# Whip pan

Camera / Camera move / Pan and tilt. Checked 2026-10-13.

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

- Use when: Transitions between two scenes, comedy beats, fast social edits.
- Phrase: 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
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/move/whip-pan
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/move/whip-pan.json

## 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)

## 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

## Reference: Whip pan right

> 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.

Credit: AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com). Source: https://aicameramovements.com/previews/hq/03-whip-pan-right-hq.mp4
Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/03-whip-pan-right-hq.mp4
Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/03-whip-pan-right-hq.jpg

## Reference: Whip pan left

> 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.

Credit: AI Camera Movements (aicameramovements.com). Source: https://aicameramovements.com/previews/hq/3b-whip-pan-left-hq.mp4
Clip: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/3b-whip-pan-left-hq.mp4
Poster: https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/3b-whip-pan-left-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: 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
```

### Seedance 2.0

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

### Kling 3.0

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

### Veo 3.1

```
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. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
Reference clip (Whip pan right): https://directorchair.ai/media/aicameramovements/03-whip-pan-right-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

- Pan (left or right): https://directorchair.ai/move/pan
- Crash zoom: https://directorchair.ai/move/crash-zoom

## 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.