Long video: stages and end states

A longer duration is not a longer prompt. It is a sequence of stages, each with one primary change and a stated end state. Get that structure right and the piece holds; get it wrong and extra length only produces more drift.

Structure

[Goal]
  One sentence: what kind of piece, the central subject, the primary event.

[Global]
  Environment and texture · visual style · camera language · subject styling ·
  performance core · prohibitions

[Stage 1]
  Initial state: characters, props, scene as the piece opens
  Primary event: ONE action or change
  End state: what is visibly true when this stage ends

[Stage 2]
  Continue from: what must remain unchanged from the previous stage
  Primary event: ONE action or change
  End state: ...

[Stage n]
  Primary event: the closing event
  End state: the final visible state

[Consistency]
  What holds across every stage: identity, subject count, wardrobe, prop
  ownership, spatial direction, audio relationships

Restate the two or three most expensive consistency items at the physical end.

The rules that matter

One primary change per stage. Two changes in one stage means the model chooses which to honour. Split them.

Every stage ends on something visible. Not a mood, not "continues" — a checkable state:

End state: the florist holds the bouquet in the left hand; the scissors are
back on the right side of the bench.

Positions, who holds what, what is open or closed, what has left frame. If you cannot check it on a still frame, it is not an end state.

Each stage names what carries over. Continue from the previous stage: both characters keep the same identities and clothing; the florist still holds the bouquet. This is where identity drift gets caught before it starts.

The closing stage needs an end state too. The most common omission, and the reason pieces trail off instead of landing.

Timestamps: only when something external demands them

Stages are the default. Reach for one-second precision only for a critical handoff, an entrance or exit, a transition, or a beat that must land at a fixed time.

Pattern	Form	Use for
Time range	`0–5s ... 5–10s ... 10–15s`	Allocating pacing across stages
Exact point	`at 5s the camera whip-pans left and completes the transition`	One critical beat
Relative	`three seconds after the button is pressed, the lights fade`	A delay between events

Rules:

Ranges must be consecutive and non-overlapping.
A range is a time budget, not an edit point. Actions may land slightly before or after a boundary.
Too little content in a range gives the model more freedom; too much causes over-cutting or dropped events.
Never demand a frequency such as "complete three actions in one second".
Combine ranges with end states. A range says how long; the end state says what must be true when it is over. The end state is doing the real work.

If a model's timing adherence is weak, drop to stages — a timestamp the model does not honour is worse than no timestamp, because it looks like control. See model profile.

Worked shape

[Goal]
An instructional video showing a flower shop's order-packing process. A florist
and a store assistant arrange, wrap, and hand off a bouquet together.

[Stage 1]
Initial state: the florist stands behind the workbench; loose stems, scissors,
and wrapping paper lie on the tabletop.
Primary event: the florist arranges the stems and trims them to length.
End state: the florist holds the bouquet in the left hand; the scissors are back
on the right side of the workbench.

[Stage 2]
Continue from: both characters keep the same identities and clothing; the florist
still holds the bouquet.
Primary event: the assistant unfolds the wrapping paper; the florist places the
bouquet inside and ties it with a green ribbon.
End state: the wrapped bouquet lies flat in the centre of the workbench, ribbon
bow facing the camera.

[Stage 3]
Primary event: the assistant lifts the bouquet onto the pickup shelf.
End state: the bouquet sits centred on the pickup shelf; both characters stand
behind the workbench inspecting the finished order.

[Consistency]
Keep both identities, both outfits, the workbench orientation, the scissors
position, and bouquet ownership consistent throughout.

Note the absence of adjective stacking and per-stage camera vocabulary. The Global block carries the look; the end states carry the structure.

Beyond a single request

When the piece exceeds what one request supports, chain instead of cramming:

Split at a point where a stage genuinely ends, not mid-action.
Feed the real generated tail forward — see editing and extension.
Each segment still needs its own end states.

A chain is an alignment aid, not a guarantee of an invisible seam. Inspect both sides of every boundary.