render.
6. Moving text for a vertical Short
For a punchy 9:16 clip made only of words. See the Kinetic type page.
Make a 25-second 9:16 video at 1080 x 1920 about [one surprising fact]. Use only moving text: one short line at a time, large type, a hard cut on each beat. Keep every word inside the safe area, away from the top and bottom edges. Show me a still of the first two lines before you render.
7. A watercolour film
For calm, story-led topics such as travel, nature and history. See the Watercolour brush page.
Make a 40-second 16:9 film about [a place or a season]. Use soft watercolour washes, visible brush edges and a muted palette. Let each scene bloom in from a blank page. Show the plan and a still of scene 1 before you render.
8. A clay stop-motion look
For a handmade, playful feel. See the Claymation page.
Make a 30-second 16:9 video about [a small everyday story]. Use plasticine characters and sets animated on twos, with thumbprints and lumpy edges. Keep one main character the same size and colour in every scene. Show me the plan and a still first.
9. A blueprint of how something is built
For product, engineering and "how it is made" topics. See the Blueprint page.
Make a 45-second 16:9 video that shows how [an object or system] is put together. Use a blueprint look: white lines on blue, a fine grid, and parts that draw themselves while a label appears next to each one. Show the plan and a still before you render.
10. A lyric video
For a song, a poem or a voiceover read line by line. See the Lyric karaoke page.
Make a 9:16 lyric video from the text in lyrics.txt and the audio in song.mp3. Highlight each word as it is sung, keep two lines on screen at a time, and match the video length to the audio. Show a still of the first verse before you render.
How to get better results from any prompt
- Give a number for the length. "Short" means something different to every model, and "40 seconds" does not.
- Give the frame size. 16:9 is 1920 x 1080 and 9:16 is 1080 x 1920. A vertical Short is its own film, so read how to make YouTube Shorts in 9:16 before you crop a wide one.
- Ask for the plan first, then a still, then the render. Stills are cheap and renders are slow.
- If a character changes from scene to scene, read how to keep cartoon characters consistent.
- Want a voice on top? The order matters, so see how to add a voiceover.
From prompts to a style kit
A prompt describes a look in a few lines. A kit holds it as files: the palette, the characters, scene templates, motion rules and a checklist Claude grades its own frames against. ReelStyles has 126 styles ready to use, and 46 of them also have a vertical template. Browse them in the style catalog, and see what the one-time licence includes on the pricing page.
What these prompts cannot do
They make drawn and designed looks: cartoons, paper, paint, charts, motion graphics and toy-like 3D. They can't make realistic footage of people or places. For that you need a video model, and you pay per second of video.