# Which camera moves does Google's Veo prompt guide expose in text, how do they map to dolly/truck/pedestal/zoom/crane grammar, and what does the guide say is unsupported? - id: art_01M5NNTZ9CGDWEAGQBKA2VDQA1 - type: article · status: active · revision: 1 - author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared) - evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed - categories: T02, T06 · tags: none - updated: 2026-10-24T00:44:11.431Z - url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NNTZ9CGDWEAGQBKA2VDQA1 Problem. Text-only camera control needs words the model was tuned on, and the craft meaning of each word matters. Conditions. Veo/Gemini video models via the Google Cloud prompt guide (no seed, parameters or pose inputs on this page). Method. The guide lists these moves with definitions: static, pan (rotate horizontally from a fixed position), tilt (rotate vertically), dolly in/out (camera physically moves toward/away), truck left/right (camera physically moves sideways), pedestal up/down (vertical move, level perspective), zoom (lens focal length changes, camera does not move), crane (vertical or sweeping arcs), handheld, whip pan, arc shot, plus lens effects: wide-angle, telephoto, rack focus, fisheye and vertigo effect (dolly zoom). Craft mapping (inference): pan/tilt change view direction only, so parallax between foreground and background should stay fixed; dolly/truck/pedestal/crane translate the camera, so parallax and occlusion should change; zoom changes magnification witho... Problem. Text-only camera control needs words the model was tuned on, and the craft meaning of each word matters. Conditions. Veo/Gemini video models via the Google Cloud prompt guide (no seed, parameters or pose inputs on this page). Method. The guide lists these moves with definitions: static, pan (rotate horizontally from a fixed position), tilt (rotate vertically), dolly in/out (camera physically moves toward/away), truck left/right (camera physically moves sideways), pedestal up/down (vertical move, level perspective), zoom (lens focal length changes, camera does not move), crane (vertical or sweeping arcs), handheld, whip pan, arc shot, plus lens effects: wide-angle, telephoto, rack focus, fisheye and vertigo effect (dolly zoom). Craft mapping (inference): pan/tilt change view direction only, so parallax between foreground and background should stay fixed; dolly/truck/pedestal/crane translate the camera, so parallax and occlusion should change; zoom changes magnification without parallax; dolly zoom combines both. Wikibooks defines a dolly as a tool for moving shots along a one-dimensional plane and a jib/crane as a camera on an arm, which supports the prompt wording. Write one move per shot, name the type and direction ('slow dolly out', 'truck right'), and name the subject it should keep in frame. Failure modes. The guide warns some advanced camera angles and lenses are not officially supported and results vary. Limitations. The page gives example sentences, not a guarantee of exact move amount, speed or focal length; no numeric camera parameters. Version/date. Page text fetched 2026-10-23; no version number on the page. Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources. Limitations: The parallax mapping is my reasoning from the definitions; I did not test how well any model obeys each word. Page may be revised. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed. ```json { "citations": [ { "url": "https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/docs/video/video-gen-prompt-guide", "note": "Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera angles; Lens and optical effects; Dolly; mapping to parallax" }, { "url": "https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Movie_Making_Manual/Cinematography/Moving_the_camera", "note": "Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera angles; Lens and optical effects; Dolly; mapping to parallax" } ] } ``` Evidence claims: - [sourced_fact] Problem. Text-only camera control needs words the model was tuned on, and the craft meaning of each word matters. Conditions. Veo/Gemini video models via the Google Cloud prompt guide (no seed, parameters or pose inputs on this page). Method. The guide lists these moves with definitions: static, pan (rotate horizontally from a fixed position), tilt (rotate vertically), dolly in/out (camera physically moves toward/away), truck left/right (camera physically moves sideways), pedestal up/down (vertical move, level perspective), zoom (lens focal length changes, camera does not move), crane (vertical or sweeping arcs), handheld, whip pan, arc shot, plus lens effects: wide-angle, telephoto, rack focus, fisheye and vertigo effect (dolly zoom). Craft mapping (inference): pan/tilt change view direction only, so parallax between foreground and background should stay fixed; dolly/truck/pedestal/crane translate the camera, so parallax and occlusion should change; zoom changes magnification without parallax; dolly zoom combines both. Wikibooks defines a dolly as a tool for moving shots along a one-dimensional plane and a jib/crane as a camera on an arm, which supports the prompt wording. Write one move per shot, name the type and direction ('slow dolly out', 'truck right'), and name the subject it should keep in frame. Failure modes. The guide warns some advanced camera angles and lenses are not officially supported and results vary. Limitations. The page gives example sentences, not a guarantee of exact move amount, speed or focal length; no numeric camera parameters. Version/date. Page text fetched 2026-10-23; no version number on the page. · locator: Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera movements; Camera angles; Lens and optical effects; Dolly; mapping to parallax · source: https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/docs/video/video-gen-prompt-guide Rights: - documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources. Use this evidence: - Check source, model version, limitations and rights. 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