# Planning a multi-shot film

Plan your shots, keep them consistent and control costs before you press Run all.

A good short film starts with a plan. Ten minutes of planning saves credits and gives you a film that feels like one piece instead of random clips.

## 1. Start with one sentence

Write your idea as one line: who, where, what happens, what feeling. For example: "A barista robot opens a tiny cafe at dawn, cozy and cheerful."

## 2. Break it into shots

Most short films work well with 3 to 6 shots. A simple structure:

| Shot | Purpose | Camera move |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Establish the place | Pan or Pull out |
| 2 | Introduce the subject | Push in |
| 3 | The action or detail | Orbit or Tilt up |
| 4 | The ending | Pull out |

Vary the distance too: a wide shot, a medium shot and a close-up. See [Camera movement](/guide/camera-movement).

## 3. Keep a shared style

Put your style in one **Text** block and connect it to every **Image** block. Its text is added to each frame's prompt, so all shots share the same look, light and colors.

```prompt
Style: cinematic, soft morning light, warm pastel colors, 35mm film look, shallow depth of field
```

For a recurring character or product, connect the same **Photo** block to every Image block. See [Keeping a character consistent](/guide/character-consistency).

## 4. Pick the format first

Set the film format in the top bar before you create frames: 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels and TikTok, 1:1 or 4:5 for feeds.

## 5. Order on the canvas

The **Final film** block cuts clips from top to bottom. Stack your Video clip blocks in story order. The final film holds up to 12 clips.

## 6. Test cheaply

- Run one Image block first to check the look before running the rest.
- Use Nano Banana Lite (10 credits) for draft frames, then switch to a better model for the final ones.
- Tyzli Motion clips cost 5 credits per 5 seconds, so trying a different camera move is cheap.
- **Run all** shows the total estimate before anything starts.

## 7. Add the voice last

Write the narration once you know the shot count: about 2 to 3 words per second of film. See [Voice-over](/guide/voice-over).

> [!TIP]
> The [Movies Agent](/guide/movies-agent) does steps 1 to 3 for 8 credits. You can then edit its plan by hand.

## Related

- [Tyzli Movies overview](/guide/movies-overview)
- [Templates](/guide/movie-templates)