Sora Video Generation

Generate videos using OpenAI's Sora API.

API Reference

Endpoint: POST https://api.openai.com/v1/videos

Parameters

Parameter	Values	Description
prompt	string	Text description of the video (required)
input_reference	file	Optional image that guides generation
model	sora-2, sora-2-pro	Model to use (default: sora-2)
seconds	4, 8, 12	Video duration (default: 4)
size	720x1280, 1280x720, 1024x1792, 1792x1024	Output resolution

Important Notes

• Image dimensions must match video size exactly - the script auto-resizes
• Video generation takes 1-3 minutes typically
• Videos expire after ~1 hour - download immediately

Usage

# Basic text-to-video
uv run ~/.clawdbot/skills/sora/scripts/generate_video.py \
  --prompt "A cat playing piano" \
  --filename "output.mp4"

# Image-to-video (auto-resizes image)
uv run ~/.clawdbot/skills/sora/scripts/generate_video.py \
  --prompt "Slow dolly shot, steam rising, warm lighting" \
  --filename "output.mp4" \
  --input-image "reference.png" \
  --seconds 8 \
  --size 720x1280

# With specific model
uv run ~/.clawdbot/skills/sora/scripts/generate_video.py \
  --prompt "Cinematic scene" \
  --filename "output.mp4" \
  --model sora-2-pro \
  --seconds 12

Script Parameters

Flag	Description	Default
--prompt, -p	Video description (required)	-
--filename, -f	Output file path (required)	-
--input-image, -i	Reference image path	None
--seconds, -s	Duration: 4, 8, or 12	8
--size, -sz	Resolution	720x1280
--model, -m	sora-2 or sora-2-pro	sora-2
--api-key, -k	OpenAI API key	env var
--poll-interval	Check status every N seconds	10

API Key

Set OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable or pass --api-key.

Prompt Engineering for Video

Good prompts include:

1. Camera movement: dolly, pan, zoom, tracking shot
2. Motion description: swirling, rising, falling, shifting
3. Lighting: golden hour, candlelight, dramatic rim lighting
4. Atmosphere: steam, particles, bokeh, haze
5. Mood/style: cinematic, commercial, lifestyle, editorial

Example prompts:

Food commercial:

Slow dolly shot of gourmet dish, soft morning sunlight streaming through window, 
subtle steam rising, warm cozy atmosphere, premium food commercial aesthetic

Lifestyle:

Golden hour light slowly shifting across mountains, gentle breeze rustling leaves, 
serene morning atmosphere, premium lifestyle commercial

Product shot:

Cinematic close-up, dramatic lighting with warm highlights, 
slow reveal, luxury commercial style

Workflow: Image → Video

1. Generate image with Nano Banana Pro (or use existing)
2. Pass image as --input-image to Sora
3. Write prompt describing desired motion/atmosphere
4. Script auto-resizes image to match video dimensions

Output

• Videos saved as MP4
• Typical file size: 1.5-3MB for 8 seconds
• Resolution matches --size parameter