AI Video Camera Movements: A Glossary of Shots, Angles and Moves

How to use this glossary

Each term comes with a plain explanation, the phrase to put in your prompt, and, where one exists, the exact form the vendor documents in its official guide. Checked in November 2026 against the guides for Google Veo 3.1, Kling 4.0 and 3.0, Seedance 2.0 and 2.5, Wan, MiniMax Hailuo 02, 2.3 and H3, and Runway Gen-4.5.

The short version: all of these models understand ordinary film language. Strict syntax only shows up in a handful of places:

• Hailuo 02, Hailuo 2.3 and T2V-01-Director: 15 camera commands in square brackets, such as [Pan left] or [Static shot].
• Seedance: literal symbols for sound and text, with （ ） for music, < > for sound effects, { } for dialogue and 【 】 for subtitles.
• MiniMax H3: a sectioned prompt with <d> tags for dialogue; camera moves go in prose, never in brackets.
• References to uploaded files: @Image1 or @Video1 in Kling; "Image 1" or "Video 1" in Seedance and Wan.
• Timestamps, which differ by model: [00:00-00:02] in Veo, Shot 1 (3s) in Kling, Shot 1 [0–3 s] in Wan, 0-3s in Seedance 2.5 and At 00:03.500 in H3.

If a term isn't in a model's documentation, that doesn't mean it fails, only that the vendor doesn't mention it. Test it on one short clip before you build a whole sequence around it.

Shot sizes

• Wide or establishing shot: the whole location is visible and the subject is small. Write "wide shot" or "establishing shot". Listed by Veo, Kling and Wan.
• Medium shot: the subject from the waist up. Write "medium shot" (Kling also uses "mid-shot"). In the Veo, Kling and Seedance guides.
• Medium wide shot: most of the body plus some surroundings. The term used in the H3 guide.
• Close-up: a face or object fills the frame. Write "close-up". Documented by Veo, Kling, Wan and H3.
• Extreme close-up: eyes, hands, a texture. Write "extreme close-up" (listed by Veo).
• Two-shot: two characters in the same frame, handy for dialogue. Write "two-shot" (listed by Veo).

Camera angles

• High angle: the camera looks down, so the subject feels smaller. Write "high-angle shot". Listed by Veo and Wan.
• Low angle: the camera looks up, so the subject feels imposing. Write "low-angle shot". Also in Veo and Wan.
• Top-down: the camera points straight down, like a map. Write "top-down shot" or "bird's-eye view". Listed by Kling and Wan.
• Aerial or drone shot: a view from the air, usually moving. Write "aerial shot" or "drone shot". In Veo and Wan.
• Eye level: the camera at the subject's eye line, the most neutral angle. Not listed as a term in the guides we read; "eye-level shot" is standard film vocabulary and usually understood.
• Dutch angle (tilted frame): no model documents a keyword for it. "Dutch angle" or "tilted camera" are the usual film terms, but results aren't guaranteed.

Google notes that some advanced angles and lens setups aren't officially supported in Veo. If an unusual angle won't come out, get the basic shot right first and add detail afterwards.

Camera movements

This is where models differ most. Ask for one move per shot: Seedance's guide says so explicitly, and it helps everywhere else too.

• Static camera: the frame doesn't move. Veo: "static shot" or "fixed camera". Runway recommends "locked-off". Seedance: "camera fixed". Wan: "fixed camera". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Static shot]. H3: "Static Shot" in prose.
• Dolly in / out: the camera physically moves toward or away from the subject. Veo: "slow dolly-in". Kling: "slow push-in", "pulls back". Wan: "camera pushes in" or "pulls out". Runway: "dolly". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Push in] and [Pull out].
• Truck left / right: the camera slides sideways, parallel to the subject. Veo: "truck left/right". Wan: "camera moves left/right". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Truck left] and [Truck right].
• Pan: the camera turns left or right on its axis without travelling. Veo: "pan left/right". Wan: "panning". Runway: "pan". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Pan left] and [Pan right].
• Tilt: the camera turns up or down without travelling. Veo: "tilt up/down". Wan: "tilts up". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Tilt up] and [Tilt down].
• Pedestal: the whole camera rises or lowers vertically. Veo: "pedestal up/down". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Pedestal up] and [Pedestal down].
• Arc or orbit: the camera circles the subject. Veo: "arc shot" or "180-degree arc". Kling: "camera circles the subject". Wan: "orbiting camera movement".
• Crane shot: a sweeping rise or descent, often to reveal a landscape. Veo: "crane shot".
• Handheld: slightly unsteady, documentary feel. Veo: "handheld" or "shaky cam". Kling: "handheld feel". Runway: "handheld". The closest Hailuo 02/2.3 command is [Shake].
• Tracking shot: the camera follows a moving subject. Veo and Wan: "tracking shot". Runway: "subject tracking". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Tracking shot]. H3: "Tracking Shot" in prose.
• Whip pan: a pan so fast the image blurs. Only Veo documents it: "whip pan".
• Zoom: the image magnifies by changing focal length while the camera stays put, which looks different from a dolly. Veo: "zoom in/out". Hailuo 02/2.3: [Zoom in] and [Zoom out].

In MiniMax H3, describe the camera in English prose with three pieces of information: the type of move, its amplitude and its speed, as in "the camera pushes in with small amplitude at slow speed". Brackets belong to Hailuo 02, 2.3 and T2V-01-Director only.

Lens and focus

• Depth of field: how much of the frame is sharp. Veo lists "deep focus" (everything sharp) and "soft focus". "Shallow depth of field" (blurred background) is the usual film phrase, though no guide we read lists it.
• Focus shift (rack focus): focus moves from one thing to another during the shot. Write "focus shifts from the cup to her face". H3 and Runway mention "focus shifts".
• Lenses and focal lengths (wide-angle, telephoto, "35mm lens"): no vendor documents specific terms. Veo lists optics as a prompt element but warns that not every advanced lens setup is supported. Treat them as a style hint rather than an exact instruction.

Lighting basics

No model documents special syntax for light. Describe it in prose, usually alongside style and mood (that's where Google's Veo structure puts it; Seedance places it right after the scene). The most useful film terms:

• Golden hour: low, warm light just after sunrise or before sunset.
• Soft, diffused light: no hard shadows, like an overcast day.
• Hard light: crisp shadows from direct sun or a bare bulb.
• Backlit or silhouette: the light source sits behind the subject.
• Window light: natural side light, flattering for interiors ("window light from the left").
• Practical lights: sources visible in the frame, such as a desk lamp or neon signs ("lit only by a desk lamp").
• Colour temperature: warm and orange ("warm tungsten light") or cool and blue ("cool blue night light").

Cuts, timing and multi-shot clips

• Edit terms: Veo accepts "match cut" and "jump cut" inside the prompt.
• Several shots in one clip: Veo uses [00:00-00:02] Medium shot… Kling 3.0 uses Shot 1 (3s): … Wan uses Shot 1 [0–3 s] … Seedance 2.0 uses "Shot 1 / Shot 2" without exact times, which its own guide calls unreliable. Seedance 2.5 uses whole seconds with no gaps (0-3s, 3-7s). H3 leaves shot 1 unmarked and starts later shots with "At 00:03.500, the camera cuts to…".
• Slow motion and time-lapse: no model documents a keyword. "Slow motion" and "time-lapse" are the obvious film terms; check the result.

Examples to copy

Camera moves written the way each vendor documents them. All subjects are made up.

180-degree arc shot around a young florist arranging sunflowers on a wooden counter in a small shop. Soft window light from the left, warm tones, shallow depth of field. Natural documentary style. Ambient noise: a quiet street outside and paper wrapping rustling.

A night-shift baker slides a tray of bread into a stone oven [Push in], then wipes her hands on her apron and looks at the clock [Static shot].

A medium wide shot frames a cyclist repairing a chain on a mountain road at dawn; the camera trucks right with small amplitude at slow speed, then holds as a static shot while the cyclist stands up and looks down the valley.

Locked-off camera at eye level. An elderly clockmaker in a narrow workshop opens the glass case of a wall clock and gently sets the hands to noon. Warm lamp light, dust in the air, calm and quiet mood.

Shot 1: a teenage skateboarder in a yellow hoodie rolls across an empty car park at sunset, tracking shot from the side. Shot 2: close-up of the board's wheels hitting a painted line, camera fixed. Warm golden hour light, film grain. <wheels rolling on concrete> Avoid generating any text or subtitles.

A fisherman mends a net on a pier at dawn. Shot 1 [0–3 s] aerial shot slowly descending toward the pier, cold blue light. Shot 2 [3–6 s] hard cut, close-up of his hands pulling the knot tight, fixed camera.

Common camera mistakes

• Stacking three or four moves in a short clip: models tend to blend them or drop one. Stick to one per shot.
• Using brackets outside Hailuo 02, 2.3 and T2V-01-Director: in H3 and other models they aren't commands.
• Writing "no camera movement" in Runway: its guide says negative phrasing isn't supported and can produce the opposite. Write "locked-off camera".
• Treating zoom and dolly as the same: one changes focal length, the other moves the camera, and they look different.
• Assuming an undocumented term (Dutch angle, slow motion) will behave the same in every model.

Let the PromptNow generator write the camera for you

If you'd rather not memorise each model's phrasing, PromptNow's Veo prompt generator and video scene template ask for shot, angle, movement and light in a form and return the prompt in English, ready to paste. There's also one generator per model that uses that model's own syntax.