The SayZo blog

Notes on prompting, directing, and understanding AI video, from the SayZo team.

How AI video works

Why AI Video Still Falls Apart on Handshakes, Text, and Continuity

Ask for a birthday cake with the candles just blown out, then watch what happens to the candles thirty frames later.

Aug 2, 2026 · 7 min read

Prompt engineering

Prompt Engineering for Video: The Words That Actually Move the Needle

Most prompt-engineering advice was written for text and image models. Video rewards a different vocabulary entirely.

Jul 31, 2026 · 6 min read

Technique

How to Prompt AI Video Like a Director, Not a Typist

Most first prompts describe a picture. Video rewards a director's instinct for action and timing, not a caption.

Jul 28, 2026 · 6 min read

Technique

The Anatomy of a Perfect Four-Second Clip

Most clips that feel off aren’t a wording problem. They’re a pacing problem, and pacing has its own rules.

Jun 18, 2026 · 8 min read

Prompt engineering

Reference Images: The Cheat Code Almost Nobody Uses

A text prompt redraws every detail from scratch, every time. A reference image tells the model to stop guessing.

May 5, 2026 · 8 min read

How AI video works

Why Every AI Video Has That Same "AI Look," and How to Lose It

Too smooth, too even, too polite. The AI look has a specific cause, and a specific fix.

Mar 20, 2026 · 8 min read

How AI video works

The Physics AI Video Still Gets Wrong

Pour a glass of water and watch the stream bend the wrong way. Physics is where AI video still shows its seams.

Feb 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Technique

Building a Character Zo Can Remember Across Videos

A running series needs the same face, outfit, and vibe in clip six as clip one, and that takes more than remembering what you typed last time.

Dec 15, 2025 · 8 min read