Veo 3.1 Prompting Cheat Sheet

The one formula that opens with the camera — plus the audio syntax most guides never mention.

TL;DR — THE SHORT VERSION

Formula: [Cinematography] + [Subject] + [Action] + [Context] + [Style & Ambiance].
Camera first — the only major formula that does not open with the subject.
Audio has its own syntax. Dialogue in quotation marks, SFX: for effects, Ambient noise: for background.
negativePrompt exists on Vertex AI — but write plain nouns, never "no X".
Google's own example: write "a desolate landscape with no buildings or roads", not "no man-made structures".

VENDOR-DOCUMENTED

This sheet quotes the vendor's own published prompting guidance.

The formula

[Cinematography] + [Subject] + [Action] + [Context] + [Style & Ambiance]

Template:

[shot size and camera move], [subject described specifically], [what they do], [environment and time], [aesthetic, mood, lighting]. Dialogue in quotes. SFX: [effect]. Ambient noise: [background].

Worked example:

Medium shot, slow push-in, a ceramicist in her fifties, centring a ball of clay and drawing it upward, north-facing studio at dusk with the wheel between her knees, muted earth palette and window light only, shot on 50mm, photoreal. SFX: the low hum of a potter's wheel. Ambient noise: quiet room tone, distant traffic.

Breakdown — what each part does

Cinematography

Shot size and camera movement, first. Wide, medium, close-up; dolly, tracking, crane, static.

Subject

Who or what, described specifically enough not to drift.

Action

What the subject does across the clip.

Context

Environment, time of day, background elements.

Style & Ambiance

Overall aesthetic, mood, lighting, film reference.

Audio

Separate syntax: quotation marks for dialogue, SFX: prefix for effects, Ambient noise: prefix for the soundscape.

Does it take a negative prompt?

Yes — negativePrompt on Vertex AI.YES

Write plain nouns and adjectives: cartoon, blurry, watermark. Never "no cartoon" or "don't make it blurry" — the field already means exclude, and instructive negation is what Google warns against. Where an exclusion can be phrased as something present, do that instead in the main prompt.

What not to do

Do not write "no" or "don't" inside the negative field — plain nouns only.✕

Do not lead with the subject; this formula opens with the camera.✕

Do not describe sound in prose and expect it to land — use the prefixes.✕

Do not put dialogue outside quotation marks.✕

NATIVE AUDIO

Veo generates audio with the video, which is why the audio syntax exists at all. Treating it as a silent video model and adding sound later throws away the model's strongest differentiator.

The checklist

Before you send it:

1 — Shot size and camera move stated first?□

2 — Subject specific enough not to drift?□

3 — Dialogue in quotation marks?□

4 — SFX: and Ambient noise: prefixed?□

5 — Negative field: plain nouns, no "no"?□

SOURCE

Google Cloud, Ultimate prompting guide for Veo 3.1. Checked 25 Aug 2026.

Model versions and vendor documentation both move. Re-read the source before relying on a specific number. Errors are logged at corrections.

Every other sheet in this set: all model cheat sheets.