# Crash zoom

Camera / Camera move / Zoom and lens. Checked 2026-10-13.

A jolt: sudden emphasis, often comic or dramatic.

- Use when: Reaction shots, mockumentary humour, a reveal that should feel like a punchline.
- Phrase: crash zoom onto his face, a snap from medium shot to tight close-up in a fraction of a second
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/move/crash-zoom
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/move/crash-zoom.json

## Watch out

- Crash zooms add chaotic energy; use one per sequence or they cancel each other out. (unverified; A 2026 model-syntax study for a prompt builder, summarised in Director Chair field notes on video prompting, not measured by us)

## Move card

- **Camera:** snaps the lens in or out
- **Pace:** near instant, punchy
- **Keep:** the target readable through the jump
- **Ends:** a bold frame at the new size

## Reference: Crash zoom in

> crash zoom in. Movement: snap the lens rapidly toward the main visual target. Speed: very fast and punchy. Framing: keep the target readable through the sudden scale change. End: land on a bold tighter composition.

Credit: AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com). Source: https://aicameramovements.com/previews/hq/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-hq.mp4
Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-hq.mp4
Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-hq.jpg

## Reference: Crash zoom out

> crash zoom out. Movement: snap the lens rapidly away from the main visual target. Speed: very fast and punchy. Framing: keep the target readable as the surrounding space appears. End: land on a bold wider composition.

Credit: AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com). Source: https://aicameramovements.com/previews/hq/07b-crash-zoom-out-v2-hq.mp4
Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07b-crash-zoom-out-v2-hq.mp4
Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07b-crash-zoom-out-v2-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: Crash zoom onto his face, a snap from medium shot to tight close-up in a fraction of a second. Camera: snaps the lens in or out. Pace: near instant, punchy. Keep: the target readable through the jump. Ends: a bold frame at the new size.
Reference clip (Crash zoom in): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-hq.mp4
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
Shot 1: one continuous shot
Optics and camera: Crash zoom onto his face, a snap from medium shot to tight close-up in a fraction of a second. Camera: snaps the lens in or out. Pace: near instant, punchy. Keep: the target readable through the jump. Ends: a bold frame at the new size.
Reference clip (Crash zoom in): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-hq.mp4
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. Crash zoom onto his face, a snap from medium shot to tight close-up in a fraction of a second. Camera: snaps the lens in or out. Pace: near instant, punchy. Keep: the target readable through the jump. Ends: a bold frame at the new size.
Reference clip (Crash zoom in): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-hq.mp4
```

### Veo 3.1

```
Crash zoom onto his face, a snap from medium shot to tight close-up in a fraction of a second. Camera: snaps the lens in or out. Pace: near instant, punchy. Keep: the target readable through the jump. Ends: a bold frame at the new size. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
Reference clip (Crash zoom in): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/07a-crash-zoom-in-v2-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

- Fast zoom: https://directorchair.ai/move/fast-zoom
- Whip pan: https://directorchair.ai/move/whip-pan

## 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.