prompt-guidance

Sanzaru MCP — Prompting & Workflow Guide

Tool Quick Reference

Category	Tool	Pattern	Description
Video	create_video	async	Create Sora video (returns job ID, poll for completion)
	get_video_status	poll	Check video generation progress (0-100%)
	download_video	sync	Download completed video/thumbnail/spritesheet
	list_videos	sync	List video jobs with pagination
	list_local_videos	sync	List downloaded video files
	delete_video	sync	Permanently delete a video from OpenAI
	remix_video	async	Create new video by remixing an existing one
Image	generate_image	sync	Images API — returns immediately, no polling (RECOMMENDED)
	edit_image	sync	Edit/compose images (up to 16 inputs)
	create_image	async	Responses API — for iterative refinement chains
	get_image_status	poll	Check image generation status
	download_image	sync	Download completed image
Reference	list_reference_images	sync	List available images for Sora
	prepare_reference_image	sync	Resize image to exact Sora dimensions
Audio	create_audio	sync	Text-to-speech (10 voices, any length)
	transcribe_audio	sync	Whisper transcription
	chat_with_audio	sync	GPT-4o audio analysis
	list_audio_files	sync	List and filter audio files

Model Selection

Video (Sora)

• sora-2 (default): Faster, cheaper, good for iteration
• sora-2-pro: Higher quality, supports larger resolutions (1024x1792, 1792x1024)

Image Generation

Tool	API	Best For
generate_image	Images API	New generation — synchronous, no polling (RECOMMENDED)
edit_image	Images API	Editing existing images, composition
create_image	Responses API	Iterative refinement with previous_response_id

• gpt-image-1.5: STATE-OF-THE-ART (recommended default)
• gpt-image-1-mini: Fast, cost-effective for iteration

Audio (TTS)

• gpt-4o-mini-tts: Recommended default
• Voices: alloy, ash, ballad, coral, echo, fable, nova, onyx, sage, shimmer

The Golden Rule: Reference Images

CRITICAL: When using input_reference_filename with Sora, describe motion/action ONLY. Do NOT re-describe what's already in the image.

The reference image already contains: character, setting, framing, style, lighting. Your prompt should only describe: what happens next, motion, camera movement.

BAD — re-describing the image:

create_video(
    prompt="A pilot in orange suit in cockpit with glowing instruments...",
    input_reference_filename="pilot.png"
)

GOOD — motion only:

create_video(
    prompt="The pilot glances up, takes a breath, then returns focus to the instruments.",
    input_reference_filename="pilot.png"
)

Sora Prompt Anatomy

Write prompts in this order for best results:

1. Style — "1970s film grain," "IMAX scale," "16mm black-and-white"
2. Scene — Characters, setting, framing
3. Camera — "wide establishing shot, eye level" or "medium close-up, tracking left"
4. Action in beats — Small, grounded steps: "takes four steps to window, pauses, pulls curtain"
5. Lighting & color — 3-5 concrete anchors: "warm lamp fill, cool rim from hallway, amber highlights"

Weak	Strong
"A beautiful street at night"	"Wet asphalt, neon signs reflecting in puddles, steam from grate"
"Person moves quickly"	"Cyclist pedals three times, brakes, stops at crosswalk"
"Cinematic look"	"Anamorphic 2.0x lens, shallow DOF, volumetric light"

Duration tips: 4s clips have best instruction following. Use 8s for simple scenes. 12s only for slow, ambient shots.

Async Polling Pattern

# Video: create → poll → download
video = create_video(prompt="...", size="1280x720")
status = get_video_status(video.id)   # Poll until "completed"
download_video(video.id, filename="output.mp4")

# Image (Responses API): create → poll → download
resp = create_image(prompt="...")
status = get_image_status(resp.id)    # Poll until "completed"
download_image(resp.id, filename="output.png")

# Image (Images API): SYNCHRONOUS — no polling!
result = generate_image(prompt="...")  # Returns immediately

Common Pitfalls

1. Re-describing reference images — Describe motion only (see Golden Rule above)
2. Using create_image when generate_image is simpler — Most cases don't need async polling
3. Dimension mismatch — Reference image MUST match target video size exactly. Use prepare_reference_image to resize.
4. Vague motion — "walks around" is weak. Use beats: "takes three steps, pauses, looks up"
5. Integer seconds — seconds must be a string: "8" not 8
6. Complex long clips — Shorter (4s) clips follow instructions better than 12s
7. Forgetting to poll — create_video and create_image are async; always poll status before downloading

Deep Reference

For detailed guidance:

• Sora Prompting Guide — Camera vocabulary, lighting, dialogue, remix strategy
• Workflows — Step-by-step patterns for common tasks