Pika Labs is one of my favorite AI tools because it can generate video content from text, images, or even other videos, helping you bring your ideas to life.
The one-year-old startup has raised $80 million, bringing its total funding to $135 million, and plans to use the funding to continue developing its “best of breed video infrastructure model” and products for creators.
All AI video platforms are racing to upgrade their models to enable higher resolution, longer duration and more accurate motion generation before OpenAI officially releases Sora later this year. One big challenge is teaching the models real-world physics.
I decided to come up with 7 fun prompts you can use to create some interesting creations with Pika Labs. Each video is a 3 second single shot clip, but it's a good way to learn how to use the platform.
Prompts to try at Pika Labs
Each prompt I created describes the scene and the general movement – if you want more than just pans and tilts you'll need to go into the video settings and increase the intensity of the movements, but for the most part you can leave it at the default.
You can also apply custom styles to your video using our recently released Styles feature. This only works with text-to-video conversion, but it's a great way to ensure your clips have a consistent look, especially if you're generating multiple clips for a video.
We've also applied sound effects to each video. This feature attempts to match sound effects to both the prompt and the generated video. You can also create your own sound effects individually using ElevenLabs or Cassette AI.
1. Historical Buildings in Their Heyday
Prompt: “The Colosseum of Ancient Rome comes to life with cheering crowds, gladiators in action in the arena, and the grand architecture and vivid detail of the Roman Empire.”
Initially I tried to transition between ancient and modern Rome but struggled with the subtlety of the movement. I also tried exteriors but that seemed boring so I tried to create some sort of interior scene. This would have worked better as an image-to-video prompt using text to guide the movement.
"The Colosseum in ancient Rome, bustling with activity, with crowds cheering and gladiators in the arena, surrounded by the grand architecture and vivid details of the Roman Empire."2. Futuristic Skylines
Prompt: “A dynamic skyline of a futuristic city at dusk, with flying cars zipping between illuminated skyscrapers, an advanced public transport system and vibrant holographic advertising billboards.”
Most AI video tools do a very good job of fly-throughs of city skylines, and Pika Labs is no exception. However, it wasn't perfect, as it didn't actually show signs or transportation.
"A dynamic skyline of a futuristic city at dusk, featuring flying cars zipping between illuminated skyscrapers, advanced public transportation systems, and vibrant holographic billboards."3. Encounters with mythical creatures
Prompt: “A unicorn is walking gracefully through an enchanted forest, its mane gently swaying in the breeze. The forest is lit with a soft, magical light and shimmering dust swirls, creating an atmosphere of serene mysticism.”
At first I tried to create a flying dragon, but I couldn't get the wings to move properly, and the merging was either poor or didn't work at all. The unicorn, however, handled fine.
"A unicorn gracefully walking through an enchanted forest, its mane flowing gently in the breeze. The forest is illuminated by soft, magical lights with sparkling dust swirling around, creating a serene and mystical atmosphere."4. Interstellar Voyage
Prompt: “A spaceship passes through a stunningly colorful nebula, its light reflecting off vibrant gas clouds and stars, capturing the awe-inspiring beauty and vastness of space.”
This looks like something out of a 1960s sci-fi B-movie, but I like the look so much I decided to leave it as is. You can play around with the prompts to improve the overall quality and design. Sometimes simpler is better.
"A spaceship gliding past a stunning, colourful nebula, its lights reflecting off the vibrant gas clouds and stars, capturing the awe-inspiring beauty and vastness of space."5. Fairytale Scene
Prompt: “Glowing fairies flit around a whimsical mushroom house in an enchanted forest, leaving a trail of sparkling light with every movement, and the enchanting scene is illuminated with a soft, mysterious light.”
This is the closest thing I could come out of all the prompts I tried, and Pika Labs captured it perfectly, even down to the movement and sound of the fairy as she moves towards the mushroom.
"A glowing fairy flitting around a whimsical mushroom house in a magical forest, leaving a trail of sparkling light as it moves, with the enchanted scene illuminated by soft, mystical lights."6. Wildlife behavior (from images to videos)
This is created from an image generated in Midjourney and then deployed to Pika Labs.
Midjourney's image prompt: “A snow leopard leaps gracefully across rocky terrain. Its powerful muscles and silky fur are captured sharply in mid-air against the backdrop of a clear blue sky. Aspect ratio 16:9. –ar 16:9”
Pika Labs Motion Prompt (match image): “A snow leopard captured in mid-air leaping across rocky terrain, its powerful muscles in motion and its fur ruffling in the wind.”
I had to tweak both the motion prompts and the motion settings a lot to get it to look and behave the way I wanted it to. Motion strength should be set to at least 3, and consistency with text should be set to 19. I also turned on the zoom option.
7. Art Gallery Display (Image to Video)
The first time I used a prompt in Midjourney, I was presented with a gallery where all the paintings were Mona Lisas. Adding the word centerpiece solved that problem.
Midjourney's image prompt: “A modern virtual art gallery with polished floors and soft lighting. The Mona Lisa is the centerpiece. Other classic artworks are elegantly displayed in the background. The scene includes visitors passing by and subtle animations of the Mona Lisa's smile. –ar 16:9”
Pika Labs' motion prompt (matching the image): “In a contemporary virtual art gallery, a painting of the Mona Lisa takes center stage, her smile subtly widening as visitors walk through the background, creating a lively, inviting atmosphere.”
I liked how the other people in the scene were oddly blurred, and how we got what seemed to be a first-person perspective as we walked towards the Mona Lisa.
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If you enjoyed this week's prompt, please share your work with us, try out the Google Gemini prompt ideas series, or create a story, song, or image from the previous week.
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