How do I add camera anchors?

Camera anchors are key moments in your video where you define the camera's position, zoom level, and rotation. Anchors are the building blocks of virtual camera movement in Smooth Operator.

What is an anchor?

An anchor stores:

Time: Where on the timeline the anchor sits.
Pan X and Pan Y: The center point of the camera (0.5, 0.5 = dead center).
Scale: How zoomed in the camera is (1.0x = full frame, 1.5x = slightly zoomed, up to 10.0x).
Rotation: A small tilt (up to ±30 degrees, or about ±0.5 radians).

A new project starts with one default anchor at time 0:00, centered and slightly zoomed in at 1.5x.

How to add an anchor

On iPhone and iPad

Move the playhead to the point in the video where you want to add an anchor.
Tap the "Drop Anchor" button that appears on the timeline.
A new anchor appears at the playhead position.
Adjust the camera framing by dragging on the preview or using the anchor properties panel.

On Mac

Move the playhead to the desired time.
Press the A key, or right-click on the timeline and choose "Add Anchor Here."
Alternatively, click the "+" button in the Anchor List sidebar.
Adjust the framing using the inspector panel on the right or by dragging on the preview.

Adjusting an existing anchor

Select the anchor

Tap or click the anchor's diamond shape on the timeline. It highlights in blue when selected.

Reposition the camera

Drag on the preview: Touch and drag to pan the camera center. Use pinch to zoom in or out.
Use corner handles: Drag the corner handles on the crop overlay to resize the frame.
Use the inspector (Mac): Adjust Pan X, Pan Y, and Scale sliders directly.

Move the anchor in time

Drag the anchor diamond left or right along the timeline. Anchors snap to 0.1-second intervals on iOS and 0.01-second intervals on Mac for precision.

Working with multiple anchors

To create smooth camera movement, you need at least two anchors:

An anchor at the start of the movement (where the camera begins).
An anchor at the end of the movement (where the camera ends up).
A move block is automatically created between them (in Smart and Slo-Mo modes) or can be added manually (in Natural/Physics mode).

Tips

Start simple. Place 2-3 anchors at key moments and see how the camera moves between them before adding more.
Use anchors like keyframes. Think of them as "at this moment, I want the camera to be focused on this."
Lock anchors you do not want to accidentally move. On Mac, right-click and choose "Lock Anchor." Locked anchors appear gray with a lock icon.
Duplicate anchors to reuse a camera position. On Mac, right-click and choose "Duplicate Anchor."