Veo lip sync prompting guide
Last checked 2026-10-11Veo 3.1 (Google) · Veo 3.1 / Fast / Lite; Veo 3 deprecated
How to prompt Veo in lip sync / dialogue mode. Every point links its source; community tips are marked. Your agent gets the same guide through the Atlas MCP (get_guide).
Prompt structure
cinematography→speaker→action→dialogue quoted→sfx→ambient
- Five-part formula: [Cinematography] + [Subject] + [Action] + [Context] + [Style & Ambiance]; cinematography is the most powerful element for tone. source ↗
What the text should describe
- Dialogue in quotation marks: A woman says, "We have to leave now." source ↗
- Bracketed delivery cue before the quoted line: '“[lightly frustrated, conversational] I was about to …”' plus a stable-room line ('The room, desk … remain physically stable throughout'). community source ↗
Camera vocabulary
- Movement: dolly, tracking, crane, aerial, slow pan, POV. Composition: wide, close-up, extreme close-up, low angle, two-shot. Lens: shallow depth of field, wide-angle, soft focus, macro, deep focus. source ↗
Responds well to
- Audio: dialogue in quotes (A woman says, "..."), 'SFX: ...', 'Ambient noise: ...'. source ↗
Duration and limits
- Text input limit 1,024 tokens. durationSeconds 4, 6 or 8; must be 8 with reference images, extension, or 1080p/4k. Aspect 16:9 or 9:16. Extension: +7 s up to 20 times, up to 148 s total, 720p only, Veo-generated input only. source ↗
Multi-shot
- Timestamp prompting: [00:00-00:02] shot one ... [00:02-00:04] shot two, each with camera, action, SFX or emotion. source ↗
Avoid and failure modes
- Phrase exclusions positively: 'a desolate landscape with no buildings or roads' rather than 'no man-made structures'. source ↗
- Creators report an unwanted slow-motion feel on Veo 3.1; state real-time speed explicitly (community report, unverified). community source ↗
Negative prompt
Supported via negativePrompt. source ↗
Real prompts, credited
A woman says, "We have to leave now." SFX: thunder cracks in the distance. Ambient noise: the quiet hum of a starship bridge.
Veo 3.1 Lite cost me $0.4 for this video Prompt used: on camera Must show: creator “[lightly frustrated, conversational] I was about to write an outreach message when another client call pulled me into a different workspace.” frustrated, direct, conversational energy Mikko Saarinen delivers the complete hook and problem in one continuous desk take. He begins seated upright with one hand near the three separate briefing folders, opens one hand toward the divided whiteboard columns while describing the repeated context check, then returns his hand to the desk edge and holds the lens. The room, desk, folders, and whiteboard remain physically stable throughout.
Next
All Veo modesVeo model, prices & shotsFrom $0.05/s · pricesSeedance lip syncKling lip syncRunway lip syncHailuo (MiniMax) lip sync