# Crane up

Camera / Camera move / Drone and crane. Checked 2026-10-13.

Rises above the scene: release, scale, an ending.

- Use when: Closing shots, festivals, crowds, revealing a venue.
- Phrase: crane up, the camera rises smoothly from head height to above the rooftops while still looking at the square
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/move/crane-up
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/move/crane-up.json

## Watch out

- Give one main camera move per shot. Two moves at once, or orders that contradict each other, make the camera wander. (vendor; Kling camera guide and ByteDance Dreamina Seedance guide, via Director Chair field notes on video prompting)

## Move card

- **Camera:** rises through open space
- **Pace:** slow
- **Keep:** the subject or place readable as the view grows
- **Ends:** high, the scale of the place visible

## Reference: Crane up

> crane up. Movement: travel smoothly upward through open space. Speed: slow controlled vertical lift. Framing: keep the subject or location readable as the camera rises. End: finish with the higher scale clearly visible.

Credit: AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com). Source: https://aicameramovements.com/previews/hq/25-crane-up-hq.mp4
Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/25-crane-up-hq.mp4
Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/25-crane-up-hq.jpg

## Prompts

### Seedance 2.5

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot
Optics and camera: Crane up, the camera rises smoothly from head height to above the rooftops while still looking at the square. Camera: rises through open space. Pace: slow. Keep: the subject or place readable as the view grows. Ends: high, the scale of the place visible.
Reference clip (Crane up): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/25-crane-up-hq.mp4
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
Shot 1: one continuous shot
Optics and camera: Crane up, the camera rises smoothly from head height to above the rooftops while still looking at the square. Camera: rises through open space. Pace: slow. Keep: the subject or place readable as the view grows. Ends: high, the scale of the place visible.
Reference clip (Crane up): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/25-crane-up-hq.mp4
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. Crane up, the camera rises smoothly from head height to above the rooftops while still looking at the square. Camera: rises through open space. Pace: slow. Keep: the subject or place readable as the view grows. Ends: high, the scale of the place visible.
Reference clip (Crane up): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/25-crane-up-hq.mp4
```

### Veo 3.1

```
Crane up, the camera rises smoothly from head height to above the rooftops while still looking at the square. Camera: rises through open space. Pace: slow. Keep: the subject or place readable as the view grows. Ends: high, the scale of the place visible. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
Reference clip (Crane up): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/25-crane-up-hq.mp4
```

## Look further

- https://aicameramovements.com/ : a looping example clip of this move and a free prompt card (link only)
- https://aicameracontrol.com/ : a free 3D stage to place the person and set the lens before you generate

## Goes well with

- Crane down: https://directorchair.ai/move/crane-down
- Pedestal (up or down): https://directorchair.ai/move/pedestal
- Drone pull back: https://directorchair.ai/move/drone-pull-back

## Source

Move names and the seven groups from aicameramovements.com (names and structure only); behaviour and numbers in our own words from Director Chair field notes on video prompting and the first Director Chair spec

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.