Important for developers: As of November 9, 2026, OpenAI says the Sora API was discontinued on September 24, 2026. The Sora web and app experiences were discontinued earlier, on April 26, 2026. So these examples can help you write or adapt creative video prompts, but you cannot submit them to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora API now. (help.openai.com)
The examples below are original creative briefs—not tested prompts, guaranteed outputs, or API requests. They focus on a clear subject, setting, action, and a few relevant visual directions. OpenAI’s archived Sora 2 prompting guide recommends treating a prompt as direction for a shot, leaving room for creative variation, and iterating when needed. The guide also warns that it may refer to outdated models or APIs. (developers.openai.com)
Copyable Sora 2 prompt examples
1. Cinematic rainy-night scene
A lone cyclist rides slowly along a rain-slick city street at night. Neon signs shimmer in the puddles as the cyclist passes beneath them. Begin with a wide view of the street, then track alongside the cyclist. Cool blue light with small warm highlights; quiet, reflective mood. Rain patters on the pavement, with distant traffic in the background.
Adapt it: Change the cyclist to a subject that fits your idea, such as a delivery robot or a dog with its owner. Replace the city with a train station, empty boardwalk, or another specific setting. Keep the single main action if you want the scene to feel focused.
2. Small human moment
Medium shot of a woman at a kitchen table, carefully folding a handwritten letter. She pauses, looks toward the rain-streaked window, then folds the letter and slips it into an envelope. Soft gray daylight; warm light from a lamp falls across her hands. Hold on the final moment before she seals the envelope.
Adapt it: Swap the letter for a photograph, recipe card, or postcard. To change the mood, adjust the light and the final action—not every detail at once.
3. Light comedy with a clear contrast
In a quiet office, a small corgi stands beside a whiteboard covered in neat charts. The dog taps one chart with a paw while three employees listen with serious expressions. Keep the camera at the dog’s eye level; bright office lighting and a completely earnest presentation style.
Adapt it: Replace the dog with an unexpected presenter, such as a parrot or a toy robot. The joke comes from the contrast between the unusual subject and the serious setting; keep that contrast clear.
4. Nature documentary moment
At dawn, a fox steps out from the edge of a pine forest into a quiet meadow. It pauses to listen, then walks through dew-covered grass as mist drifts behind it. Start with a wide view of the meadow and slowly move closer as the fox enters the frame. Muted green and gold; still, observant mood. Add faint birdsong and rustling grass as background sound.
Adapt it: Change the animal, habitat, and time of day. If you want the subject to be easy to follow, keep the action simple—here, the fox enters, pauses, and continues walking.
5. Product-style close-up
Close-up of a ceramic mug on a wooden table beside a bright window. Steam rises as a hand enters frame, lifts the mug, and carries it out of view. Soft morning light reveals the glaze and wood grain. Keep the mug in focus as the hand lifts it; calm, uncluttered composition.
Adapt it: Replace the mug with the object you want to feature. Change the surface, light source, and action to suit the product. Skip background objects that do not help communicate the main action.
A simple prompt structure
There is no required formula in the archived guide. As a practical starting point, write a short paragraph that answers these questions:
- What is the subject? Give one or two identifying details.
- Where is it? Name the setting and any essential environmental detail.
- What happens? Describe one clear action, or a few sequential beats.
- How should the shot look? Add camera direction, lighting, color, or mood only when useful.
- Is sound important? If so, describe the sound you want as creative direction; don’t assume a particular tool or API supports it.
For example, turn “a person in a café” into a more directed scene:
A barista at a small café counter sets a cup on a saucer, wipes a drop of coffee from the counter, then smiles at a customer entering. Medium shot at counter height; warm window light and a quiet morning atmosphere.
The added details identify a subject, setting, and sequence of actions. They are directions to try, not controls that guarantee a particular result.
How to refine a prompt
If a prompt feels vague or overloaded, use this small revision loop:
- Write the baseline: subject, setting, and main action.
- Identify what’s missing: Is the action unclear? Is the setting doing useful work? Is the camera direction important to the idea?
- Change one thing: Add or revise one detail, such as the action’s order or the camera’s position.
- Compare versions: Keep track of the wording you changed and the result, if you are using a video tool that is currently available to you.
For example, an overloaded direction might describe a crowded market, several vendors, multiple shoppers, three camera moves, a chase, and a dialogue exchange. Simplify it first:
A shopper picks up a red apple at a quiet market stall, turns it in the light, then places it in a paper bag. Medium shot; soft daylight.
Then add only the detail that matters most to your intent—for example, a close camera follow as the apple is placed in the bag. OpenAI’s archived guide says the same prompt can produce different results and recommends iteration; because that guide is archived, treat it as historical guidance, not a description of today’s API. (developers.openai.com)
Can you use these examples with the Sora production API?
Not with OpenAI’s Sora API now. OpenAI’s Help Center lists September 24, 2026, as the API discontinuation date. Since that date has passed, this article does not provide a Sora API endpoint, authentication instructions, request example, or result-retrieval steps. (help.openai.com)
The archived Sora 2 prompting guide historically distinguished creative prompt text from API parameters such as model, size, and clip duration. But it explicitly says it may reference outdated models or APIs. Do not copy its old model identifiers, settings, or request patterns as instructions for a currently supported production API. (developers.openai.com)
If you are maintaining an application that used Sora, check your own integration and logs for calls that need to be removed or replaced. Choose a currently supported video-generation service only after checking that provider’s own documentation for availability, authentication, supported inputs, request fields, and output retrieval. These Sora 2 examples can be adapted as creative briefs, but their compatibility with another model is not established here.
The takeaway
Use the examples as starting points: make the subject and action clear, then add only the setting, camera, lighting, mood, or sound details your idea needs. Revise one direction at a time rather than assuming a longer prompt is better. For production use, note that OpenAI’s Sora API was discontinued on September 24, 2026; these prompts are not executable through that API today. (help.openai.com)
Sources
What to know about the Sora discontinuation — OpenAI Help Center