Runway Gen-4
The official video guide distinguishes Gen-4.5 from the older Gen-4 family.
PROMPTS
Runway Gen-4-specific prompts. Read the usage context, variables, sources and testing notes. Prompt bodies are authored in Traditional Chinese.
Five seconds before opening: one action establishes the place
A fixed camera and one door-opening action for a quiet storefront opening.
Office Paper Airplane — Parallel Tracking Shot
Runway's official examples always use four sentences — the first covers only the camera position, the second only the setting, the third only the action, the fourth only…
Subway Platform Locked Shot — Train Arrives and Doors Open
The camera is locked and all the action is handed to the arriving train — an empty platform first sets a clean static baseline, then the doors open to reveal a packed car, landing the before/after contrast…
Breathing Oil-Painting Landscape
Gen-4 is image-to-video first — the starting image already locks in the look, composition, and color grading, so the prompt is almost entirely 'describe the motion only'…
Product 360° Showcase
E-commerce product rotations are most vulnerable to uneven speed and lighting jumps — this prompt explicitly states `no acceleration or dec…
Physics-Based Shatter VFX
The believability of a destruction shot rests on debris trajectories and dust — `physics-accurate trajectories` combined with …
Runway Act-One Actor Monologue
Runway's exclusive Act-One feature. Upload a character photo plus a performance reference to generate a monologue clip.
Runway Gen-4 Orbit Shot
Gen-4's camera control feature. The subject stays fixed while the camera orbits 180 to 360 degrees.
Runway Still Image to Motion Transition
Upload 2 still illustrations or posters, and Gen-4 fills in the motion transition between them.
Runway Still-to-Motion: Pan-Zoom B-Roll
Runway Gen-4's image-to-video is its most reliable feature — it adds a slow, 'breathing' camera move to a finished still image, turning it into usable B-roll.
Runway 30-Second Brand Launch Ad
Runway Gen-4 is well-suited for higher-realism ads — product launches, crowdfunding teasers, new-product reveals. 30 seconds is the primary length ad platforms favor.
Free12Runway Real Estate Walkthrough: One Interior Photo to a Professional Video
For real estate agents, interior designers, and Airbnb hosts. Turns one static interior photo into a walking-tour video with Runway that makes viewers want to move in immediately.
Free13Runway Seamless-Loop B-Roll for Short-Form Video Backgrounds
Background footage commonly used in IG Reels, TikTok, and YouTube intros — the start and end frames connect automatically for a seamless loop.
PRO14Runway Product Demo: Bring a Still Product Shot to Life
Turns a single static product photo into a 3-5 second animated demo video — essential for e-commerce ads.