Intro to Luma Scenes

Create a short-form video with Luma Scenes

Luma Scenes turns a creative brief into an editable storyboard before you commit to a full video render.

Instead of prompting one clip at a time and figuring out the sequence afterward, you can describe the complete idea, a product spot, campaign concept, short narrative, or social ad, and let Scenes break it into visual beats.

You can review those beats as keyframes, change anything that is not working, adjust when each moment happens, and only then create the video.

That makes Scenes especially useful when sequence matters: an opening shot needs to lead into a product reveal, a logo needs to appear at the right moment, or an end card needs to land cleanly.

The core workflow is:

Brief → storyboard → review → adjust → render

The review step is one of the most important parts of the workflow. It lets you catch problems while you are still looking at individual keyframes rather than after the complete video has been generated.

Start with a complete idea, not individual shot prompts

Open Luma Scenes by right-clicking and choosing Create Image or Create Video with Luma Scenes.

In the Instruction field, describe the piece you want to make.

You can start with:

• a full script
• shot notes
• a creative brief
• one clear sentence

You do not need to manually turn your idea into a numbered shot list first. Give Scenes enough information to understand the overall sequence and let it build the storyboard.

A useful brief usually answers five questions:

• Where does this happen? Describe the setting, environment, or era.
• What are we looking at? Name the main subject, product, character, or object.
• What happens? Describe the arc from beginning to end.
• How should it feel? Add pacing, mood, lighting, camera language, or visual style.
• What absolutely needs to appear? Call out important product details, logos, pack shots, text cards, or end frames.

For example:

A premium sparkling water commercial in a bright Mediterranean kitchen. Start with condensation running down a chilled can beside sliced citrus. A hand picks up the can and opens it, then cut to sparkling water pouring over ice. Finish on a clean product hero shot with the logo clearly visible and a simple end card. Crisp daylight, refreshing, elegant, restrained camera movement.

That is usually more useful than separately prompting four unrelated shots because Scenes can understand how those moments belong together.

Add references when something needs to stay recognizable

References are optional, but they are useful when the sequence depends on a specific visual anchor.

Add images for things such as:

• a product
• packaging
• a logo
• a visual style
• an environment
• a character or subject

Give each reference a clear role rather than adding a collection of unexplained images.

For example:

Use the first reference for the product packaging. Use the second reference for the overall lighting and color palette.

Keep the set focused. Scenes is capped at roughly 10 total frames including references, so short, clearly structured pieces are the best fit.

Choose your video model deliberately

Select the model based on the kind of final piece you want.

Ray 3.2 is a good fit when you want the sequence broken into more, shorter clips. The Ray 3.2 path does not generate audio.

Seedance can often produce a more continuous clip and supports voiceover. Availability varies, so some enterprise accounts may not have access to it.

The important distinction is that Scenes plans the sequence, while you choose the renderer.

Also choose the available duration and aspect ratio that fit the intended delivery. Use 16:9 for landscape-oriented work or 9:16 for vertical placements when appropriate.

Review the storyboard before creating the video

Once Scenes has processed the brief, the modal expands into the storyboard view.

You will see the story broken across a timeline with individual keyframes representing important moments in the sequence.

Treat this as an approval pass, not simply a preview.

Check each frame for:

• Story clarity: Can you understand the sequence without watching the final video?
• Product accuracy: Is the correct product, logo, color, or packaging visible?
• Composition: Does each frame work as an intentional shot?
• Sequence: Does one beat logically lead into the next?
• Final frame: If the piece needs a product hero, logo, or title card, is it correct before you render?

Logos, products, and end title cards are particularly strong use cases for Scenes, so they are good anchors around which to build a short spot.

Adjust the timing

The timeline is editable.

Drag keyframes along the timeline to control exactly when different beats happen.

This is useful when a particular moment needs to land at a specific point—for example:

• the reveal at the midpoint
• a product close-up before the final shot
• a logo during the last few seconds
• a title card at the end

Think in terms of beats, not simply evenly spaced shots.

A reveal may deserve more time than a transitional frame. An end card may need enough room to be readable. A rapid montage may intentionally compress several moments together.

Fix individual problems instead of starting over

You do not have to throw away the complete storyboard because one frame is wrong.

You can regenerate, iterate on, or replace an individual keyframe while keeping approved frames unchanged.

A practical iteration loop is:

1. Review the complete sequence.
2. Identify the frame that is breaking the story.
3. Fix that frame.
4. Review the transition around it.
5. Continue until the sequence is ready.

Once the storyboard is approved, create the video.

You can also extract the storyboard frames as individual assets rather than immediately rendering the finished sequence.

A helpful reminder

Luma Scenes is designed for short-form sequencing, not long-form filmmaking.

Start with a contained idea: one product story, one campaign beat, one short narrative, or one social spot. If a concept requires many scenes, a large cast, or extensive continuity across a long runtime, split it into smaller pieces instead of asking one Scenes generation to manage everything.

And when people are involved, expect to spend more time reviewing and regenerating keyframes. The approval step is where those issues can be caught before the final render.

Key takeaway

Use Luma Scenes to plan before you render. Give it the complete creative idea, add references for anything important, choose your render model, then treat the generated storyboard as an editable approval surface.

Fix the sequence and timing first. Create the final video only when the keyframes tell the story you want.