Create a new camera angle

Film editor·6 min read·Updated 4 months ago

An angle is a new view of a shot you already have. The moment does not change. The camera does. This is how you build coverage, for example a wide establishing view and a tight reaction of the same beat, so you have something to cut between later.

Screenshot: the New angle screen, with the source frame on the left and the target frame plus camera cube on the right

1. Open the New angle screen

Open the shot you want to cover, then choose New angle. The angle screen opens with two frames side by side. Your original shot sits on the left and stays locked, so you always have it to compare against. The new angle builds on the right.

2. Frame the camera

There are two ways to position the camera, and they stay in sync:

Drag the camera cube in the corner of the target frame to swing the view around.
Or use the sliders for precise control: Azimuth (how far around the subject, 0 to 360 degrees), Elevation (how high or low, up to about 65 degrees above or below), and Distance (how close, from a little nearer to a little further than the original).

Screenshot: the Position controls, with the Azimuth, Elevation, and Distance sliders

3. Choose the shot size and lens

Scale sets how tight the framing is, from an extreme close up (ECU) up to an extreme long shot (ELS), with the usual sizes in between such as close up, medium, and long shot.
Lens sets the focal length, from a wide 14mm up to a long 200mm. Wider takes in more of the room, longer flattens the scene and isolates the subject.
Aperture sets the depth of field. A lower value throws the background out of focus, a higher value keeps more of the scene sharp.

Screenshot: the Scale, Lens, and Aperture controls

4. Or start from a preset

If you want a common setup fast, pick a preset and it positions and frames the camera for you. Presets include over the shoulder (OTS), reverse, Dutch, bird's eye, low, profile, insert, and three-quarter left. Choose the closest one, then fine tune with the sliders.

Screenshot: the angle presets

5. Keep lighting, characters, and environment

Three toggles, Lighting, Characters, and Environment, control what carries over from the source shot. They are on by default, which is what you want most of the time: only the camera changes, and the world stays the same. Voysey also matches the new angle to the source shot for length and color, so the cut feels seamless.

6. Generate and review

When the framing looks right, press Generate (the button is labeled with the next angle letter, such as Generate angle B). The new angle is added alongside your shot, never on top of it, so nothing you already have is lost. If it is not quite right, adjust the camera and generate again.

Angles add up, they do not replace

Every angle you generate is kept. That is the point: you are building coverage you can cut between, the same way a real shoot films a moment from several positions.

Tip: cover the moments that matter

You do not need an angle on every shot. Spend them on the beats that carry the scene, a key reaction or a reveal, where a second view gives you a real choice in the edit.

If the new angle looks off

The subject drifts or changes: make sure Characters is on, so the people in the shot are preserved.
The lighting jumps: keep Lighting on so the new angle matches the source.
The framing is too extreme: ease the Distance and Scale back toward the original and rebuild gradually.

Once you have an angle you like, see "Generate a take" to try variations of it, and "Shot tools" to grade and polish the shot.

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