How to Use Google Flow: A Current Beginner Workflow

Before you begin

Confirm that Flow supports your country and account. Google currently allows limited free daily use, so a paid plan is not required for every first experiment.

Create your first video

1. Start a project

   Open Google Flow and create a new project. Projects keep related assets, characters, prompts and scenes together.

2. Choose standard or Agent mode

   Use the standard prompt box for direct control or turn on Agent for conversational planning and generation.

3. Select Video

   Open the model selector, choose Video and confirm the active model, duration, orientation, number of outputs and credit cost.

4. Describe one shot

   State the subject, visible action, environment, lighting and style. Keep the first request focused on one shot.

5. Add supported references

   Optionally add a start frame, end frame, visual ingredient, character or supported voice reference.

6. Generate and review

   Check composition, motion, identity, audio, unwanted text and continuity. Save useful versions and change one major variable at a time.

7. Build or export

   Add clips to Scenebuilder, edit a supported clip, download an asset or publish an eligible clip to YouTube.

A practical prompt structure

[subject] + [single visible action] + [environment] +
[shot size and camera movement] + [lighting and mood] +
[essential continuity or exclusion constraint]

Editorial example:

A solitary cyclist crosses a rain-darkened bridge at blue hour,
slow lateral tracking shot at wheel height, compressed city lights behind,
natural wheel motion, restrained cinematic contrast, no visible text.

Choose the right input mode

• Use Text to Video when the shot can be described without a visual anchor.

• Use a first frame to animate a specific starting composition.

• Use first and last frames for a planned transition where supported.

• Use ingredients or character references when recurring identity or objects matter.

• Use Omni Flash video editing when you need to change a supported uploaded or generated clip.

Work efficiently with credits

Before generating, check the current cost in Settings. Start with one output and a lower-cost model when exploring composition. Increase cost only after the prompt and references are stable.

Iterate without losing the lesson

Keep a short log of:

• Prompt version.

• Model and duration.

• Inputs used.

• One change made.

• What improved or failed.

Changing subject, camera, style, duration and references simultaneously makes the next result difficult to diagnose.

Evidence note

This tutorial follows current official product instructions. FlowTool does not maintain a paid account lab and has not independently output-tested every model, control or example prompt.