Beginner’s guide to camera movements (part 2)

This week’s theme is Time Travels!

Whether revisiting the past or leaping into the future, the concept of time travel opens endless possibilities for visual storytelling and creative imagination.

Let’s explore ways to bring this timeless theme to life.

Tips & Prompts: Beginner’s guide to camera movements (part 2)

(find part 1 here)

Think of the camera as the audience’s eyes, its movements guide what we see and shape how we feel about each moment.

Mastering when and how to use these movements gives depth and intent to your storytelling.

• Zoom: Here, the camera remains in place, but the lens adjusts to bring the subject closer or farther away. Zooming in highlights important details, while zooming out offers more context, helping viewers understand the subject’s surroundings.

• Pedestal: The camera moves straight up or down, like an elevator, without changing its angle. This movement is great for shifting perspectives, whether to reveal details from ground level to sky or to capture a subject’s height, creating a sense of scale.

• Dolly Zoom: Also known as the “Vertigo Effect,” this combines dolly movement with a reverse zoom to create a surreal, disorienting effect. It’s ideal for moments of realization or shock, heightening emotional impact.

• Arc Shot: The camera moves in a curved path around the subject, providing a 360-degree view. This dynamic movement highlights a character or object from multiple angles, drawing viewers into the scene with an immersive feel.

• Roll: The camera rotates on its own axis, tilting the frame sideways. Rarely used, this powerful movement conveys disorientation, chaos, or emotional upheaval, often seen in intense or action-packed scenes.

Use this key words at the beginning of your prompts when generating videos to tell the AI how do you want the camera to move in your scene.

Here are some prompts to create some images about time travel, copy them and then, use them to replicate some of this camera movements.

Feel free to share them on your social media and tag me!

• Medium shot, low angle shot of a woman scientist in a Medieval town square at night, a large unlit bonfire in the center, she wears a white lab coat, with glasses. Her expression is defiant, contrasting with the hostile medieval setting. Townspeople watch with suspicion and fear. Dramatic firelight from nearby torches casts deep shadows on her face, enhancing a tense, dark atmosphere.

• Over the shoulder shot, capturing a Roman citizen in traditional tunic and sandals, standing in the Colosseum with a smartphone held up to record the arena floor. The smartphone screen is clearly visible, showing a modern recording interface with the ancient Colosseum in the background. The shot is framed to include the Roman’s hand and part of his arm holding the phone, with the sandy arena below in soft focus. huge audience qatching the show in the arena. Golden hour lighting casts warm, natural tones across the scene, creating a surreal blend of ancient and modern elements.

• Wide-angle shot of an ancient Egyptian laborer in traditional linen garments, wielding a glowing, futuristic lightsaber to cut a large stone block at a pyramid construction site. The laser sword emits a vibrant blue light that casts an ethereal glow on the surrounding stone. In the background, an under construction massive pyramid stands partially completed, set against a desert landscape under a bright midday sun. Dust and sand particles fill the air, giving a sense of activity and realism. Captured in high-resolution with cinematic lighting.

How to participate

You can participate using Instagram, X or Linkedin:

1. Follow me: Instagram - X.com - Linkedin

2. Create your image or video using any AI tool.

3. Post it using the hashtags: #AIFilmmakingChallenge and #PirateLife

4. Tag our account in your post to make sure that we can track the content.

Make sure you follow me in any of them to get more visual ideas!

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Now is your turn!

"All right. I'm ready to go. Time circuits on. Flux capacitor... fluxing."