Seedance 2.5 Prompting Cheat Sheet

Q: Does it take a negative prompt?

No negative_prompt field — exclusions live inside the prompt. NO Say what must survive (Preserve) before what must not happen (Avoid), and keep both in one place at the end. Protect what matters, then exclude only what your shot needs — short, concrete, last.

READ5 min

WORDS805

SECTIONS5

SOURCES1

TYPECHEAT SHEET

CHECKED16 SEP 26

ByteDance's Seedance 2.5 prompt guide (18 Aug 2026) publishes a full template. This sheet is that template, with the rules around it quoted.

TL;DR — THE SHORT VERSION

Eight parts: Format → Subject → Action → Environment → Camera → Look → Timing → Audio & Constraints.
Format first, action third. Duration, aspect ratio and shot structure come before anything else.
Bind references by name — ByteDance's example: “The same woman from @Image1 wearing the red jacket”.
One camera behaviour per shot. ByteDance: “Give every shot one camera behavior and every sequence one dominant visual rule.”
Beats of 6–8 seconds. ByteDance calls that “usually a solid default”.
Exclusions last, short and concrete, after a positive Preserve clause.

VENDOR-DOCUMENTED

Every rule on this sheet is quoted from the vendor's own published documentation, linked where it is used.

The formula

Format + Subject + Action + Environment + Camera + Look + Timing + Audio & Constraints

Dreamina, Seedance 2.5 prompt guide, 18 Aug 2026, read at source 16 Sep 2026.

Template:

[Duration, aspect ratio, shot structure]. Use [@reference] as the consistent [character/product/location]. In [environment and time], the subject [precise action]. Camera: [shot size + movement + lens/focus]. Visual direction: [lighting + palette + texture + realism]. Timing: [beat 1] → [beat 2] → [beat 3] → [resolution]. Audio: [dialogue/ambience/SFX/music]. Preserve [identity, wardrobe, logo, object geometry]. Avoid [unwanted cuts, camera behavior, artifacts, extra objects, text].

Worked example:

18 seconds, 16:9, single continuous take. Use @Image1 as the consistent ceramicist. In a north-facing studio at dusk, she centres a ball of clay and draws it upward. Camera: medium shot, slow push-in, 50mm, focus held on her hands. Visual direction: window light only, muted earth palette, visible clay texture, photoreal. Timing: 00–07s hands settle and the wheel speeds up → 07–14s the form rises → 14–18s she sits back and exhales. Audio: wheel hum, ambient room tone, no music. Preserve identity, apron, wheel geometry. Avoid cuts, camera shake, on-screen text.

Breakdown — what each part does

Format

Duration, aspect ratio, shot structure. First — it frames everything after it.

Subject

Identity, wardrobe, product or hero object. Bind it to a reference here if you have one.

Action

Visible movement with a clear start and finish. ByteDance: “Write observable instructions.”

Environment

Location, time, weather, practical detail.

Camera

Shot size, lens feel, movement, focus — one behaviour per shot.

Look

Lighting, palette, texture, realism level. If output keeps arriving glossy, the fix is usually subtraction rather than more style words — see why AI output looks fake, which is this site's craft reasoning rather than vendor guidance.

Timing

Beat by beat, with arrows. ByteDance: “6–8 seconds per beat is usually a solid default, with 3–4 seconds saved for the resolution.”

THE WORKED EXAMPLE · 18 SECONDS IN BEATS

Each beat of the ceramicist prompt above, drawn to scale. Two beats sit inside ByteDance’s 6–8 second default; the resolution takes the 3–4 seconds it suggests.

Beat 1 · hands settle, the wheel speeds up00–07s

Beat 2 · the form rises07–14s

Resolution · she sits back and exhales14–18s

Dreamina, Seedance 2.5 prompt guide, read at source 16 Sep 2026: “6–8 seconds per beat is usually a solid default, with 3–4 seconds saved for the resolution.”

Audio & Constraints

Dialogue, ambience, SFX — then Preserve [...], then a short Avoid [...].

Does it take a negative prompt?

No negative_prompt field — exclusions live inside the prompt.NO

Dreamina, Seedance 2.5 prompt guide, read at source 16 Sep 2026: “Negative instructions work best when they protect a specific production requirement. Keep them short, concrete, and grouped at the end.”

Say what must survive (Preserve) before what must not happen (Avoid), and keep both in one place at the end.

TAKEAWAY

Protect what matters, then exclude only what your shot needs — short, concrete, last.

What not to do

Do not write a long generic exclusion list. ByteDance: “Do not write a long generic blacklist that competes with the scene description.”✕

Do not ask for two camera behaviours in one shot.✕

Do not scatter exclusions through the prompt; group them at the end.✕

Do not pre-load exclusions for problems you have not seen. ByteDance: “use only the restrictions your shot actually needs”.✕

ON THE BRACKET FORMAT

Many guides, including earlier versions of this site, teach a [MOTION]-first bracket structure. It was tested and it works — but it is not what ByteDance publishes. Use brackets as a checklist so you do not forget motion, identity, camera or duration, then order the finished prompt the way the template above does.

Free or paid? What the free plan allows, who owns the output, and when you need to pay: free vs paid AI image, video and music tools.

Where this model sits among the others: which models take a negative prompt, and what each vendor publishes as its formula.

For the expensive-looking version, see the cinematic sheet.

The checklist

Before you send it:

1 — Format stated first — duration, ratio, shot structure?□

2 — References bound with @Image1-style tags?□

3 — One camera behaviour per shot?□

4 — Beats roughly 6–8 seconds, with a short resolution?□

5 — Preserve [...] before Avoid [...]?□

6 — Avoid clause short, concrete and last?□

SOURCES

Dreamina (ByteDance), Seedance 2.5 prompt guide All read at source on 16 Sep 2026.

Model versions and vendor documentation both move. Re-read the source before relying on a specific number.

Every other sheet in this set: all model cheat sheets.