dolly-rotate

Dolly + Rotate Camera Animation

Camera dollies forward while simultaneously rotating around the product, creating a dynamic sweeping reveal that's more engaging than a straight zoom or static orbit.

When to Use

• User wants a "dynamic" or "sweeping" shot
• User says "dolly", "move and rotate", "sweeping reveal"
• More cinematic than a simple turntable

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
duration	5	Video length in seconds
fps	24	Frames per second
rotation_degrees	90	How far to rotate during the dolly
start_distance	4.0	Starting distance
end_distance	2.5	Ending distance
start_height	2.0	Starting height
end_height	1.5	Ending height

Flow

Step 1: Set Up Camera Rig

import bpy, math

bpy.ops.object.empty_add(type='PLAIN_AXES', location=(0, 0, 0.05))
tgt = bpy.context.active_object
tgt.name = 'DollyTarget'

bpy.ops.object.camera_add(location=(2.5, -START_DISTANCE, START_HEIGHT))
cam = bpy.context.active_object
cam.name = 'DollyCam'
cam.data.lens = 40

trk = cam.constraints.new(type='TRACK_TO')
trk.target = tgt
trk.track_axis = 'TRACK_NEGATIVE_Z'
trk.up_axis = 'UP_Y'

# Parent camera to target for orbital rotation
bpy.ops.object.select_all(action='DESELECT')
cam.select_set(True)
tgt.select_set(True)
bpy.context.view_layer.objects.active = tgt
bpy.ops.object.parent_set(type='OBJECT', keep_transform=True)

bpy.context.scene.camera = cam

Step 2: Animate Dolly + Rotation

TOTAL_FRAMES = DURATION * FPS

scene = bpy.context.scene
scene.frame_start = 1
scene.frame_end = TOTAL_FRAMES
scene.render.fps = FPS

# Frame 1: start position
tgt.rotation_euler = (0, 0, 0)
tgt.keyframe_insert(data_path='rotation_euler', frame=1)
cam.location = (2.5, -START_DISTANCE, START_HEIGHT)
cam.keyframe_insert(data_path='location', frame=1)
cam.data.lens = 40
cam.data.keyframe_insert(data_path='lens', frame=1)

# End: rotated + closer
tgt.rotation_euler = (0, 0, math.radians(ROTATION_DEGREES))
tgt.keyframe_insert(data_path='rotation_euler', frame=TOTAL_FRAMES)
cam.location = (1.5, -END_DISTANCE, END_HEIGHT)
cam.keyframe_insert(data_path='location', frame=TOTAL_FRAMES)
cam.data.lens = 50
cam.data.keyframe_insert(data_path='lens', frame=TOTAL_FRAMES)

# Default BEZIER interpolation for smooth cinematic feel

Step 3: Render + Encode

Same as turntable — PNG sequence with Cycles, encode to ProRes 4444.

ffmpeg -y -framerate 24 \
  -i "~/Desktop/Blender Videos/dolly_rotate_frames/%04d.png" \
  -c:v prores_ks -profile:v 4444 -pix_fmt yuva444p10le \
  "~/Desktop/Blender Videos/dolly_rotate.mov"