video/.agents/skills/manimce-best-practices/rules/camera.md

name, description, metadata

name	description	metadata
camera	MovingCameraScene, zoom, pan, and camera manipulation	tags camera, zoom, pan, frame, movingcamerascene, 3d

Camera Control

Control what the viewer sees with camera manipulation.

MovingCameraScene

For 2D scenes with camera movement (zoom, pan).

from manim import *

class CameraExample(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        circle = Circle()
        square = Square().shift(RIGHT * 3)
        self.add(circle, square)

        # Access camera frame
        # self.camera.frame is the viewable area

Zooming

Zoom In/Out by Scaling Frame

class ZoomExample(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        dots = VGroup(*[Dot() for _ in range(100)])
        dots.arrange_in_grid(10, 10, buff=0.3)
        self.add(dots)

        # Zoom in (make frame smaller)
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.scale(0.5))
        self.wait()

        # Zoom out (make frame larger)
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.scale(4))

Zoom to Specific Width

class ZoomToWidth(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        text = Text("Focus on me!")
        self.add(text)

        # Zoom to fit text with padding
        self.play(
            self.camera.frame.animate.set(width=text.width * 1.5)
        )

Panning

Move Camera to Location

class PanExample(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        c1 = Circle().shift(LEFT * 3)
        c2 = Circle().shift(RIGHT * 3)
        self.add(c1, c2)

        # Pan to first circle
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.move_to(c1))
        self.wait()

        # Pan to second circle
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.move_to(c2))

Combined Zoom and Pan

class ZoomAndPan(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        square = Square().shift(LEFT * 2)
        triangle = Triangle().shift(RIGHT * 2)
        self.add(square, triangle)

        # Zoom in and pan simultaneously
        self.play(
            self.camera.frame.animate.scale(0.5).move_to(square)
        )
        self.wait()

        # Move to triangle (still zoomed)
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.move_to(triangle))

Save and Restore Camera State

class SaveRestoreCamera(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        circle = Circle()
        self.add(circle)

        # Save current state
        self.camera.frame.save_state()

        # Make changes
        self.play(self.camera.frame.animate.scale(0.3).move_to(circle))
        self.wait()

        # Restore to saved state
        self.play(Restore(self.camera.frame))

auto_zoom

Automatically zoom to fit mobjects.

class AutoZoomExample(MovingCameraScene):
    def construct(self):
        squares = VGroup(*[
            Square().shift(RIGHT * i + UP * j)
            for i in range(-2, 3) for j in range(-2, 3)
        ])
        self.add(squares)

        # Zoom to fit specific mobject
        self.play(self.camera.auto_zoom(squares[0]))
        self.wait()

        # Zoom to fit all with margin
        self.play(self.camera.auto_zoom(squares, margin=1))

3D Camera (ThreeDScene)

class ThreeDCameraExample(ThreeDScene):
    def construct(self):
        axes = ThreeDAxes()
        sphere = Sphere()
        self.add(axes, sphere)

        # Set initial camera orientation
        self.set_camera_orientation(
            phi=75 * DEGREES,    # Angle from z-axis
            theta=-45 * DEGREES  # Angle around z-axis
        )

Animated Camera Rotation

class RotatingCamera(ThreeDScene):
    def construct(self):
        axes = ThreeDAxes()
        self.add(axes)

        self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=0)

        # Continuous rotation
        self.begin_ambient_camera_rotation(rate=0.2)
        self.wait(5)
        self.stop_ambient_camera_rotation()

Move 3D Camera

class Move3DCamera(ThreeDScene):
    def construct(self):
        axes = ThreeDAxes()
        self.add(axes)

        self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=-45 * DEGREES)

        # Animate camera movement
        self.move_camera(
            phi=45 * DEGREES,
            theta=45 * DEGREES,
            run_time=3
        )

Camera Background

class CameraBackground(Scene):
    def construct(self):
        # Set background color
        self.camera.background_color = BLUE_E

        circle = Circle()
        self.add(circle)

Best Practices

1. Use MovingCameraScene for zoom/pan - Regular Scene camera is static
2. Save state before complex movements - Easy to restore
3. Use auto_zoom for dynamic content - Automatically fits content
4. Keep camera movements smooth - Don't make viewers dizzy
5. Use 3D camera rotation sparingly - Can be disorienting