# Crafting Effective Prompts (Prompting Guide)
Welcome! This guide helps you write effective prompts for the **Analysis Configuration**, **Selects**, and **Create** phases in Spingle V2. Clear, specific instructions are key to getting the results you want. Think of it like briefing an assistant editor: the better your instructions, the better the outcome.
***
### Understanding the Two Phases of Prompting
To get the best results, you must understand why Spingle asks for instructions in two different places:
1. Analysis Configuration (Project Context)
This happens **before** you press Analyze. You tell the AI the big picture: the project goals, deliverables, pacing, and attach references like PDFs, scripts, or storyboards.
Analysis takes time because the AI is deeply labeling and putting all of the footage into its brain. If you specifically need the AI to look for something (like "notice when the subject smiles"), mention it here so the AI explicitly tags it during the scan.
2. Selects or Create Prompts
This happens **after** analysis. Because the AI already mapped your footage in Phase 1, you can instantly apply different creative prompts to build your edits.
The headspace here is to do the heavy analysis once, and then you can continuously try different edits and prompts in seconds to minutes without having to wait for re-analysis.
***
### Mastering AI Selects: The Power of Score & Detailed Prompts
The scoring system and your prompt details work together to give you powerful control over what Spingle selects.
#### Understanding Clip Scores
* During analysis, Spingle assigns a **confidence score** (0.0 to 1.0) to footage segments based on various quality and content factors.
* A **higher score** (e.g., 0.8-0.9): AI is very confident this is a top-tier, technically sound, and relevant clip.
* A **lower score** (e.g., 0.3-0.5): AI sees potential, but the clip might be borderline (e.g., good content with minor imperfections).
#### Using Scores in Your `AI Selects` Prompts
Direct Spingle's strictness by including score instructions:
* **For *****Only the Best***** (Stricter Filtering):**
* Use a high score threshold: `"Keep shots above a score of 0.9, avoiding technical flaws."`
* **For a *****Broader Selection***** (Less Strict, More Options for You to Review):**
* Use a lower score threshold: `"Keep shots above a score of 0.4, prioritizing [your key content]."`
By iterating on the score in your prompt, you can fine-tune how aggressively Spingle filters, ensuring you don't miss potentially good clips while still removing the obvious issues.
***
### Best Practices for All Prompts (Selects & Create Modes)
**Core Prompting Rules**
1. **Be Specific, Not Vague:**
* **Avoid:** `Find good shots.`
* **Prefer:** `Find stable, close-up shots of the subject smiling, keeping clips above a score of 0.5.`
2. **Sequence Separation & Selection are Crucial:**
* Spingle does not have track-level awareness in prompts - it doesn't know what's on V1 vs. V2. It processes the media it sees and places results one track above. So don't try to give track-specific instructions in your prompt.
* Instead, **separate different footage types into different sequences** (e.g., one sequence for interviews, one for B-roll). Then use the **sequence selection checkboxes** in the Spingle panel to run a B-roll-focused prompt on your B-roll sequence, switch, and run an interview prompt on your interview sequence. Each gets tailored AI attention.
* If you have entirely different scenes (for example, completely different locations or color-coded clips that should not be mixed), put them in **separate sequences** before dragging into Spingle. The AI has a "peanut brain" - it does a much better job when it can focus on one coherent batch of footage at a time, rather than juggling unrelated content in the same context window.
3. **Control Shaky Footage Settings:**
* In the Selects or Cull menus, you can adjust the Advanced Shaky Footage setting. The base is 50%. For gimbal or tripod footage where you want a very clean look, crank this up to 65 to 70 percent. For looser handheld or shoulder-rig footage where you want to keep the natural energy, lower it to 20 to 50 percent.
4. **Specify Duration in Text (Keep Minimum Clip Length at 0):**
* We strongly recommend keeping the **Minimum Clip Length slider at 0**. The slider is a hard numeric filter that clips the AI's intelligence - instead, specify your desired duration directly in the prompt text. This lets the AI make smarter, more nuanced decisions about what to keep.
* `...make my B-roll shots 0.5 to 2 seconds long as quick highlight moments.`
* `...keep interview soundbites between 5 and 15 seconds.`
5. **Prioritize Key Elements:** Tell the AI what is most important.
* `...prioritize human connection, packed crowds, and expressions.`
6. **Include Exclusions:** Clearly state what to avoid.
* `...cut out any redundant moments such as mistakes, awkward pauses, silence or the interviewer asking questions.`
7. **Multicam and Multitrack Detection:**
* The new AI model automatically detects Multicam and Multitrack sequences. Be sure to utilize the tooltips in the app to learn how these are handled specifically.
8. **Attachment Limits for Analysis Phase:**
* When attaching references like PDFs, scripts, storyboards, videos, or images in the Analysis Phase, try to keep it under 5 to 7 short files, and try keeping the total size under 500mb. Do not attach a massive 1000-page textbook, as it can confuse the AI's "peanut brain". Keep it concise and relevant.
* **Describe your attachments in the prompt!** When you attach files, also mention them in the prompt text above. For example: *"I've attached the project scripts as PDFs and a storyboard image."* This helps the AI understand what those files are and how to use them.
### Example Prompts: Putting It All Together
Expand the dropdowns below to see tested, highly effective prompt combinations for different scenarios. You can copy and paste these directly into Spingle.
High-Energy Travel & Event Montage
Choose **Scenario A** if you have interviews/dialogue. Choose **Scenario B** if your video is purely B-roll set to music.
**Scenario A: With Audio (Interviews + B-Roll)**
**1. Analysis Configuration (Project Context)** When to use: Enter this when you first press "Analyze".
{% hint style="info" %}
This is a high-energy group travel and spring break experience at a tropical resort. We want to focus on the unforgettable experience, the crazy parties, and the beautiful location primarily. For this edit, the goal is to make a social media recap which is just under 90 seconds long. We will also make longform deliverables for the trip and individual interviews. We want to find the best speaking moments, hype quotes, and hooks from the interviews. For broll, we generally want to find the select highlight from of each shot under 2 seconds each, then generally identify any overly bad footage as well.
{% endhint %}
**2. Selects Prompt (Remove Bad Footage)** When to use: Select all your tracks (A-roll and B-roll), click "Remove Bad Footage", and use this to filter the raw media.
{% hint style="info" %}
For broll shots select the best 0.5 to 2 second long regions and ensure we cut out any shaky, awkward bits, ensure we keep moments of people laughing smiling, dancing, splashing, mingling etc. For interviews, cut out any redundant moments such as mistakes, awkward pauses, silence or the interviewer asking questions, try to ensure we remove outtakes.
{% endhint %}
**3. Create Prompt (String-Out / Assembly)** When to use: Use the "Create" feature to have Spingle build your actual timeline narrative.
{% hint style="info" %}
Make a 90 second event recap and include interview moments answering why this trip is amazing and what makes the experience special. This is for social media, broll cuts should be under 1.5 seconds long, have many shots of broll, ppl smiling, packed crowds, start with the outdoors and the beach. Between edits of interviews, I want more variety of broll shots, quick paced and showing the crowd. At the start I like showing the outdoors and the resort, going into the daytime pool/foam parties and catamaran excursions, then transitioning into the nighttime clubbing at the end. Choose broll clips that are friendly for a 9:16 aspect ratio (vertical).
{% endhint %}
**Scenario B: Without Audio (Pure B-Roll Montage)**
**1. Analysis Configuration (Project Context)** When to use: Enter this when you first press "Analyze".
{% hint style="info" %}
This is a high-energy group travel and spring break experience at a tropical resort. We want to focus on the unforgettable experience, the crazy parties, and the beautiful location primarily. For this edit, the goal is to make a fast-paced, music-driven social media recap which is just under 90 seconds long. There are no interviews or dialogue. We will also make longform visual deliverables for the trip. For broll, we generally want to find the select highlight from of each shot under 2 seconds each, then generally identify any overly bad footage as well.
{% endhint %}
**2. Selects Prompt (Remove Bad Footage)** When to use: Select your B-roll tracks, click "Remove Bad Footage".
{% hint style="info" %}
For broll shots select the best 0.5 to 2 second long regions and ensure we cut out any shaky, awkward bits, ensure we keep moments of people laughing smiling, expressions, dancing, splashing, mingling etc. Ensure we remove any camera drops, out of focus moments, or idle periods where nothing is happening.
{% endhint %}
**3. Create Prompt (String-Out / Assembly)** When to use: Use the "Create" feature to have Spingle build your actual timeline sequence.
{% hint style="info" %}
Make a 90 second event recap montage. This is a music-driven edit for social media, broll cuts should be very fast, under 1.5 seconds long, have many shots of broll, ppl smiling packed crowds, start with the outdoors and the beach. I want a huge variety of broll shots, quick paced and showing the crowd having fun. At the start I like showing the outdoors and the resort, going into the daytime pool/foam parties and catamaran excursions, then transitioning into the nighttime clubbing and DJ sets at the end. Choose broll clips that are friendly for a 9:16 aspect ratio (vertical).
{% endhint %}
Tech Conference Recap (B-Roll & Audio)
**1. Analysis Configuration (Project Context)** When to use: Enter this when you first press "Analyze".
{% hint style="info" %}
This is a tech conference for a startup called Dippy and is also sponsored by Bittensor and Google. We want to focus on Dippy primarily however incorporate why Bittensor is great and its benefits.
For this edit, the goal is to make a social media recap which is just under 90 seconds long. We will also make longform deliverables for the conference and individual interviews. We want to find the best speaking moments, hooks etc from the speaking moments like the conference and the interviews.
For broll, we generally want to find the select highlight from of each shot under 2 seconds each, then generally identify any overly bad footage as well.
{% endhint %}
**2. Create Prompt (String-Out / Assembly)** When to use: Use the "Create" feature to have Spingle build your actual timeline sequence.
{% hint style="info" %}
Make a 2 minute event recap and include interview moments answering what makes bittensor special. This is for social media, broll cuts should be under 1 second long, have many shots of broll, ppl smiling packed crowds, start with the outdoors entering.
Between edits of interviews, I want more variety of broll shots, quick paced and showing the crowd.
At the start I like showing the outdoors and going into the building with people in the lobby signing up with their passes then going into the building.
Choose broll clips that are friendly for a 9:16 aspect ratio (vertical).
{% endhint %}
Luxury Real Estate (Reality TV Style)
**1. Analysis Configuration (Project Context)** When to use: Enter this when you first press "Analyze".
{% hint style="info" %}
This is a luxury real estate video for social media. It's in the style of a reality tv show with hostesses that walk through the luxury property and describe its features. It has a wide range of cinematic broll shots filmed on a gimbal and drone.
It contains broll and aroll.
For broll shots, select the best 1 to 5 second regions. Choose the regions that are cinematic, have good camera motion, avoid camera shake, blur, camera resets or the moments the shot hasn't begun or has ended. Any poorly framed shots or overall low-quality moments.
For the aroll with the hostesses, focus on parts they don't make mistakes, take particular note of any highlight worthy sections that can be put in a social media edit. Remove any mistakes, resets in their speech or moments they are not ready/off camera.
(For context this has audio and broll)
{% endhint %}
**2. Create Prompt (String-Out / Assembly)** When to use: Use the "Create" feature to have Spingle build your actual timeline sequence.
{% hint style="info" %}
Create a 90 second edit for social media in the style of a reality tv luxury property show.
We want to see the two women showcasing the home and them walking, discussing its features and cutting to the relevant broll for each feature. Remove any mistakes from their speaking.
We want the broll to cut fast between 0.3 to 2 seconds long.
Let's start the shot at the pool, then show a drone shot of us zooming outwards, then cut to the front door opening and some one talking.
{% endhint %}
***
### Advanced Prompting: Leveraging Audio & Visual Synergy
Spingle V2 isn't just looking at your video; it also **analyzes audio content** and can combine this with visual understanding for incredibly nuanced selections, especially for dialogue-heavy content like podcasts, interviews, and documentaries.
This goes far beyond simple waveform analysis. Spingle can consider:
* **Dialogue Content:** What is being said.
* **Vocal Delivery:** (Future enhancements will focus more on tone, clarity).
* **Visual Cues during Speech:** Is the speaker looking at the camera? Do they appear engaged? Are they practicing a line or is it a final take?
* **Facial Expressions:** Is the speaker smiling, showing concern, etc., in conjunction with their words?
**This combined analysis means you can create much more natural and engaging edits.**
#### Use Cases for Audio-Visual Prompting (`Selects`):
* **Cleaning Interviews/Podcasts:**
* `"From this interview, select segments with clear speech above score 0.5. Remove silences longer than 1.5 seconds and cut awkward pauses or filler words like 'um' and 'uh'. Exclude any parts where the speaker is looking away from camera for extended periods or appears to be an outtake/practice line."`
* **Finding the Best Soundbites with Visual Context:**
* `"Select key soundbites about [specific topic] from this podcast recording. Prioritize takes where the speaker is looking directly at camera and appears confident. Keep score above 0.7. Trim silences at head and tail."`
* **Identifying Engaging Moments:**
* `"In this documentary interview, find all segments where the interviewee discusses their childhood AND shows visible emotion (e.g., smiling, tearing up). Ensure audio is clear."`
* **Filtering Outtakes from Dialogue:**
* `"From these multiple takes of the presenter's introduction, select only the strongest take. Prioritize clear, confident vocal delivery, consistent eye contact, and exclude any false starts, stumbles, or off-camera glances. Aim for a score above 0.8."`
{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip:** When prompting for audio-based edits, be as clear about what constitutes "good" audio and "good" accompanying visuals as you would for purely visual selects.
{% endhint %}
***
### Tips for Refining Results
* **Chunking and Sample Testing:** If you have a massive timeline (like 3 hours of footage), do not test your prompts on the entire sequence at once. Create a 15-minute test sequence, run it through Spingle, and iterate your Selects prompts until you find the perfect strictness and phrasing. Once it is perfect, apply that prompt to your 3-hour sequence.
* **Utilize Local Caching:** Spingle caches your analysis locally. If you need to delete a sequence from the Spingle panel and re-add it, it will instantly analyze within seconds. You do not have to worry about losing your work.
* **The Copy and Paste Fix:** If you ever experience a bug where you cannot paste text into the prompt box, simply click off the Spingle panel interface and click back on. Copy and pasting will instantly work again.
* **Use an AI Prompting Wizard:** You can copy the transcript from a creative call or meeting and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude, along with these documentation guidelines. Tell it to "act as a Spingle AI Prompting Wizard" and it can help you generate perfect analysis and creation prompts based on your exact footage needs.
* **Use the Built-In AI Search:** This documentation site has a native AI-powered search bar at the top of the page. You can ask it natural-language questions about Spingle and it will surface relevant answers from these docs instantly.
* **Iterate on Score & Prompt Details:** If results aren't perfect, adjust.
* **Too few clips?** Lower the score threshold in your AI Selects prompt.
* **Still missing things?** Make your descriptive criteria more inclusive or reduce exclusions for both audio and visual aspects.
***
### Understanding Current Limitations
{% hint style="warning" %}
**Limitations:**
* **In and Out Points:** Spingle only works on what you put into the Premiere timeline. If you pre-cut a clip before dragging it in, Spingle will only analyze that specific cut. To process raw clips fully, clear your In and Out points in your project panel before dragging media into your sequence.
* **Visual-Audio Sync for Edits:** The AI aims to keep audio and video in sync for the selects it makes, but complex editorial decisions (like J-cuts or L-cuts based purely on audio leading video) are not yet automatically generated.
* **Precision is Evolving:** The AI is rapidly improving but might still miss the absolute perfect in or out point for dialogue or visual cues. Minor manual tweaks on Track 2 may be needed.
* **Bugs:** There are some video processing bugs as editors often have large durations of media, Spingle can break sometimes. Be patient and always **Report Feedback** if there is an issue, so we can fix it!
{% endhint %}
Your detailed prompts and feedback via the Report Feedback button are essential!