PHOENIX STORY WORKS — PROMPT REPAIR CHECKLIST ====================================== If an AI result feels vague, strange, or unusable, check the prompt one part at a time. 1. GOAL [ ] Did I say exactly what I want the AI to create? [ ] Did I name the intended viewer and what they should understand or do? 2. CONTEXT [ ] Did I explain where the video will appear? [ ] Did I give the length, subject, and important background? [ ] Did I provide facts the AI should not invent? 3. CREATIVE DIRECTION [ ] Did I name a tone using clear words such as calm, warm, fast, or playful? [ ] Did I describe the visual style instead of only saying “make it good”? [ ] Did I explain what to avoid? 4. FORMAT [ ] Did I ask for a useful structure such as a table, shot list, or timed script? [ ] Did I state how many options, scenes, or words I need? 5. REAL-WORLD LIMITS [ ] Did I say what equipment, locations, people, time, or budget are available? [ ] Can the result actually be filmed or generated with my tools? REPAIR PROMPT ------------- Review the prompt and result below. Identify the three biggest reasons the result is weak. Ask me no more than three short questions that would materially improve it. Then rewrite the prompt with a clearer goal, audience, context, creative direction, format, and practical constraints. Do not change the core idea. MY PROMPT: [PASTE HERE] THE SIX-PART PROMPT FRAMEWORK ----------------------------- Use this structure when rebuilding a prompt from the ground up. 1. ROLE Give the AI a useful working perspective, not an impressive-sounding title. Example: "Act as a practical short-form video editor for beginner creators." 2. OUTCOME State the finished result and the decision it should help you make. Example: "Create a 30-second shot plan I can film alone in one kitchen." 3. CONTEXT Supply the audience, platform, facts, source material, and current situation. 4. CONSTRAINTS Name the duration, budget, equipment, tone, safety limits, and things to avoid. 5. OUTPUT FORMAT Ask for a structure you can use: table, timed script, shot list, checklist, or options with clear differences. 6. REVIEW STANDARD Tell the AI how to check its own draft. Example: "Flag unsupported claims, vague scenes, and any shot requiring more than one person or equipment not listed." DIAGNOSTIC DECISION TREE ------------------------ The answer is too generic. -> Add a specific audience, real situation, example, and practical constraint. -> Replace "engaging" or "professional" with observable creative choices. The answer is too long. -> Set a word, scene, or time limit. -> State what must remain and what may be removed. -> Ask for essential and optional sections separately. The answer is inaccurate or invents facts. -> Provide approved source material. -> Say "Use only the facts below. Mark missing information [UNKNOWN]." -> Ask for a claim-and-source table before asking for polished writing. The scenes cannot be filmed. -> List the people, locations, equipment, budget, time, and skills available. -> Ask for a simple backup beside every difficult shot. The tone feels artificial. -> Provide two or three short examples of your real writing. -> Name phrases and habits to avoid. -> Ask the AI to preserve your meaning while editing for spoken language. The output format is hard to use. -> Request named columns and a fixed number of rows. -> Ask it to separate creative copy from production notes. The AI keeps changing a good part. -> Lock approved material in a section labelled DO NOT CHANGE. -> Request one controlled change at a time. The generated video is visually inconsistent. -> Repeat the same continuity block in every scene prompt. -> Generate one action and one camera move per clip. -> Specify subject, wardrobe, environment, light direction, palette, and screen direction using identical wording. BEFORE AND AFTER EXAMPLE ------------------------ Weak prompt: "Make me an engaging video about bread." Why it fails: - No audience or purpose. - "Engaging" does not describe a visible or audible choice. - No platform, duration, available footage, or output format. - The AI must invent the subject, structure, and production limits. Repaired prompt: "Act as a documentary-style short-form director. Create a 30-second vertical video plan for first-time home bakers explaining how to recognise properly risen dough by sight and touch. I can film one person, one bowl of dough, a kitchen, window light, and a phone. Use a calm, reassuring tone. Begin with a close-up comparison of under-risen and ready dough. Give me six scenes in a table with TIMING, SHOT, ACTION, VOICEOVER, ON-SCREEN TEXT, and NATURAL SOUND. Use only the facts I provide below; mark anything else [VERIFY]. Keep on-screen text below six words per scene and add a simple backup for every shot. End by asking viewers to save the visual check for their next bake. Verified facts: [PASTE FACTS]" CONTROLLED ITERATION METHOD --------------------------- Do not restart the whole prompt whenever one part is weak. Round 1 — Structure Ask for headings, scene purposes, or an outline only. Round 2 — Facts Correct the outline and add verified information before polishing language. Round 3 — Creative direction Choose the hook, tone, pacing, and visual approach. Round 4 — Production reality Replace shots, effects, or locations that are unavailable. Round 5 — Language Improve clarity, rhythm, and voice without changing approved facts. Round 6 — Quality control Ask for risks, missing evidence, accessibility issues, and a final checklist. Save each approved stage. If a later revision becomes worse, return to the last useful version rather than trying to repair an already confused answer. ADVANCED REPAIR PROMPTS ----------------------- For factual control: "Build a claim table before writing. Include CLAIM, SOURCE PROVIDED, CONFIDENCE, and ACTION. Do not use any claim with no supplied source." For visual consistency: "Extract a continuity bible from the approved scene: subject description, wardrobe, props, setting, time, light direction, palette, lens feel, and movement. Repeat it unchanged in every related generation prompt." For stronger options: "Create three genuinely different approaches: educational demonstration, personal story, and visual transformation. Keep the audience, facts, duration, and call to action unchanged. Explain the trade-off of each." For reducing complexity: "Identify every person, prop, location, effect, and setup. Replace anything not listed as available with the simplest credible alternative." For a better critique: "Do not rewrite yet. Score the draft against the rubric below, quote the exact weak section, explain the problem in one sentence, and suggest one repair." PROMPT QUALITY SCORECARD ------------------------ Score each area 0, 1, or 2. 0 = missing, 1 = present but vague, 2 = clear and useful. Role or working perspective: ___ / 2 Finished outcome: ___ / 2 Audience and situation: ___ / 2 Verified facts or source material: ___ / 2 Creative direction: ___ / 2 Real production constraints: ___ / 2 Output structure: ___ / 2 Length or quantity: ___ / 2 Things to avoid: ___ / 2 Self-review standard: ___ / 2 16-20: Strong starting prompt. Test and refine one variable at a time. 11-15: Usable but likely to need clarification. 0-10: Add missing context before requesting another full answer. RESPONSIBLE-USE CHECK --------------------- [ ] Facts and important claims are checked against reliable sources. [ ] The prompt does not request deceptive impersonation or false evidence. [ ] Real people, personal data, private material, and customer information are included only with appropriate permission. [ ] Generated footage will be labelled when context or platform rules require it. [ ] Copyrighted styles, characters, music, brands, and footage are handled with care and appropriate rights. [ ] A human reviews the result for accuracy, tone, safety, and audience impact. FINAL REPAIR LOG ---------------- Original problem: ________________________________________ Change made: _____________________________________________ What improved: ___________________________________________ What remains weak: _______________________________________ Next single test: _________________________________________ Approved version saved as: ________________________________ THE RESULT: [PASTE HERE] Phoenix Story Works — Better prompts. Better videos.