Camera, Zoom & Framing
Follow Ball camera rig, deadzone, zoom and the zoom timeline, how much of the frame the arena fills, Arena Offset and the arena border look.
Camera Settings Overview
Camera Settings is in the Arts tab and is open on every plan, including Free. It has four groups: Follow Ball and Target, Motion, Deadzone and Zoom.
Every dial except Camera Smoothness and the zoom controls only works while Follow Ball is on, so those dials stay visible but greyed, with the reason on their info icon. Some modes frame their own shot: all 3D modes (use the 3D tab camera instead) and a few 2D modes that steer their own camera. In those modes Follow Ball is greyed with the note "This mode frames its own shot, so Follow Ball does nothing here."
Follow Ball and Target
Follow Ball pans the view to keep a ball in frame. The Target controls decide which ball and where it sits.
| Control | What it does | Options / range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Follow Ball | Turns the following camera on. | Off by default (some modes turn it on for you) |
| Follow Target | Which ball the camera aims at. | First Ball (default), Pack Centre, Fastest Ball, Biggest Ball |
| Follow Axis | Lock the pan to one direction. | Both Directions (default), Sideways Only, Vertical Only |
| Frame Offset X | Moves the ball off centre sideways. Positive puts it right of centre. | -0.4 to 0.4. Default 0 |
| Frame Offset Y | Moves the ball off centre vertically. Negative keeps it high with more scene below. | -0.4 to 0.4. Default 0 |
Tip
- Vertical Only is usually calmer for a falling ball: the camera tracks the fall without drifting sideways.
Motion
How the camera moves once it is following.
| Control | What it does | Options / range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Response | Smooth eases straight to the ball and never overshoots. Spring carries momentum, so turns are rounded like a real camera operator. | Smooth (never overshoots), default; Spring (carries momentum) |
| Camera Smoothness | Lower is floatier, higher is tighter. Stays steady at any frame rate. | 0.01 to 1. Default 0.08 |
| Spring Damping | Spring only. 1 settles without overshoot; lower swings past the ball for a handheld feel. | 0.3 to 2. Default 1 |
| Stabilizer | Filters out the ball's per-bounce wobble before the camera sees it. | 0 to 1. Default 0 |
| Lookahead | Aims where the ball is going instead of where it is. | 0 to 1. Default 0 |
| Lookahead Limit | The furthest ahead the camera may aim. Shown when Lookahead is above 0. | 20 to 800. Default 260 |
| Max Pan Speed | Hard speed limit on the camera, in pixels per second. 0 means no limit. | 0 to 4000. Default 0 |
Tip
- If the shot looks nervous, raise Stabilizer first, then lower Camera Smoothness.
Deadzone
How far the ball may drift from the centre of frame before the camera starts to move at all.
| Control | What it does | Options / range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Deadzone Shape | Circle uses one distance in every direction; Box gives separate width and height. | Circle (one radius), default; Box (width and height) |
| Deadzone Size | Circle only. | 0 to 200. Default 20 |
| Deadzone Width / Deadzone Height | Box only. | 0 to 600 each. Default 40 |
Zoom and Zoom Over Time
Zoom Level and Zoom Speed set one fixed zoom. Zoom Over Time animates the zoom across the video instead, with a live graph of the curve. While Zoom Over Time is on, the two fixed controls grey out.
| Control | What it does | Options / range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom Level | Fixed magnification. | 0.2 to 10. Default 1 |
| Zoom Speed | How quickly the view settles after you change Zoom Level. | 0.01 to 1. Default 0.05 |
| Zoom Over Time | Off keeps a fixed zoom. Ramp glides between two zooms. Keyframes sets exact zooms at exact seconds. | Off (fixed zoom), default; Ramp (start to end); Keyframes (exact seconds) |
| Start Zoom / End Zoom | Ramp: the zoom it opens on and lands on. | 0.2 to 10. Defaults 1 and 1.6 |
| Ramp Start (s) / Ramp End (s) | Ramp: when the move begins and ends. | 0 to 300. Defaults 0 and 30 |
| Ramp Curve | Pacing of the move. | Linear, Ease In, Ease Out, Ease In Out (default), Hold (cut) |
| Keyframe rows | Keyframes: each row is Second, Zoom and Curve Into. Add Keyframe adds a row 5 seconds after the last; the bin removes one. | Second 0 to 3600, Zoom 0.2 to 10 |
Tip
- Hold (cut) jumps straight to the new value at that second, which is how you make a hard zoom cut on a beat.
- Before the first keyframe and after the last, the camera holds those values.
Arena Frame Fill and Arena Size
Arena Frame Fill (%) sets how much of the recording area the arena fills, from 30% to 100% of the frame's short side. It zooms the whole scene, so the ball, effects and speeds keep their proportions. You will find it in the Physics tab (Physics & Dynamics), and as Arena size in Basics > Common and the Arena & size side panel.
Starting Arena Size in Physics & Dynamics is different: it changes the size of the world itself (the wall moves, but the ball and effects stay the same size).
Tip
- To make a small-looking arena bigger on screen, raise Arena Frame Fill rather than Starting Arena Size.
Outer Layer & Boundary
The Outer Layer & Boundary panel in the Arts tab styles the arena wall and can move the whole arena within the frame. It needs Creator, Pro, Elite and Agency.
| Control | What it does | Range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Base Size | The arena size (same setting as Starting Arena Size). | 10 to 800 |
| Border Thickness | Thickness of the outer wall. 0 hides it but balls still collide with it. | 0 to 50. Default 4 |
| Ring Thickness | Escape modes only: thickness of the breakable rings. | 0 to 50. Default 4 |
| Concentric Borders | How many outer borders are drawn. | 1 to 10. Default 1 |
| Offset X / Offset Y | Moves the arena and everything in it within the recorded frame. Background, title and overlays stay put. | -1000 to 1000. Default 0. Recentre resets both |
| Border Chrome | Wall colour. | Default white |
| Internal Core | Colour inside the arena. | Default black |
| Rotation Mode | Static / None, Continuous Rotate, Rotate on Collision, Alternate Rotate on Collision. | Default Static / None |
| Spin Speed (deg/s) | Continuous only. Negative spins the other way. | -360 to 360. Default 30 |
| Collision Step (deg) | The two On Collision options: degrees turned per hit. | -180 to 180. Default 5 |
| Solid Outer Ring | Escape modes only: shows a solid outer wall that blocks balls. | Off |
Tip
- Offset Y is the easy way to clear space at the top of a 9:16 clip for a title.
- Arena Offset is greyed out in 3D modes, which frame themselves. Ghost Escape uses its own wall rotation, so Rotation Mode is replaced by a note there.
More from BallEngine
Guides, plans and answers for making your videos.