The reel is me talking on a beach about DIY jet kits for furniture, cut with AI B-roll: an armchair lifts off on four mini turbines, and a friend and I fly our sofa to a shop window for snacks. The spoken lines run from 2.4 to 5.9 seconds, and each clip has one line to cover.

All the camera failures below came from my prompts. The models did what I wrote, so the useful part is what to write instead.

A camera locked to the subject

For the flight home from the shop I wanted both faces to stay large, so the MiniMax H3 prompt said: “The camera flies backward in front of the sofa at the same speed, keeping the sofa centred and the same size in frame.”

H3 did exactly that. The sofa sits in the middle of the frame for the whole flight while the town slides past behind it, and it looks like a treadmill. A snorricam, a camera rigged to the actor’s body, gets the same locked look on purpose, for panic or disorientation.

On a journey the subject needs motion on screen: it enters, crosses, shrinks, leaves. Give the camera a speed relative to the subject, slower so the subject pulls away, and count what passes: “three rooftops and a small square sweep under the lens”.

A big move in a short shot

For a horizontal version of the B-roll I wanted a moving camera, and I wrote moves that would suit a 20-second shot. The football shot had to crane from the centre view up to look down over the sofa, then crane back, in 3.8 seconds. The prompt said “medium amplitude at slow speed”, but that path in that time cannot be slow.

MiniMax H3 Turbo · 4 s

Overhead in under two seconds

From eye level to directly above the sofa by 1.8 seconds, then back down through the lemon tree.

MiniMax H3 Turbo · 6 s

The world tips over and back

The chair lifts while the camera swings high above it and returns, all in about two and a half seconds.

A clip this short holds one camera move, the way a slider shot does on set. This is what I work to now:

Shot lengthWhat fitsHow to write it
3 to 4 sOne move at constant slow speed, in one direction“a slow push-in, about 8% closer by the end”
5 to 6 sOne move, with a slow ease-out if you want one“a slow lateral slide of half a metre”
8 s and upA change of move can workThe relay below, for a journey between two places

One small move, with a number

I then made the same shots in Google Flow as 4-second clips, each with one slow move and a named size. Two of them are below. They look calm and the action reads, and these are the clips that went into the final reel.

Google Flow · 4 s

Button, jets, lift-off

The press, the ignition and the lift all read, because the camera leaves them alone.

Google Flow · 4 s

Turbines, a gentle drift

The exhaust keeps falling straight down and the background shifts a little.

Flow moved far less than the numbers I gave it. I matched the background in the last frame of each clip against its first frame, a rough check that is good to about 1%. The last two rows are the football and empty-snacks shots, which went into the reel too.

ShotAsked forMeasured by the last frame
ArmchairAbout 5% closerNo closer; the frame shifted about 4% of its height
Turbines15-degree arc, about 15% closerNo closer; about 2% of its width sideways
FootballAbout 8% closerBack at the starting frame, after drifting about 3% wider midway
Empty snacksAbout 8% closerAbout 3% wider, the opposite direction

For B-roll under a voice that was fine, and I kept them. If you need a push-in people will notice, ask Flow for more than you want, then compare the first and last frames. H3 went the other way when I gave it room, so check each model separately. I have only these four Flow takes, and I have not run the same numbers on H3.

Pinned frames outrank the prompt, so check that the camera you describe can connect them. My approved armchair end frame was shot from a higher camera, which forces a big move however small you ask for it, so I wrote the Flow armchair from the first frame alone. When both frames share one framing, a move has nowhere to go. Cropping the last frame slightly tighter should give a push-in somewhere to land, but I have no take that proves it.

A journey between two places

The flight from the shop window to the home terrace is the one shot that needed a changing camera, because the first and last frames are in different places. It worked as one continuous take in four beats:

  1. The camera stays by the window and the sofa flies out of the frame at the top right. Hold a moment on the empty sky.
  2. The camera travels on its own, an FPV or drone flight over the rooftops.
  3. The camera reaches the terrace first and settles on the empty mat.
  4. The sofa drops into the frame from the top and slows into the last frame.

Leaving the frame and coming back gives the viewer the distance, and the faces only need detail in the first and last beats, where the pinned frames supply it.

MiniMax H3 Turbo · 5 s

All four beats in 5 seconds

The flaw is the drop-in: at about 4 seconds the sofa arrives as a smear and both faces melt for about four frames, so check that moment frame by frame.

Google Flow · 8 s

The take that went into the reel

Eight seconds gave each beat room, and I still had to cut it. The speech left 4.35 seconds, so I removed the middle of the flight and played the rest at about 1.1x. Asking for eight seconds was my planning mistake; a relay should start from the length of the line.

How to write the camera

Give the camera its own sentence, with the move, its size and its speed. Mixed into the subject’s sentence, the model may split the motion between them. The action goes in the first few seconds, because a 4-second clip may only get 2.5 seconds in the edit:

Camera: one slow, steady [push-in / arc / slide] for the whole shot, about [8% closer / 15 degrees / half a metre] by the end, constant slow speed, same height and angle.
Action, in the first three seconds: [what the subject does].

Describe what is in the frame and leave out “no X”. MiniMax H3 has no negative channel and tends to show what you name, so I wrote “the carpet stays flat on the deck” and left out “the carpet does not move”.

More moves, and the skill

For more moves, aicameramovements.com has 46 named camera moves with looping previews and a prompt to copy for each. Its prompts leave the size open, so add the number yourself.

I turned these rules into a skill that an AI agent can follow when it writes video prompts: move size by shot length, the four-beat relay, what to do about pinned frames, and which move fits which beat. Download the file and ask your AI agent to install this skill.

Download camera_moves_skill.md

MiniMax H3 full · 5 s · first and last frame

The locked flight

How the reference pictures align with the target video - Picture 1 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 0.00-second mark of the target video; Picture 2 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 5.17-second mark of the target video.

integrated_multimodal_description: [Shot 1] Photoreal digital cinema, bright Portuguese afternoon sun from the upper left, crisp deep focus, a single continuous aerial take with no cuts. The scene opens exactly on <Picture 1>: a worn sage-green fabric sofa hovers in mid-air beside an open second-floor window with a teal shutter on a whitewashed Portuguese building, about four and a half metres above a narrow cobbled street; far below are the green awning and MERCEARIA sign of a small grocery and a street of white houses running down to a blue river. Four brushed-steel turbines under the sofa blow steady glowing exhaust columns straight down. On the left sits a slim young man with platinum-blond hair and a thin moustache and goatee, in an oatmeal hoodie, light-grey joggers and tan slippers, a blue bowl on his lap. On the right sits a man with short light-brown hair, clean-shaven, in a navy T-shirt, faded jeans and navy slippers, holding a tablet in his left hand with its dark-grey back toward the camera; with his right hand he takes a brown paper grocery bag holding crisp packets, a drink bottle and a baguette from a smiling dark-haired shopkeeper woman leaning out of the window. From 00:00.000 to 00:01.100 the shopkeeper releases the bag with a small wave and stays inside at the window; the man on the right lifts the bag across and stands it upright on the seat between the two men, the baguette sticking out of the top. From 00:01.100 to 00:03.500 the sofa rises a metre, turns gently away from the building and flies forward over the town, level and steady, both men seated and relaxed. Directly beneath it pass, clearly and in focus, terracotta tiled rooftops, white chimneys, a small square with a tree and glimpses of the blue river, all moving past at a steady readable pace. Meanwhile the blond man pulls a red crisp packet out of the bag and tears it open, and the man on the right rests his right hand on the small black button panel on the right-hand armrest, steering, the tablet still in his left hand with its back to the camera. The camera flies backward in front of the sofa at the same speed, with large amplitude at medium speed, keeping the sofa centred and the same size in frame, so both men's faces stay large, sharp and fully visible. From 00:03.500 to 00:04.600 the sofa slows and descends toward a terracotta-tiled terrace in front of a whitewashed house with teal shutters, cream French doors, a lemon tree and pots of lavender; the camera decelerates and lowers with it to terrace height as the house rises into the background, and the sofa comes to a steady hover about half a metre above a charcoal mat, exhaust still glowing straight down. The blond man starts pouring crisps from the red packet into the blue bowl. From 00:04.600 to 00:05.170 the composition holds exactly as in <Picture 2>: the sofa hovering over the mat, the grocery bag between the men, crisps pouring into the bowl, the tablet's back to the camera, his right hand on the armrest buttons, both men smiling.

overall_soundscape: The crinkle of a paper bag, a steady turbine whine, wind rushing past during the flight, distant town ambience, church bells far away and swifts, the tear of a crisp packet, then crisps rattling into a bowl as the whine settles into an even hover.

non_diegetic_music: N/A

MiniMax H3 Turbo · 6 s · first and last frame

The armchair crane

How the reference pictures align with the target video - Picture 1 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 0.00-second mark of the target video; Picture 2 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 6.58-second mark of the target video.

integrated_multimodal_description: [Shot 1] Photoreal digital cinema, natural daylight, widescreen, a single continuous take with a moving camera. The scene opens exactly on <Picture 1>: a man with short light-brown hair, a dark-green sweatshirt, beige chinos and brown slippers sits in an olive-green fabric recliner with its footrest raised, reading an open paperback held in both hands, eyes open on the page, calm face. The recliner stands on a charcoal carpet on a weathered wooden garden deck in front of a red-brick house with white French doors, terracotta pots and a flowering garden on both sides. A thick black control pad with grey buttons and one green button sits on top of the armrest at the left of the chair. Under the seat four compact brushed-steel turbines point straight down, cold. From 00:00.000 to 00:02.300 the camera dollies slowly toward the chair with small amplitude while he reads, then takes his right hand off the book, keeping it open in his left, and presses the green button with his index finger. At 00:02.400 the four turbines ignite, glowing exhaust and heat shimmer blowing straight down onto the carpet. From 00:02.800 to 00:05.000 the recliner lifts off level to about half a metre above the carpet, which stays flat on the deck, and he smiles; the camera cranes up with medium amplitude at medium speed, rising above the chair and looking down on him and the glowing jets, the deck and carpet opening up below. From 00:05.000 to 00:06.000 the camera eases back down with small amplitude at slow speed to the chair's height. From 00:06.000 to 00:06.580 the composition holds exactly as in <Picture 2>: the chair hovering over the empty carpet, book in his left hand, right index finger on the green button, a pleased smile, eyes open.

overall_soundscape: Quiet garden ambience with birdsong and the rustle of a page, a click of the button, then four small turbines spooling up into a smooth steady whine with a soft rush of air onto the carpet.

non_diegetic_music: N/A

MiniMax H3 Turbo · 4 s · first and last frame

The football crane

How the reference pictures align with the target video - Picture 1 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 0.00-second mark of the target video; Picture 2 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 4.46-second mark of the target video.

integrated_multimodal_description: [Shot 1] Photoreal digital cinema, natural daylight, widescreen, a single continuous take with a moving camera. The scene opens exactly on <Picture 1>: two men sit side by side on a worn sage-green fabric sofa on a terracotta-tiled terrace in front of a whitewashed Portuguese house with teal shutters and cream French doors, a lemon tree, pots of lavender and a distant river view, under bright afternoon daylight. The sofa rests on a charcoal mat; the four brushed-steel turbines under it point down at the mat, cold and still. On the left sits a slim young man with platinum-blond hair and a thin moustache and goatee, in an oatmeal hoodie, light-grey joggers and tan slippers. On the right sits a man with short light-brown hair, clean-shaven, in a navy T-shirt, faded jeans and navy slippers. The blond man holds a blue bowl of crisps on his lap, his right hand in the bowl. The man on the right holds a tablet in both hands with its dark-grey back toward the camera and its screen toward the two of them; both watch a football match on it. From 00:00.000 to 00:01.800 the camera cranes up from the centre view with medium amplitude at slow speed, rising to look down over the sofa, the bowl and the terrace tiles. From 00:01.800 to 00:03.800 it cranes back down with medium amplitude at slow speed to the centre view. Meanwhile the blond man picks up one of the last crisps and raises it to his mouth, eyes on the tablet, and the man on the right breaks into a warm smile at the match, the tablet steady with its back to the camera. From 00:03.800 to 00:04.460 the composition holds as in <Picture 2>: the blond man biting the crisp over a nearly empty bowl, the man on the right smiling at the hidden screen.

overall_soundscape: A crisp crunch, faint football commentary and crowd noise from the tablet speaker, a light breeze and distant gulls.

non_diegetic_music: N/A

Google Flow · 4 s

The armchair

Photorealistic, natural daylight, one continuous take. A man with short light-brown hair, a dark-green sweatshirt, beige chinos and brown slippers sits in an olive-green fabric recliner with its footrest raised, reading an open paperback held at chest height in both hands, eyes open, calm face. The recliner stands on a charcoal carpet on a weathered wooden garden deck in front of a red-brick house with white French doors, terracotta pots and a flowering garden. A thick black control pad with grey buttons and one green button sits on top of the armrest at the left of the chair. Under the seat four compact brushed-steel mini jet turbines point straight down, switched off.
Camera: one slow, steady push-in for the whole shot, about 5% closer by the end, constant slow speed, same height and angle.
Action: in the first second he takes his right hand off the book, keeping it open in his left hand, and presses the green button with his index finger. Right after the press the four turbines ignite, glowing exhaust and heat shimmer blowing straight down onto the carpet. Then the recliner lifts off vertically, slowly and perfectly level, rising about half a metre while the carpet stays flat on the deck; he settles back with a small pleased smile, eyes open, finger still on the button, and the chair hovers steadily on four glowing downward jets.
Sound: garden birdsong, a click of the button, then four small turbines spooling up into a smooth steady whine with a soft rush of air onto the carpet.

Google Flow · 4 s

The turbines

Photorealistic macro product shot, natural garden daylight, shallow depth of field, one continuous take. A low view under an olive-green fabric recliner hovering just above a charcoal carpet on a wooden garden deck; the sitter's beige chinos and brown slippers at the top of the frame. Four compact brushed-steel mini jet turbines in a row under the seat point straight down, each blowing a warm glowing column of exhaust and heat shimmer onto the carpet; the garden, terracotta pots and brick house are soft behind. The chair stays perfectly still in the air.
Camera: one slow, steady move for the whole shot - a gentle arc of about 15 degrees to the right around the turbines while drifting about 15% closer, constant slow speed, so the row of turbines turns slightly in perspective and the blurred garden slides behind them.
The exhaust keeps falling straight down, rippling the carpet fibres and bending the light.
Sound: a close, steady turbine whine and a constant rush of air onto the carpet, faint birdsong.

MiniMax H3 Turbo · 5 s · first and last frame

The relay in H3

How the reference pictures align with the target video - Picture 1 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 0.00-second mark of the target video; Picture 2 (from Shot 1) aligns with the 5.17-second mark of the target video.

integrated_multimodal_description: [Shot 1] Photoreal digital cinema, bright Portuguese afternoon sun, crisp deep focus, one continuous take in which the camera changes its move from beat to beat. The scene opens exactly on <Picture 1>: a worn sage-green fabric sofa hovers in mid-air beside an open second-floor window with a teal shutter on a whitewashed Portuguese building, about four and a half metres above a narrow cobbled street; far below are the green awning and MERCEARIA sign of a small grocery and a street of white houses running down to a blue river. Four brushed-steel turbines under the sofa blow glowing exhaust straight down. On the left sits a slim young man with platinum-blond hair and a thin moustache and goatee, in an oatmeal hoodie, light-grey joggers and tan slippers. On the right sits a man with short light-brown hair, clean-shaven, in a navy T-shirt, faded jeans and navy slippers. The blond man holds a blue bowl on his lap; the man on the right holds a tablet in his left hand with its dark-grey back toward the camera and with his right hand takes a brown paper grocery bag with crisp packets, a drink bottle and a baguette from a smiling dark-haired shopkeeper woman leaning out of the window. From 00:00.000 to 00:00.800 the camera stays still: the shopkeeper lets go of the bag and waves, and he sets the bag upright on the seat between the two men. From 00:00.800 to 00:01.700 the camera stays where it is while the sofa rises and accelerates away to the upper right, shrinking quickly, and flies out of the frame past its top-right edge; the camera tilts up with small amplitude at slow speed after it and holds for a moment on the empty blue sky above the rooftops and the shopkeeper still waving at the window. From 00:01.700 to 00:03.500 the camera itself takes off: an FPV camera flight in one continuous take, the viewer is the flying camera, fast and low with large amplitude, skimming over terracotta tiled rooftops, weaving between white chimneys, three rooftops and a small square with a tree sweeping under the lens, then diving along a sloping street toward the river. From 00:03.500 to 00:04.200 the camera arrives at a terracotta-tiled terrace in front of a whitewashed house with teal shutters, cream French doors, a lemon tree and pots of lavender, decelerates sharply and settles at terrace height into the end-frame composition, where a charcoal mat lies empty in the middle of the tiles and the warm afternoon light is still. From 00:04.200 to 00:04.700 the sofa drops into the frame from its top edge with both men seated, the four turbines blowing glowing exhaust straight down, slows and comes to a steady hover about half a metre above the mat, the grocery bag between the men; the blond man starts pouring crisps from a red packet into the blue bowl, and the man on the right holds the tablet with its back to the camera, his right hand on the armrest buttons. The camera holds still. From 00:04.700 to 00:05.170 the composition holds exactly as in <Picture 2>.

overall_soundscape: The crinkle of a paper bag and the shopkeeper's laugh, a turbine whine that rises and fades into the distance, wind roaring past during the camera's flight over the rooftops, swifts and distant church bells, then the whine growing again as the sofa drops in, and crisps rattling into a bowl as it settles into an even hover.

non_diegetic_music: N/A

Google Flow · 8 s

The relay in Flow

Photorealistic cinematic shot, bright Portuguese afternoon sun, one continuous 8-second take. A worn sage-green sofa on four brushed-steel mini jet turbines hovers in the air. On the left sits a slim young man with platinum-blond hair in an oatmeal hoodie and light-grey joggers, a blue bowl on his lap; on the right a man with short light-brown hair in a navy T-shirt and faded jeans, holding a tablet with its dark-grey back toward the camera.
0-1.5 s: beside an open second-floor window above a cobbled street and the MERCEARIA grocery, the man on the right takes a brown paper grocery bag with a baguette from the smiling shopkeeper and sets it on the seat between them; she waves. The camera holds steady.
1.5-3 s: the sofa rises and flies away over the rooftops, getting smaller, and leaves the frame at the top right. The camera stays by the window and tilts up a little after it.
3-6 s: the camera glides forward on its own in a smooth, steady drone flight low over terracotta rooftops, white chimneys and a small square, descending toward a whitewashed house with teal shutters and a lemon tree.
6-8 s: the camera slows and settles on the sunny terrace, framing an empty charcoal mat. The sofa drops into frame from above with both men seated, the turbines blowing glowing exhaust straight down, slows, and hovers half a metre above the mat while the blond man pours crisps from a red packet into the blue bowl. The shot ends on the last frame.
Faces, clothes and props stay the same throughout. Sound: paper bag crinkle, a turbine whine fading into the distance, wind during the flight, swifts and distant church bells, then the whine returning and crisps rattling into a bowl.

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