Whip pan

A burst of energy that jumps attention from one thing to the next.

Use when: Transitions between two scenes, comedy beats, fast social edits.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot Optics and camera: Whip pan, the camera snaps sideways from the first subject to the second in under half a second, motion blur during the turn, both ends sharp. Camera: snaps sideways from one subject to another. Pace: a fraction of a second, blurred in the middle. Keep: a readable picture before and after the snap. Ends: a sharp second subject. Reference clip (Whip pan right): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/03-whip-pan-right-hq.mp4

Download reference

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

Reference clip by AI Camera Movements, shown with permission.

SubjectSetting

Move card

Camera: Snaps sideways from one subject to another
Pace: A fraction of a second, blurred in the middle
Keep: A readable picture before and after the snap
Ends: A sharp second subject

Say it like this

Whip pan, the camera snaps sideways from the first subject to the second in under half a second, motion blur during the turn, both ends sharp.

Watch out

A whip pan also hides continuity errors between two shots, which makes it a useful transition.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

whip pan right. Movement: rotate rapidly from the starting direction toward a new target on the right. Speed: fast snap with brief motion blur during the rotation. Framing: begin on one readable composition and land on a second readable target. End: settle into a sharp final frame.AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com)
whip pan left. Movement: rotate rapidly from the starting direction toward a new target on the left. Speed: fast snap with brief motion blur during the rotation. Framing: begin on one readable composition and land on a second readable target. End: settle into a sharp final frame.AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com)

More clips on this card

Whip pan left

Scans a space or follows something across it, like turning your head.PanPrompt

A jolt: sudden emphasis, often comic or dramatic.Crash zoomPrompt

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.

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