Getting good results from CaraOne's search tools isn't about luck—it’s about knowing how to prompt for the results you are expecting. Think of it this way: if it took you weeks or months to get comfortable with Adobe Premiere or Avid Media Composer, learning to prompt effectively should only take a few hours. It’s more like the learning curve you faced with Google searches or your first time using ChatGPT—quick to pick up, but with huge payoffs once you get the hang of it.
Here are some examples to help you form effective search prompts, broken down by concept:
Language Tips:
Stick to One Language: Unless your CaraOne system is set to another language and English is a translation reference, using mixed languages in a single search can cause confusion and poorer results. For example, instead of "A red ‘chienne’ on leash," search for "A red dog on a leash".
Searching for simple queries:
"A man walking on the beach" - This looks for a general man in a specific location/activity.
"A woman in a red dress" - This looks for a woman with a distinguishing feature of her attire.
"A man reading a diary" - This looks for a man performing a specific action with a particular object.
"A man reading the newspaper in the subway" - This combines a person, action, object, and location for highly specific results.
Searching for emotions:
"A man crying" - This looks for a general man in a specific mood/activity.
"A woman smiling" - This looks for a woman with a distinguishing feature of her mood.
"A man looking joyful at a football match" - This looks for a man performing a specific action with a particular location.
"A man reading the newspaper in the subway calmly" - This combines a person, action, object, mood, and location for highly specific results.
Searching for concepts:
"The silence of the world" - This seeks to find footage representing an abstract idea or mood.
"The beauty of nature" - This looks for broad natural scenes.
"Drone footage of the baseball field" - This adds cinematic filters.
Searching for a Named Person with Specific Details:
"Steve" - This simple prompt is for any footage featuring Steve as identified by the Face Recognition Feature.
"Steve wearing a uniform" - This finds footage where Steve is wearing a specific outfit as identified by the Face Recognition Feature.
"Emily in a red dress" - This looks for Emily with a distinguishing feature of her attire, as identified by the Face Recognition Feature.
Searching for Multiple Named Persons:
"Steve & Jean" - This finds footage featuring both Steve and Jean as identified by the Face Recognition Feature.
"Steve and Jean and Emily" - This searches for footage with all three individuals as identified by the Face Recognition Feature.
"Steve, Jean, Emily" - This searches for footage with all three individuals as identified by the Face Recognition Feature.
Searching the transcript:
"I'm in England" - Reveals soundbites about being in England, but doesn't have to be word for word. Perhaps the results may identify Manchester or London.
Single word search - Searching "angry" will return the exact word if found in the transcript but also consider the definition of that word
Word for word search - Knowing the transcript and searching on the exact phrase will be helpful in locating takes or scenes
Key Takeaways for Search Prompts:
Specificity is Key: The more details you include, the better the results will be.
Consider Your Focus: Are you looking for a concept, a single person, a person with details, or a group?
Build Up Detail: You can start broad (e.g., "Steve") and then add specifics (e.g., "Steve wearing a uniform") to refine your search.
Avoid Negative Prompts:
It's important to phrase your searches positively. Here's what to avoid and why:
Avoid "not" or "except": Instead of "A man not in the city," search for "A man on the beach, a man in a park, a man in an office"
Be Direct: Instead of "Not Steve," try searching for the specific person you do want.
Simplify: Instead of "Steve and Jean without Emily," just search for "Steve and Jean." This will likely give you the results you need.
Avoid Audio Misconceptions:
Tone searches - Tone like "yelling" or "whisper" will look for the word yelling or whisper or someone saying something similar per the definition of those words.
Sound Effects (coming on the roadmap) - Searching for crowd applause will not work, try a visual search for "crowd applause" instead
Speaker Identification (coming on the roadmap) - Searching for "Bob Hope says a joke" won't return Bob Hope talking. Instead, try facial recognition first, folder filtering, and searching for ideas and concepts of what was spoken to narrow down.
Know your Filtered, Focused Area
You might not get the results you expect when filtered to the wrong folder, choose higher up folders or the entire media pool
You might not get the formats you expect. Check the filter by date, resolution, and FPS settings
You might expect video but get sound results. Change the filter by type
You might not get the results you expect when filtered to a specific BIN. In this case choose the project folder or even all the project folders.
In summary:
CaraOne works best when it knows exactly what you're looking for. When you use specific, positive language, you help the system understand your needs and deliver the best results.
Do: Be specific. Focus on what you want. Use positive phrasing.
Do: Experiment, play, and test to gain trust. On-prem AI doesn't cost more the more it's used!
Don't: Use "not" statements. Don't use overly complex negative phrases. Avoid mixing languages.
This guide aims to be clear, direct, and provide practical examples that users can easily understand and implement.