Google Flow can generate new camera angles from one phone take

Google added five artist-built tools to Flow on Nov. 12, including one that generates new camera angles from a single smartphone take. The tool, Pocket Studio, gives video makers another way to get a wide view or a tighter shot from footage they already have. They can bring the generated views into the same project as the original clip.

The release gives users five ready-made tools built by four creators. Flow already lets people describe a piece of software in plain language and build a small reusable tool from that description. This update makes five examples available for other people to use. Anyone on the free tier can run a prebuilt tool. Generating an image or video uses Flow credits.

New views from a single performance

Pocket Studio was built by Ryan McCoy, a filmmaker and visual development artist with a background in visual effects and previsualization. Google says it creates multiple camera angles from one smartphone take, improves the appearance of the footage and aims to preserve the actor's performance. The company showed a sequence with several generated viewpoints. An editor planning a cut between a wide shot and a close-up can use those views to explore the framing. The scenery and details seen from the new angle are reconstructed from the source clip.

The ability to edit an uploaded video varies by region, even where Flow itself is available. Google's coverage page lists South Korea among supported markets for Flow and says editing uploaded videos is unavailable in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the European Economic Area. The service also restricts changes to what people say in uploaded videos across all regions, including new lines and dubbing. Google's Pocket Studio example illustrates changes to camera angle and visual presentation.

A character at several points in a lifetime

Two of the other tools handle character development. Anurag Tiwari's Character Arc generates images of the same subject at different ages. In Google's announcement, the filmmaker described using it for his documentary Children of the Sun to visualize the protagonist from childhood through adulthood. The film uses present-day interviews about events from 1974. The generated images serve as a reference for depicting that earlier life during development. James Gerde's Character Poster turns a story concept into a designed poster with a consistent visual style.

The other tools focus on effects. Tiwari's Pixel Machine gives images styles such as pixel art, pictures assembled from text characters and the look of a cathode-ray tube display. Ezra Paulekas's Lucid Glass simulates optical effects such as refractions and halos. Google lists stylized titles and transitions among the uses for Pixel Machine.

Credits and where the results go

Google's help says the Tools feature is currently available on the web and PC. A shared tool link opens in a user's own Flow project, and Flow automatically saves media generated by the tool in the project open at the time. Making a custom tool is available to Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers.

The existing Scenebuilder can arrange several clips in a sequence, trim each clip and export the scene. An editor could pick one of the generated angles and place it beside the original take. Pocket Studio supplies an additional shot for that edit.

Flow requires age verification for users 18 and over in supported regions. Google's help lists a daily allowance of 50 Flow credits for people without a subscription. The credit guide says a request that produces two videos can incur two generation charges. Google lists no fixed per-run credit price for the five tools in the release announcement. Flow displays a warning when running a tool could spend credits.