New York-based AI firm Runway has added 3D video camera controls to Gen-3 Alpha Turbo, giving users the ability to manipulate granular aspects of the scene they are generating using effects whether originating from text prompts, uploaded images or self-created video. Users can zoom in and out on a subject or scene, moving around an AI-generated character or form in 3D as if on a real set or actual location. The new feature, available now, lets creators “choose both the direction and intensity of how you move through your scenes for even more intention in every shot,” Runway explains.

“This is a big leap forward in capabilities,” writes VentureBeat. “Even though other AI video generators and Runway itself previously offered camera controls, they were relatively blunt and the way in which they generated a resulting new video was often seemingly random and limited.”

“Trying to pan up or down or around a subject could sometimes deform it or turn it 2D or result in strange deformations and glitches,” VB notes.

An example featuring moves in every direction except 180 is posted on X.

Highlights include horizontal swoops that “arc smoothly around subjects or explore locations from different vantage points, enhancing the sense of immersion and perspective,” reports VB, adding that “the toolset allows for the combination of various camera moves with speed ramps.”

Users can zoom in and out or insert slow pans or dolly shots, creating “a controlled and intentional viewing experience, ideal for emphasizing detail or building suspense,” according to VB.

Digital Trends points out that “since the new feature is restricted to Gen-3 Alpha Turbo, you will need to subscribe to the $12-per-month Standard plan to access that model and try out the camera controls for yourself.”

Runway is expanding Gen-3 Alpha Turbo to become a full-on filmmaker’s all-around toolkit, having last month added the Act-One motion capture system that uses video and voice recordings to map human facial expressions onto characters.

Directors and editors at Lionsgate, which produces the John Wick and “Hunger Games” films, could be the first to use the new features professionally, as the production house signed a deal with Runway this fall. “The deal reportedly centers on the startup building and training a new generative AI model fine-tuned on Lionsgate’s 20,000-title catalog of films and television series,” per Digital Trends.

PetaPixel draws from a lengthy social post by Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela for an article comparing the new AI capabilities his company is pioneering to “the invention of photography.”