Vertex AI Veo Prompting Guide
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of how to write effective prompts for Veo, Google's text-to-video and image-to-video generation model.
Core Components
A well-structured prompt typically includes:
- Subject: The main character, object, or focus.
- Action: What the subject is doing.
- Scene/Context: The environment, setting, and background.
- Cinematography: Camera angles, movements, and lens effects.
- Visual Style: The overall aesthetic, lighting, and mood.
- Ambiance: Sensory details.
- Audio: Sound effects or speech.
Detailed Options
Cinematography (Camera & Lens)
Camera Angles
- Eye-Level Shot: Neutral perspective.
- Low-Angle Shot: Subject appears powerful.
- High-Angle Shot: Subject appears small/vulnerable.
- Bird's-Eye View / Top-Down: Directly from above.
- Dutch Angle / Canted Angle: Tilted to convey unease.
- Close-Up / Extreme Close-Up: Emphasizes emotions/details.
- Wide Shot / Establishing Shot: Shows context.
- Over-the-Shoulder: Behind one person looking at another.
- Point-of-View (POV): Character's visual perspective.
Camera Movements
- Static/Fixed: No movement.
- Pan (Left/Right): Horizontal rotation.
- Tilt (Up/Down): Vertical rotation.
- Dolly (In/Out): Camera moves closer/further.
- Zoom (In/Out): Lens focal length change.
- Truck (Left/Right): Camera moves laterally.
- Pedestal (Up/Down): Camera moves vertically.
- Crane / Aerial / Drone Shot: High altitude, sweeping.
- Handheld / Shaky Cam: Realism or unease.
- Whip Pan: Fast blur pan.
Lens & Optical Effects
- Wide-Angle (e.g., 24mm): Broader view, exaggerated perspective.
- Telephoto (e.g., 85mm): Compressed perspective, isolation.
- Shallow Depth of Field / Bokeh: Blurred background.
- Deep Depth of Field: Everything in focus.
- Lens Flare: Bright light source effect.
- Rack Focus: Shifting focus between subjects.
- Vertigo Effect (Dolly Zoom): Disorienting distortion.
Visual Style & Aesthetics
- Photorealistic / Cinematic: High fidelity.
- Vintage / Film Noir: Sepia, grainy, high contrast black & white.
- Animation Styles: 3D cartoon, Claymation, Stop-motion, Anime.
- Artistic: Impressionist (Van Gogh), Surrealist.
- Lighting: High-key (bright), Low-key (dark/moody), Golden hour, Volumetric (God rays), Backlighting (silhouette).
Temporal Elements
- Pacing: Slow-motion, Fast-paced action.
- Evolution: Time-lapse, Hyperlapse.
- Rhythm: Pulsating light, Rhythmic movement.
Best Practices
- Be Specific: Avoid "A man walking." Use "Eye-level medium shot of a young man in a soaked trench coat..."
- Negative Prompts: Define what to exclude (e.g., "Negative prompt: blurry, distorted, text, watermark").
- Iterate: Use Gemini to rewrite prompts for better detail.
Audio (Preview)
Specify sound effects or speech clearly.
- "The audio features water splashing."
- "The man says, 'Where is the rabbit?'"