How do I use the AI Camera Assistant?

The AI Camera Assistant lets you describe the camera movements you want in plain English, and Smooth Operator generates the anchors and transitions for you. It is like having a virtual camera operator who follows your directions.

What the AI Camera Assistant can do

You can ask the AI to:

Follow a subject ("Follow the couple dancing")
Create specific moves ("Slow push-in from 0:05 to 0:15")
Apply general styles ("Add subtle cinematic movement")
Modify existing camera work ("Make the zoom on the speaker more dramatic")
Start over with a new approach ("Redo this with more handheld energy")

The AI analyzes your video, understands the scene, and creates the appropriate anchors and move blocks.

How to open the AI Camera Assistant

Open a project in the editor.
Open the hamburger menu on the toolbar.
Tap "AI Chat Assistant."
The AI Camera Assistant sheet opens. The welcome screen says: "Describe the camera movement you want and I'll generate the anchors and transitions for you."

Step-by-step: Using the AI Assistant

1. Enter your prompt

Type what you want in the input field at the bottom. The input placeholder says "Describe camera movement..." Be as specific or general as you like.

Example prompts that work well:

"Follow the couple dancing"
"Slow push-in from 0:05 to 0:15"
"Add subtle cinematic movement"
"Focus on the speaker and slowly zoom in"
"Create a reveal from the crowd to the stage"

2. Wait for analysis

After sending your prompt, the app goes through several steps:

"Analyzing video frames..." — The app extracts key frames from your video.
"Sending to AI..." — Your prompt and the frames are sent to the AI.
"Generating camera movements..." — The AI creates anchors and move blocks.

3. Preview the result

When the AI finishes, you will see a preview of the suggestion:

How many anchors were created.
How many transitions (move blocks) were created.
A mini timeline showing the anchor placements.

Tap the "Preview" button to see the AI's camera movements applied to your video in real time.

4. Apply or refine

If you like the result, tap "Apply." The camera moves are saved to your project.
If you want changes, type a follow-up prompt like "Make it slower" or "Zoom in more on the speaker."
If you do not like it at all, tap "Cancel" to discard the preview and keep your original timeline.

AI replacing your existing timeline

If you already have camera movements and the AI suggestion would replace them, you will see a warning:

"This will replace your existing camera movements with a new timeline. Your current work will be lost."

You can choose "Cancel" (keep your work) or "Replace" (use the AI's version).

The AI tries to distinguish between:

Modifications (adjusting timing, adding anchors, changing zoom) — these do not trigger the replacement warning.
Replacements (completely different approach, starting over) — these show the warning.

Starting a new conversation

To clear the AI's context and start fresh, tap the reset button (counter-clockwise arrow icon) in the toolbar. This starts a new conversation while keeping your current project state.

Tips

Be specific about timing. "Push in from 0:05 to 0:15" gives better results than "Zoom in."
Describe the subject. "Follow the person in the red jacket" helps the AI identify what to track.
Iterate. The AI works conversationally — you can ask it to tweak, adjust, or redo its work.
Preview before applying. Always preview the AI's suggestions to make sure they look right before committing them to your project.
The AI works best with clear, well-lit video where subjects are visible. Dark or highly abstract footage may produce unpredictable results.