Runway image-to-video — camera moves on your own photos and art

Runway's image-to-video (Act-One / Gen-3 img2vid) adds a camera move to a still image you supply — it does NOT change the contents of the image, only how the 'camera' moves through it. This makes it ideal for product shots, portraits, and artwork you already have.

TEMPLATE — describe ONLY the camera, not the scene:

'[CAMERA MOVE + SPEED], [optional: what part of the image to start on / end on], [ATMOSPHERE if any: subtle parallax / gentle depth shift / soft bokeh pull], cinematic, [FILM LOOK].'

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EXAMPLE 1 — Portrait photo
Start image: a headshot on a neutral background.
'Slow push-in toward the face, subtle parallax separating subject from background, cinematic, 35mm portrait look.'

EXAMPLE 2 — Product shot
Start image: a whiskey bottle on a dark bar surface.
'Smooth clockwise orbit around the bottle, gentle lens flare catching the glass, cinematic, anamorphic commercial look.'

EXAMPLE 3 — Landscape painting or photo
Start image: a misty mountain range.
'Very slow crane rise starting from the valley floor, ending with peaks visible above cloud line, soft depth parallax between foreground trees and distant range, cinematic, 16mm documentary look.'

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RUNWAY CAMERA PRESETS — use these exact terms for best results
In the Runway interface, Camera Motion controls appear alongside your image upload. These presets map directly to the text instructions above:
• Dolly In / Dolly Out — push toward or pull back from the subject
• Pan Left / Pan Right — horizontal sweep across the frame
• Tilt Up / Tilt Down — vertical sweep
• Rotate CW / CCW — orbital move around the subject
• Zoom In / Zoom Out — optical zoom (less natural-looking than dolly)
You can combine two presets at low intensity for compound moves (e.g., Dolly In + Tilt Up).

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WHAT RUNWAY IMG2VID DOES WELL
• Depth parallax on portraits and landscapes — makes 2D images feel 3D
• Smooth orbits around centered subjects — excellent for product content
• Slow push-ins on faces — creates an intimate, emotional quality
• Any locked-off shot with only atmospheric motion (mist, light shift)

WHAT IT DOESN'T DO
• It cannot animate subjects within the image (people walking, water flowing) — for that, use Kling or Sora
• It cannot add elements that aren't in the source image

Tip: the film look tag ('35mm portrait,' 'anamorphic commercial,' '16mm documentary') is especially powerful in img2vid mode because it controls the grain, color, and lens character added on top of your source image — without it, Runway's output looks like a generic digital zoom, not a film camera move.