veo · diff

git:20260810.4dbaa58 to git:20260811.2481352

19 added, 41 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: veo

description: |

This skill should be used when the user specifically asks for Veo, or

names a Veo-specific control: "generate video with Veo", "extend this

video" / "video-to-video", "first and last frame transition", "ingredients

to video" / "consistent characters across shots", or integrating with an

existing Veo pipeline.

Not the default for a plain "generate a video" / "make a video from this

photo" request with no Veo-specific control named — prefer Gemini Omni

Flash for that (Google's current default for video generation: better

coherence, multi-input reasoning, character consistency, multi-turn

editing). Reach for this skill only when the task specifically needs

Veo's own controls.

context: fork

model: sonnet

---

# Veo Video Generation

- Generate video with Google Veo 3.1 via the Gemini API. Supports

- text-to-video, image-to-video, video extension, and multi-shot workflows

- with cinematography control and synchronized audio.

+ Generate video with Google Veo 3.1 via the Gemini API, with cinematography

+ control and synchronized audio.

- **This is not the default video-generation route.** Google's current

- guidance is to reach for Gemini Omni Flash first — it gives better video

- coherence, reasons over text/image/audio/video together, keeps characters

- consistent, and supports multi-turn conversational editing via the

- Interactions API. Come here specifically for Veo's own controls: scene

- extension, last-frame control, or integrating with an existing Veo

- pipeline. If the request is a plain "generate a video of X," that is

- Omni Flash's job, not this skill's.

+ Not the default video-generation route: a plain "generate a video of X" is

+ Gemini Omni Flash's job, which leads on coherence, multi-input reasoning,

+ character consistency, and multi-turn editing. Come here for Veo's own

+ controls.

```bash

export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key"

SCRIPT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/veo/scripts/generate_video.py"

uv run "$SCRIPT" "A neon hologram of a cat driving at top speed"

uv run "$SCRIPT" "Slow dolly shot, cinematic lighting" --image photo.jpg

uv run "$SCRIPT" "Zoom out to reveal the skyline" --model veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview --duration 4

```

The path goes through `CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT` because this runs with the

user's project as the working directory, not this one. A bare relative

path does not resolve.

The script declares its own dependency inline (PEP 723), so `uv run`

resolves it; there is no install step. `--help` carries the current flags.

- The script covers text-to-video and image-to-video. Video extension,

- first/last-frame transitions, and ingredients-to-video (reference images)

- take more inputs than a CLI comfortably carries — see

- [references/api-examples.md](references/api-examples.md) for worked code

- to adapt directly.

+ The script covers text-to-video and image-to-video, and nothing else.

+ Video extension, first/last-frame transitions, and ingredients-to-video

+ take more inputs than a CLI comfortably carries; timestamp prompting takes

+ no parameter at all. None of the four are commands — they are code and

+ prompt text to adapt in place, in

+ [references/api-examples.md](references/api-examples.md) and

+ [references/prompting-guide.md](references/prompting-guide.md).

## Choosing a Veo variant

| Model | Use when |

|---|---|

| `veo-3.1-generate-preview` | Best fidelity, production/hero shots |

| `veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview` | Faster iteration, drafts |

| `veo-3.1-lite-generate-preview` | Cheapest, quick previews, high volume |

Price scales per second of output, and the same two levers move it for

- every variant: resolution (720p/1080p/4k) and whether audio is generated

- alongside the video (video+audio costs more than video-only). Check

+ every variant: resolution, and whether audio is generated alongside the

+ video (video+audio costs more than video-only). Check

[Google's Vertex AI generative-AI pricing page](https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/pricing)

for the current per-second figures before a spend decision — a number

copied here would go stale silently.

## Duration

Supported single-generation durations are **4, 6, or 8 seconds** —

anything else is rejected by the API. `--duration` defaults to 8.

## The Prompting Formula

For consistent, high-quality results, structure prompts using:

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

### Example

```

Medium shot, a tired corporate worker, rubbing his temples in exhaustion,

in front of a bulky 1980s computer in a cluttered office late at night.

The scene is lit by the harsh fluorescent overhead lights and the green

glow of the monochrome monitor. Retro aesthetic, shot as if on 1980s

color film, slightly grainy.

```

For detailed cinematography language (camera movements, composition, lens

techniques), see [references/prompting-guide.md](references/prompting-guide.md).

## Audio Direction

Veo 3.1 generates complete soundtracks based on text instructions in the

same prompt — there is no separate audio parameter.

- **Dialogue** — quotation marks: `A woman says, "We have to leave now."`

- **Sound effects** — described explicitly: `SFX: thunder cracks in the distance`

- **Ambient noise** — background soundscape: `Ambient noise: the quiet hum of a starship bridge`

- ## Advanced Workflows

- For complex projects requiring precise control, combine Veo with an image

- model (e.g. Gemini's image generation) to prepare inputs, then feed them

- to Veo:

- - **First and Last Frame** — controlled transition between two specific

- viewpoints (`last_frame` in the generation config).

- - **Ingredients to Video** — consistent characters/objects across shots via

- `reference_images` in the generation config.

- - **Timestamp Prompting** — direct a multi-shot sequence with precise

- timing inside a single generation, via the prompt text alone.

- See [references/prompting-guide.md](references/prompting-guide.md) for

- workflow instructions and [references/api-examples.md](references/api-examples.md)

- for the code.

## Watermarking

Google DeepMind documents that Veo output carries an invisible SynthID

- watermark — invisible does not mean absent, and it is meant to be

- machine-detectable rather than seen. Whether API output additionally

- carries a *visible* watermark, the way some consumer surfaces (the Gemini

- app, Flow) do, is **not verified here** — do not assume API output is

- visibly watermark-free, and do not assume it is watermarked, without

- checking a generated clip directly.

+ watermark — invisible does not mean absent. Whether API output *also*

+ carries a visible watermark, the way some consumer surfaces (the Gemini

+ app, Flow) do, is **not verified here** — check a generated clip rather

+ than assuming either way.

## Resources

- [Veo API Reference](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/video)

- [Google GenAI Python SDK](https://github.com/googleapis/python-genai)