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/IMAGINE

A P R O M P T F O R M U L A F O R M I D J O U R N E Y
PROMPTING
Today, our main focus is on Prompting. Now, here’s the thing you need to remember - there’s absolutely no hard and fast rule to prompting.
Even simple instructions like:

/imagine stunning

/imagine beautiful

Can conjure up images that are nothing short of remarkable. But if you’ve got a specific image in mind, we’ve got a trick up our sleeve. By
adopting a certain format, which we’re about to delve into in this workbook, you’re more likely to generate visuals that align closely with your
vision.

/IMAGINE STUNNING /IMAGINE BEAUTIFUL

THE PROMPT FORMULA

(Medium) (Style/Composition) (Scene) (Modulate)

(Dash, Dash)
This is the basic format of the prompt syntax
that is very useful for Midjourney, as well as a
number of other AI image generators. The EXAMPLE OF AN INEFFECTIVE PROMPT
formula is designed to be easily “read” by
large language models, which, as we have
learned from ChatGPT, do not parse instruc-
tions as we do but rather synthesize informa-
tion line by line. By utilizing this structure, we
are maximizing our instructions to Midjourney.
Its strength also lies in its minimization,
considering Midjourney has a token limit of
about 77 tokens per prompt. More on the
topic of tokens can be found here::
https://youtu.be/cH8UdeaYQls
ITHIN THE BRACKETS, WE HAVE TOLD MIDJOURNEY TO SEPERATE THE PROMPT INTO TWO SEPERATE PROMPTS, ONE FOR A KING AND ONE FOR A QUEEN. V

MEDIUM
LET’S BEGIN WITH A VERY SIMPLE PROMPT AND SEE HOW WE CAN MODIFY IT IN THE FIRST SECTION: MEDIUM. “MEDIUM” CAN REFER TO ANYTHING
FROM OIL PAINTING TO PHOTOGRAPHY TO ILLUSTRATION. FOR THIS EXAMPLE, WE WILL ONLY CHANGE THE MEDIUM IN THE PROMPT.

T H O R E T I C A L LY
V.5

M E D I A
YOU ARE NOT LIMITED TO JUST THESE MEDIUMS. FEEL FREE TO EXPERIMENT AND CONTINUE EXPLORING VARIOUS ARTISTIC IDEAS THAT YOU CAN INTRODUCE
TO YOUR IMAGES! THERE ARE COUNTLESS POSSIBILITIES TO UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY.
STYLE AND
COMPOSITION
THE STYLE SECTION IS OPTIONAL BUT OFTEN
HELPS IN SPECIFYING THE SPECIFIC LOOK YOU ARE

T H O R E T I C A L LY
AIMING FOR. IN THIS SECTION, YOU CAN MENTION
GENRES OR EVEN SPECIFIC ARTIST NAMES. HOWEV-
ER, PLEASE NOTE THAT MIDJOURNEY MAY NOT BE
FAMILIAR WITH EVERY ARTIST NAME YOU REFER-
ENCE, SO YOU MAY NEED TO EXPERIMENT A BIT TO
ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULT.

3D ANIMATED FILM, STYLE BY PIXAR, BUSINESSMAN WALKING DOWN A BUSY CITY STREET,
BLUE COLOR PALETTE --AR 16:9

M E D I A
CHANGING THE STYLE BY TO “TIM BURTON” FROM “PIXAR” DID
NOT RESULT IN AN OVERLY “TIM BURTON” STYLE, BUT IT DID
HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE OVERALL TONE OF THE IMAGE. THE
WARM YELLOWS HAVE BEEN REMOVED, AND BACKGROUND
CHARACTERS ARE NOW SHADOWED, CREATING A DARKER AND
MORE MOODY ATMOSPHERE. IT SHOWCASES THE INFLUENCE
OF TIM BURTON’S SIGNATURE STYLE, ALBEIT IN A SUBTLER
MANNER.

3D ANIMATED FILM, STYLE BY TIM BURTON, BUSINESSMAN WALKING DOWN

A BUSY CITY STREET, BLUE COLOR PALETTE --AR 16:9
WITHIN THE COMPOSITION/SHOT SECTION, WE CAN SPECIFY VARIOUS CAMERA ANGLES AND SHOTS TO DIRECT THE IMAGE. HERE IS A BRIEF
OVERVIEW OF THEIR POTENTIAL RESULTS:

T H O R E T I C A L LY
PHOTOGRAPH, LONG SHOT, BUSINESSMAN WALKING DOWN A PHOTOGRAPH, CLOSE UP, BUSINESSMAN WALKING DOWN A
BUSY CITY STREET, BLUE COLOR PALLETE --AR 16:9 BUSY CITY STREET, BLUE COLOR PALLETE --AR 16:9

M E D I A
PHOTOGRAPH, SATELLITE VIEW, BUSINESSMAN WALKING DOWN PHOTOGRAPH, WIDE ANGLE, BUSINESSMAN WALKING DOWN A
A BUSY CITY STREET, BLUE COLOR PALLETE --AR 16:9 BUSY CITY STREET, BLUE COLOR PALLETE --AR 16:9
SHOT LIST
WIDE-ANGLE SHOT - THIS REFERS TO A TECHNIQUE WHERE THE CAMERA LOW-ANGLE SHOT - THIS SHOT POSITIONS THE CAMERA ON THE GROUND
IS POSITIONED AT A DISTANCE FROM THE SUBJECT, CAPTURING A BROAD- LEVEL AND ANGLES IT UPWARDS, AMPLIFYING THE SUBJECT'S PRESENCE
ER VIEW OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND CONTEXT. AND DOMINANCE, SIMILAR TO A PUPPY LOOKING UP AT A HUMAN.

ULTRA-WIDE ANGLE - THIS TYPE OF SHOT INVOLVES POSITIONING THE FULL-SHOT ANGLE - A SHOT WHERE THE ENTIRETY OF YOUR SUBJECT OR

CAMERA AT AN EXTENSIVE DISTANCE FROM THE SUBJECT, ENCOMPASSING
A MASSIVE PART OF THE SCENE, PROVIDING A MORE COMPREHENSIVE
PERSPECTIVE.
SATELLITE VIEW - A UNIQUE SHOT WHERE THE CAMERA MIMICS A BIRD'S-
EYE VIEW AS IF FROM THE STRATOSPHERE, GIVING AN OVERVIEW OF THE
ENTIRE LANDSCAPE OR AREA, AKIN TO SATELLITE IMAGERY.
EYE-LEVEL SHOT - THIS SHOT PLACES THE CAMERA ON THE SAME PLANE
AS THE SUBJECT'S HEAD, CREATING AN INTIMATE, STRAIGHTFORWARD
PERSPECTIVE THAT MIMICS HOW HUMANS TYPICALLY SEE EACH OTHER IN
T H O R E T I C A L LY
SCENE IS WITHIN THE FRAME, PROVIDING A COMPLETE VIEW OF THE AC-
TION OR CONTEXT.
FULL-BODY SHOT - THIS REFERS TO A SHOT WHERE THE SUBJECT'S EN-
TIRE BODY, FROM HEAD TO TOE, IS IN VIEW, ENCAPSULATING THEIR FULL
PRESENCE WITHIN THE SCENE.
GLAMOUR SHOT - A TYPICALLY FLATTERING DEPICTION OF THE SUBJECT,
VARYING IN TERMS OF ZOOM, LIGHTING, AND ANGLE TO HIGHLIGHT THE
SUBJECT'S BEAUTY OR ATTRACTIVENESS.

DAILY INTERACTION.
FAR-SHOT ANGLE - A COMPOSITION WHERE THE SUBJECT APPEARS SMALL
OR DISTANT WITHIN THE SCENE, EMPHASIZING THEIR SURROUNDINGS
AND THE CONTEXT OF THE LOCATION.
M E D I A
CINEMATIC STILL SHOT - THIS TYPE OF SHOT FOCUSES ON THE SETTING
AND BACKGROUND, PORTRAYING THE SUBJECT WITHIN THE WIDER CON-
TEXT TO EVOKE MOOD, ATMOSPHERE, OR NARRATIVE SIGNIFICANCE.

MEDIUM-SHOT ANGLE - HERE, THE CAMERA'S PERSPECTIVE IS AKIN TO

A CHILD LOOKING UP AT A PARENT, OFTEN TAKEN FROM AROUND KNEE
LEVEL AND ANGLED UPWARDS TOWARDS THE SUBJECT.

GROUND-SHOT ANGLE - THIS INVOLVES SHOOTING FROM KNEE LEV-

EL, BUT IN THIS CASE, THE CAMERA IS ANGLED DOWNWARDS TOWARDS
THE SUBJECT, AS IF A TALLER FIGURE (LIKE A PARENT) IS OBSERVING A
SHORTER ONE (LIKE A CHILD).
SCENE
Photograph, Medium shot, busi-
nessman, ripped suit, holding a ka-
tana, walking down a apocalyptic
city street, blue color pallete --ar
The scene is a comprehensive term that encompasses ev- 16:9
ery component of the image we aim to generate, including

T H O R E T I C A L LY
the subject, actions, props, and location. When crafting an
effective AI image generator prompt, it’s important to con-
sider each element individually, then integrate them into
a cohesive whole.
IT’S OFTEN USEFUL TO WORK IN THE ORDER MENTIONED:
FROM SUBJECT, ACTION, PROPS, TO LOCATION. THIS SE- Cinematic still, romantic comedy,
QUENCE ALLOWS FOR A PROGRESSION OF DETAIL THAT Medium shot, businessman, holding
TYPICALLY ALIGNS WITH HOW WE NATURALLY ENVISION flowers, walking down a city street,
SCENES. HOWEVER, FEEL FREE TO EXPERIMENT, AS THE blue color pallete --ar 16:9
FLEXIBILITY OF MIDJOURNEY MEANS YOU CAN ALSO EX-
PERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT SEQUENCES IF THAT BETTER

M E D I A
SUITS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS.

Cinematic Still, Crime film, Medium

shot, businessman, holding brief-
case, walking down a city street,
blue color pallete --ar 16:9

V5.1 RAW
ACTION EXPERIMENT
EXPERIMENT WITH STYLE FOR WILDLY DIFFERENT RESULTS
A NOTE ON THE BULLSEYE COMPOSITION, WHERE THE CHARACTER IS
STANDING DEAD CENTER FRAME WITH THEIR BACK TO THE CAMERA. TO
AVOID A STATIC AND UNINTERESTING COMPOSITION, IT CAN BE HELPFUL
Photograph, style by Grim-
TO GIVE YOUR CHARACTER SOME ACTION OR EMOTION. FOR EXAMPLE:
dark, a viking gripping his
CINEMATIC STILL, FILM BY DAVID FINCHER, A DETECTIVE, LAUGHING

T H O R E T I C A L LY
battle axe, a snowy village
WHILE WRITING IN A NOTEPAD, CRIME SCENE, CITY STREET, BLUE COLOR
behind him --ar 16:9
PALLETE --AR 16:9

Style by Wes Anderson, a

viking gripping his battle
axe, a snowy village behind
him --ar 16:9

M E D I A
BY SPECIFYING THE ACTION OF “LAUGHING,” WE INDICATE TO
MIDJOURNEY THAT WE DESIRE TO SEE THE CHARACTER’S FACE IN THE Fashion Show, style by
GENERATED IMAGE. HOWEVER, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT ACHIEVING Giorgio Armani, a viking
SIMILAR RESULTS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ASCRIBING EMOTIONS TO gripping his battle axe, a
THE “EYES” OF THE CHARACTER. FOR INSTANCE, MENTIONING “SAD EYES” snowy village behind him
OR “BRIGHT EYES” ALLOWS FOR CONVEYING SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS --ar 16:9
WITHOUT EXPLICITLY STATING THE ACTION, ENABLING MIDJOURNEY TO
UNDERSTAND THE DESIRED EMOTIONAL PORTRAYAL AND GENERATE AN
IMAGE ACCORDINGLY.
ITHIN THE BRACKETS, WE HAVE TOLD MIDJOURNEY TO SEPERATE THE PROMPT INTO TWO SEPERATE PROMPTS, ONE FOR A KING AND ONE FOR A QUEEN. V

MODULATE
MODULATE ARE ELEMENTS ADDED TO AN IMAGE THAT ALTER OR ENHANCE ITS BASIC COMPOSITION. THEY CAN SHAPE THE MOOD, ATMOSPHERE, OR
ADD A LAYER OF DETAIL TO THE SCENE. EXAMPLES INCLUDING: WEATHER, LIGHTING, TIME OF DAY, COLOR THEME, OR OVERALL MOOD

T H O R E T I C A L LY
cold, snowing Summer, hot

M E D I A
Summer, hot

Autumn colors, fall day night, rain, heavy fog

THESE IMAGES WERE CREATED WITH THE SAME BASE PROMPT: “PHOTOGRAPH, STYLE BY CYBERPUNK, WOMAN WITH LONG WHITE HAIR AND COMBAT ARMOR
CITY ALLEY, XXXXX” MODIFIED ONLY AT THE END WITH THE FINAL MODULATION KEYWORDS.
 DASH DASH
A DISTINCT CATEGORY IN ITSELF. DUE TO ITS VAST ARRAY OF COMMANDS, IT DEMANDS A SEPARATE DEDICATED VIDEO FOR A THOROUGH DIS-
CUSSION. I WILL COVER ALL THESE COMMANDS IN ANOTHER VIDEO, IN THE MEANTIME I WANT TO SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON AN OFTEN-OVER-
LOOKED FEATURE - THE CHAOS PARAMETER. THIS POWERFUL TOOL, ALTHOUGH LESS COMMONLY USED, CAN BE QUITE INSPIRING

T H O R E T I C A L LY
M E D I A
BY SIMPLY RUNNING THE PROMPT: CINEMATIC STILL, STYLE BY WARHAMMER WITH A --C 100
VALUE, WE ARE PROVIDED WITH A VARIETY OF IMAGANITVE SCENES. BECAUSE OF THE
KULESHOV EFFECT WE CANNOT HELP BUT DERIVE MORE MEANING FROM THE INTERACTION OF
THESE IMAGES, AND INSTANTLY TELL OURSELVES A “STORY” ABOUT THEM.
ULTIMATILY, THIS IS A SUPEREMLY QUICK “HACK” FOR STORY OR WORLD BUILDING
EXPLORATIONS.
THANK
YOU!
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