# Establishing shot

Camera / Shot size / Distance. Checked 2026-10-13.

Tells the viewer where and when the next scene happens, before anyone speaks.

- Use when: The first shot of a scene or after a change of location, such as the outside of the shop before the interview inside.
- Phrase: establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/shot/establishing-shot
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/shot/establishing-shot.json

## Watch out

- Generated signs and logos come out misspelled or invented. Leave names off the building in the prompt and add the real logo in the edit. (measured; House rule)

## Prompts

### Nano Banana Pro

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade.
```

### Nano Banana 2

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade.
```

### GPT Image 2.5

```
A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting].
People and framing: establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade
Exclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo.
```

### Seedream 5

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade.
```

### Seedance 2.5

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
First frame: establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade
Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
First frame: establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade
Shot 1: one continuous shot
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. Establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade.
```

### Veo 3.1

```
Establishing shot of the building from across the street at eye level, the entrance in the centre, the time of day clear from the light on the facade. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
```

## Look further

- https://shotdeck.com/ : real film frames to search by framing (paid, link only)
- https://flim.ai/ : film and ad stills to search by text or image (free tier, link only)

## Goes well with

- Extreme wide shot: https://directorchair.ai/shot/extreme-wide-shot
- Wide shot: https://directorchair.ai/shot/wide-shot

## Source

Own words, from the first Director Chair spec and Director Chair field notes on video prompting; pitfalls from the sources named per pitfall

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.