1In one sentence
A short list of film words, used one at a time, gives you far more control than long descriptions.
2New words
- Push-in / pull-back — the camera moves toward or away from the subject.
- Pan / tilt — the camera stays in place and turns sideways (pan) or up and down (tilt).
- Orbit — the camera circles around the subject.
- Dolly / tracking — the camera moves alongside a moving subject.
- Handheld — slightly shaky, like a phone held by a person. Locked-off — perfectly still.
- Close-up / medium / wide — how much of the scene fits in the frame.
- Key light — the main light source. Say where it comes from and how soft it is.
3Why you would want it
Seedance was trained on real footage, where these words have exact meanings. "The camera glides elegantly" is vague; "slow push-in from waist height" is a measurable instruction. The same is true of light: "golden hour from the right, long soft shadows" beats "beautiful light".
4The vocabulary
| You want | Say |
|---|---|
| A calm, premium feel | slow push-in, locked-off, soft window light from the left |
| Energy, social media | handheld, fast pan, hard midday sun |
| Show a product all round | slow orbit, 360 degrees, studio light, plain background |
| Follow a person | tracking shot at shoulder height, following from behind |
| Reveal a space | wide shot, slow pull-back, then tilt up |
| Mood at night | neon sign as key light, cool blue fill, wet pavement reflections |
| Natural movement | steam rises, curtain sways, flour dust floats, crust crackles |
5Three rules
- One camera move per shot. Two moves in 5 seconds make the model wobble between them.
- Tie motion to a cause: the door opens, then the camera pans to follow the customer. Cause before effect.
- Say what must stay still: the counter and shelves stay fixed.
6Try it now
- Take your Chapter 1.4 prompt and swap only the camera sentence: slow orbit around the loaf at counter height.
- Run it. Then swap to handheld, quick pan from the oven to the loaf.
- Keep everything else identical so you see only the camera change.
7What you will see
Three clips of the same bread, each with a clearly different feel: calm, shop-window, then lively. The subject barely changes; the camera word did all the work.
8Watch out
- Combining opposites ("locked-off handheld") confuses the model.
- Orbits around people often warp faces as the camera passes behind. Orbit objects, not faces, until you are experienced.
9Go further
Each of these is one shot. Chapter 1.8 puts shots in a row to tell a short story.