# Dolly in (push in)

Camera / Camera move / Dolly and track. Checked 2026-10-13.

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.
- Phrase: 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
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/move/dolly-in
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/move/dolly-in.json

## 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)

## 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

## Reference: Dolly in

> 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.

Credit: AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com). Source: https://aicameramovements.com/previews/hq/08-dolly-in-hq.mp4
Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/08-dolly-in-hq.mp4
Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/08-dolly-in-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: 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
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
Shot 1: 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
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. 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
```

### Veo 3.1

```
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. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
Reference clip (Dolly in): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/08-dolly-in-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

- Dolly out (pull back): https://directorchair.ai/move/dolly-out
- Slow zoom in: https://directorchair.ai/move/slow-zoom-in
- Push past: https://directorchair.ai/move/push-past

## 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.