Add real cameras, pick a lens in millimetres, choose which one renders, and use cinematic mode to compose and keyframe shots - capture camera poses, apply a named move from the motion library, or fly the camera down a path.
Where: 3D editor → Add → Camera / Cinematic toggle — Add a camera, pick a lens, enable cinematic mode
Key ideas
- Lens: Choose a prime - 14 / 24 / 35 / 50 / 85 / 135mm - or type any focal length. The lens is the look: wide exaggerates depth and distorts, long flattens and isolates. It writes the camera's stored FOV (5-120 degrees), converted through a fixed full-frame sensor height, so the same lens never drifts when the panel resizes.
- Cameras: Near/far clipping and look-at (a point or tracking a node); pick the active render camera.
- Cinematic mode: A spectator + render-camera split view, with a picture-in-picture of the render camera.
- Keyframing: Capture a camera pose to a keyframe; gizmo moves auto-keyframe at the playhead (an inspector diamond marks keyframed props). Each key eases out of itself - give a dolly or crane power2.inOut, and keep a turntable linear or the loop seam stutters. Re-keying a channel REPLACES it by default, so a re-animate produces one motion, not two.
- Motion presets: Ask the scene assistant for a named move instead of placing keys: camera moves dollyIn, dollyOut, orbit, turntable, arcShot, craneUp, craneDown, dollyZoom, handheldDrift, whipPan, pullBackReveal; object moves riseAndSettle, floatBob, objectSpin, popIn, spinReveal. They are relative to the current pose, already eased, and land as editable keyframes; scale one with amount rather than re-authoring it.
- Camera on a path: Attach a camera to a bezier path to fly it along the curve, and attach a second path as its aim so the shot tracks a subject on its own route. A camera cannot carry a follow-path itself, so attaching builds a rig group and hands back an offset to keyframe 0 to 1. A rail must be a guide path - no bevel, or you render a tube and fly down the inside of it.
- Reference backdrop: Pin an image behind the viewport to model against (Reference, Opacity, Fit, Show). It is edit-only: it is hidden in cinematic mode and never appears in the render or export, so it is not a way to set a background.
Steps
- Add a camera and frame your shot.
- Pick a lens (or type a focal length) - that choice is most of the look.
- Set it as the active render camera.
- Enable cinematic mode and keyframe camera poses along the timeline, or apply a motion preset and tune its duration/amount.
- For a travelling shot, draw a guide path (no bevel) and attach the camera - and a second path for its aim.
- Add a reference image behind the viewport if you are matching a frame; it will not show in the output.
- Choose the camera framing, inspect existing keys, apply a named move with duration and amount, and scrub before rendering. Use the detailed cinematic guide for preset names, rail behavior, and backdrop boundaries.
Cinematic camera and motion workflow
Camera Lens presets and Focal length express the existing field of view in millimetres. The motion library writes real editable cinematic keyframes relative to the camera or object’s current pose. Guide paths support camera rails without adding a visible swept tube. The image backdrop is a modeling aid that stays out of cinematic playback and delivered output.
- Inspect animation before changing existing motion. keyframe_scene and apply_motion_preset replace the channels they touch by default; choose merge only deliberately.
- Camera presets require cameraId; object presets require nodeId. These are internal scene IDs, not the Flowgen node ID or HTML element ID.
- For MCP, open the node editor, select the Scene3D host element, and enumerate document tools. The selected or sole scene is pinned by the bridge; a caller cannot redirect the operation with an id argument.
- inspect_scene reads current scene values and animation without writing; animate_scene_field controls exposed fields via scroll, mouse, hover, or load instead of cinematic time.