Dolly in

Draws the viewer closer; intimacy or rising importance, with real depth.

Use when: The key line of an interview, approaching a product, entering a space.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot Optics and camera: Slow push in at chest height, the camera travels straight toward her from six metres to three and a half, her face grows in the frame. Camera: travels forward in a straight line toward the subject. Pace: slow and controlled. Keep: the same height and direction as the distance shrinks. Ends: a tighter frame with real depth. Reference clip (Dolly in): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/08-dolly-in-hq.mp4

Download reference

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

Reference clip by AI Camera Movements, shown with permission.

Your subjectYour setting

Move card

Camera: Travels forward in a straight line toward the subject
Pace: Slow and controlled
Keep: The same height and direction as the distance shrinks
Ends: A tighter frame with real depth

Say it like this

Slow push in at chest height, the camera travels straight toward her from six metres to three and a half, her face grows in the frame.

Watch out

Write the move as behaviour with a start and an end (a slow straight push from six metres to three and a half). A bare move name drifts.vendor: Higgsfield Seedance 2.5 prompting guide, read 28 Sep 2026
A slow push in tends to get more emotional weight than the bare word dolly.unverified: A 2026 model-syntax study for a prompt builder, summarised in Director Chair field notes on video prompting, not measured by us

The maker's card

dolly in. Movement: move the camera physically forward in a straight line toward the main subject. Speed: smooth controlled push. Framing: keep camera height, lens direction and subject position consistent while distance closes. End: finish in a tighter composition.AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com)

Dolly outPrompt

Slow zoom inPrompt

Push pastPrompt

Sources

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 Checked 2026-10-13.

AI Camera Movements: a looping example clip of this move and a free prompt card (link only)

Camera Control: a free 3D stage to place the person and set the lens before you generate

For agents: this card as markdown, as JSON.

Camera

Frame

Light and look

People and places

Motion

Edit

Story

Recipes

Tools