Google's Veo 3.1 prompting guide gives a five-part formula and a separate way to direct sound. This sheet quotes both.
- Formula: [Cinematography] + [Subject] + [Action] + [Context] + [Style & Ambiance].
- Camera first. Google's formula opens with cinematography, not the subject.
- Sound has its own syntax. Dialogue in quotation marks,
SFX:for effects,Ambient noise:for background. - Exclusions: be specific. Google: “describe what you wish to exclude” — its example is “a desolate landscape with no buildings or roads”.
- A
negativePromptfield exists on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform (formerly Vertex AI), not in the Gemini API.
Every rule on this sheet is quoted from the vendor's own published documentation, linked where it is used.
The formula
Google Cloud, Ultimate prompting guide for Veo 3.1, read at source 16 Sep 2026: “[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, photoreal. SFX: the low hum of a potter's wheel. Ambient noise: quiet room tone, distant traffic.
SFX: the low hum of a potter’s wheel. Ambient noise: quiet room tone, distant traffic.Breakdown — what each part does
Cinematography
Google: “Define the camera work and shot composition.”
Subject
Google: “Identify the main character or focal point.”
Action
Google: “Describe what the subject is doing.”
Context
Google: “Detail the environment and background elements.”
Style & Ambiance
Google: “Specify the overall aesthetic, mood, and lighting.”
Audio
Google: “Veo 3.1 can generate a complete soundtrack based on your text instructions.” Quotation marks for dialogue, SFX: for effects, Ambient noise: for the soundscape.
Does it take a negative prompt?
negativePrompt on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, formerly Vertex AI. Not in the Gemini API.YESGoogle Cloud, Generate videos from text prompts, read at source 16 Sep 2026: “A string value that describes content that you want to prevent the model from generating.” docs.cloud.google.com. The Gemini API’s Veo reference lists no negative prompt parameter.
In the prompt itself, Google's advice is specificity, not a ban on the word "no". Its example keeps "no": “a desolate landscape with no buildings or roads” instead of “no man-made structures”. Name the exact things that should be absent.
Google Cloud, Ultimate prompting guide for Veo 3.1, read at source 16 Sep 2026: “To refine your output, describe what you wish to exclude.” An earlier version of this sheet told you to write plain nouns only and never "no"; Google's own example uses "no", so that rule was removed.
Open with the camera, label the sound, and name exactly what should be absent.
What not to do
SFX: and Ambient noise:.✕Free or paid? What the free plan allows, who owns the output, and when you need to pay: free vs paid AI image, video and music tools.
Where this model sits among the others: which models take a negative prompt, and what each vendor publishes as its formula.
What a Veo clip costs is priced by the second, not by the clip.
The checklist
Before you send it:
SFX: and Ambient noise: labelled?□Google Cloud, Ultimate prompting guide for Veo 3.1 · Google Cloud, Generate videos from text prompts All read at source on 16 Sep 2026.
Model versions and vendor documentation both move. Re-read the source before relying on a specific number.
Every other sheet in this set: all model cheat sheets.