Updated: 2026-05

1. About This Page

This guide covers how to use Runway’s Director Mode (available in Gen-4.5) to control camera movements directly using sliders. This method achieves far greater accuracy than using text prompts alone.

2. Why Director Mode?

Even if you write “slow zoom in 50%” in the text, the AI won’t strictly zoom in to exactly 50%. It might be 50%, or it might be 20% or 80%.

Director Mode eliminates this ambiguity by allowing you to set values using sliders. This enables you to achieve the “camera movement”—the most critical element of video production—exactly as intended, rather than relying on intuition.

3. Terms of Use

• Select the Gen-4.5 model (not available for Gen-4 or Turbo)
• Requires the Standard plan or higher. Not available on the Free plan
• Input is primarily I2V (image-to-video). T2V can also be used for some cases

4. Types of Sliders

Key sliders in Director Mode (as of May 2026):

Slider	Effect	Value Meaning
Horizontal Pan	Pan the camera left and right	-100 to +100. Negative: Left, Positive: Right
Vertical Pan	Pan the camera up and down	-100 to +100.Negative: Down, Positive: Up
Zoom	Zoom in/out	-100 (Zoom out) to +100 (Zoom in)
Roll	Roll	-100 to +100. Rotation angle
Tilt	Tilt	Upward/Downward tilt

Each slider can be combined independently. This allows for complex movements such as “zooming in while panning left” or “rotating while tilting down.”

5. Basic Patterns

5.1 Single Action

Start by moving just one.

• Zoom +30: Slow zoom in
• Pan Left -50: Pan left at medium speed
• Tilt Up +40: Tilt the camera upward

You develop a sense of what the “right amount” is through repetition.

5.2 Combinations

• Zoom +20 + Pan Right +30: “Slowly pan to the right”
• Pan Left -40 + Tilt Up +30: “Look up and to the left”
• Zoom -50 + Roll +20: “Pull back shakily”

Combined movements create a cinematic effect.

6. Using with Prompts

Even when using the sliders in Director Mode, you can still specify camera movements in the prompt. The two work in conjunction.

However, to avoid contradictions:

• ❌ Using “static shot” + “Zoom +50” in the prompt via Director → This creates a contradiction between stillness and movement
• ✓ Describe the mood in the prompt, and specify specific movements in Director

Division of roles:

• Prompt: What to show, atmosphere
• Director Mode: Specific camera movements

7. Be mindful of shot composition

Traditional film and video terminology:

Shot	Example Director Combinations
Establishing shot (Setting the scene)	Zoom -50 (Wide pullback) + Pan to show the entire scene
Push-in (Tension/Focus)	Zoom +40 to +80 (Close-up on subject)
Reveal shot (revealing hidden elements)	Tilt Up (from top to bottom) or Pan to widen the view
Dolly out (loneliness/withdrawal)	Zoom -30 to -60
Whip pan (scene transition)	Pan +80 to +100 (high-speed pan)

Using these grammar rules results in a cinematic look, even though the content is AI-generated.

8. Pitfalls

8.1 Excessive Movement Leads to Failure

If you set the slider to the maximum value (±100), the AI can no longer maintain the physics, causing the background to distort. The range of ±50 to 70 is stable.

8.2 The image won’t look good if the composition of the source image is poor

When using Director with I2V, the composition of the input image determines the effect of the camera movement. If the subject is at the edge of the frame, it will be cut off when zooming in. It’s easier to work with subjects positioned toward the center.

8.3 Effects are less noticeable in short clips

Including complex movements in a 5-second clip can make it feel rushed. We recommend using 8–10 seconds for slow, deliberate movements.

9. Practice Schedule

Director Mode isn’t available on the Free plan, but assuming your group is sharing a Pro plan or higher, try the following.

1. Use the same input image and the same prompt, but vary only the Director value
   • Pattern A: Zoom +30 only
   • Pattern B: Pan Left -50 only
   • Pattern C: Both combined
2. Compare the results side by side to see how the Director setting affects the output

3 runs consume approximately 360 cr (Gen-4.5 for 10 seconds × 3 = 360 cr). This is a realistic exercise for the entire group to perform once.

10. Prompt-Based Alternatives

Since Director Mode isn’t available on the Free plan, I’ll use a prompt to achieve a similar effect:

Slow dolly shot toward the subject, smooth camera movement, cinematic.

The camera pans gradually from left to right, revealing the landscape.

Although the accuracy isn’t as good, you can still control it to some extent even with Gen-4 or Turbo by explicitly specifying camera terms.

11. What’s Next

• References — Enhance control with image and video references
• Shot Planning — Design shots based on storyboards