Cinematography Reference — GTA V Style
Shot patterns, camera language, color grade specs, and editing rhythm for GTA V-style video production.

## The GTA V Camera Language

GTA V's cutscenes are directed like a mid-budget Hollywood crime film — precise, economical, and always purposeful. Every shot choice is a character statement.

## The 6 Core GTA V Shots

The Low Angle Establishment Camera below eye level looking up at the subject. Used when a character is powerful, dangerous, or about to do something.
Height: knee-to-waist level
Lens: wide (24-28mm equivalent) — distorts slightly, adds menace
When: first appearance of a threat; moment a character asserts control
Example: Trevor emerging from a trailer. The camera is below the step.
The Slow Push / Dolly In Camera starts wide and slowly moves toward a subject or scene. Creates dread or significance.
Movement: 3-8 seconds to travel, barely perceptible at first
Used for: establishing a location, a character about to speak, an object with importance
The push tells the audience: this matters
The Over-Shoulder Dialogue Two-character scenes cut on an axis: over the left shoulder of A to the right shoulder of B. Standard GTA V dialogue framing.
Keep the background in soft focus but identifiable — it's part of the world
Break the 180 only when the power dynamic shifts
Reactions are as important as the lines
The Profile Walk Character walks left-to-right or right-to-left in frame, camera tracking at medium distance. Los Santos slides past behind them.
Used for: establishing a character in their world, transitions, cool factor
The environment in the background should be doing work: Vinewood sign, Maze Bank tower, Sandy Shores heat shimmer
The Aerial Pull-Back Drone/helicopter shot that starts tight on a location and pulls back to reveal the city scale. GTA V uses this for act breaks and establishing new locations.
Best used to: end a sequence, establish stakes, show isolation vs. city
The city is always bigger than the person — that's the point
The Handheld Close Tight on a face, slightly unsteady. Used for chaos, confrontation, or genuine emotion.
Reserved for Trevor's most unhinged moments, real emotional beats, violence
The handheld says: we are no longer in control
Shot Duration Reference
Scene Type	Average Shot Length
Action sequence	1.5 – 3 sec per shot
Dialogue scene	4 – 8 sec per shot
Establishing / aerial	5 – 10 sec
Slow character reveal	6 – 12 sec
Emotional close	3 – 6 sec (hold longer than comfortable)
Transition insert	1 – 2 sec
GTA V's editing rhythm is measured — not the frantic cutting of an action blockbuster. It lets scenes breathe just enough to feel cinematic.

- Scene Structure: Shot Sequences by Type
- Mission Briefing Scene (3-5 shots)

SHOT 1: Establishing — the location. Wide. Who's in the room.
SHOT 2: Slow push toward the speaker. They haven't noticed us yet.
SHOT 3: Medium on speaker — they turn, address the camera/protagonist.
SHOT 4: Over-shoulder reactions (cut 2-3 times if multiple characters)
SHOT 5: Wide final — everyone in frame, the weight of what was said.

## Heist/Action Sequence (6-10 shots)

SHOT 1: Aerial or wide — location context, scale
SHOT 2: Low angle crew approaching
SHOT 3: Close on hands / object (key, gun, door handle) — the action begins
SHOT 4: Wide action — the chaos in full frame
SHOT 5: Close reaction — face under pressure
SHOT 6: The complication (new element in frame)
SHOT 7: Handheld chase or fight — tight, fast
SHOT 8: The landing — consequence in frame
SHOT 9: Aerial pull-back OR static wide — aftermath
Character Intro (2-4 shots)

SHOT 1: Environment before the character — set the world
SHOT 2: Low angle reveal — feet, then body, then face (if building tension)
         OR: Medium direct — if confident introduction
SHOT 3: Profile walk OR static close — who they are
(OPTIONAL SHOT 4): Their POV — what they see, what they want
Satirical Ad Video (4-6 shots)

SHOT 1: Problem — person in relatable bad situation (medium, natural light)
SHOT 2: Product reveal — slow push or glamour shot of product
SHOT 3: "After" — person in aspirational situation (warm light, up angle)
SHOT 4: Brand logo / billboard / tagline — static, clean
SHOT 5 (optional): Fine print reveal — same cheerful tone, horror content
GTA V Color Grade Specifications
The Teal + Orange Formula
This is the defining color grade of GTA V's cinematic scenes. It mirrors the Hollywood blockbuster grade but pushed harder.

Shadows: Push toward teal (cyan-green). RGB shift: R↓ G↑ B↑ in shadows. Highlights: Push toward warm amber-orange. RGB shift: R↑ G↑ B↓ in highlights. Midtones: Slightly desaturated — this makes the teal and orange pop harder. Overall: High contrast. Blacks are crushed. Whites are bright but not blown.

For AI video tools — add this to your prompt:

teal shadows, amber-orange highlights, high contrast, crushed blacks, cinematic color grade

## Scene-Specific Variations

Rockford Hills (luxury, day):

Warm golden hour, soft shadows, rich amber. Almost too beautiful. Hides what's underneath. Prompt add: warm golden hour, soft fill light, shallow depth of field, rich amber tones

Sandy Shores (desert, day):

Bleached, overexposed midtones. Heat shimmer. Dirty orange. The teal drains away — it's all heat here. Prompt add: overexposed desert light, bleached midtones, dirty orange, heat haze

Downtown / Night:

Deep teal shadows, hot sodium orange street lights, neon accents (red, green, blue). Wet streets double the neon. Prompt add: deep teal shadows, sodium vapor streetlights, neon reflections on wet asphalt, night Los Santos

Industrial / Warehouse:

Fluorescent cool overhead light, deep shadows in corners, green-teal cast. Concrete and steel. Prompt add: fluorescent industrial lighting, cool green-teal cast, deep shadows, concrete environment

Interior Night (luxury):

Warm amber lamp light, windows showing cold blue city outside. The contrast between inside wealth and outside reality. Prompt add: warm interior amber lighting, cold blue outside windows, luxury interior, high contrast

## Los Santos Environment Visual Notes

### Rockford Hills

- Wide streets, manicured lawns, gates and hedges
- Color: warm amber, lush greens, cream architecture
- Energy: wealth performing itself
- Sound (for video): quiet, distant traffic, birdsong, the occasional helicopter

## Vinewood Boulevard

Palm trees, neon, tour buses, disappointed-looking people who've been here a while
Color: faded glamour — warm yellows, dusty pinks, old neon reds
Energy: manufactured dreams, real hustle underneath
The signs are all slightly wrong. The people know it.

## Sandy Shores / Blaine County

Flat, brown, baking. Trailer parks, meth, American flags, satellite dishes.
Color: bleached orange-brown, overexposed sky, dirty whites
Energy: forgotten America at the end of a dead-end road. Alive in a way cities aren't.
Nothing is ironic here. The irony is that it isn't ironic.

## Strawberry / Davis

Dense blocks, corner stores, churches next to liquor stores, community that got left behind
Color: warm afternoon light, deep shadows in alleys, faded paint
Energy: real, grounded — the city that exists underneath the city Los Santos advertises
Downtown LSC
Glass towers, Maze Bank, men in suits, food trucks for the suits
Color: corporate glass-blue in the towers, warm street level, the contrast is the comment
Energy: power that doesn't need to prove itself because it owns the permits
Editing Rhythm Reference
GTA V cutscenes follow these editing principles:

Hold your shots. Most amateur GTA-style edits cut too fast. The power is in the hold — letting the camera push a few extra beats before cutting.

Cut on action, not after it. Cut in the middle of a movement, not at its end. Creates propulsion.

The reaction beat. Always cut to a reaction. What someone's face does with the information is the scene, not the information itself.

Sound design carries the scene. GTA V relies on ambient sound — traffic, wind, distant music — to fill silence. The score enters late and leaves early.

Match cut discipline. GTA uses match cuts sparingly but perfectly. When they appear (cut from a lighter flame to a desert sun), they carry enormous weight. Plan one per video for impact.

The static wide after chaos. After any action sequence, cut to a wide static shot. Let it breathe for 3-5 seconds. The city is still there. It doesn't care what just happened.
