VirtuCamera

freemium

Turn your phone into a 6DoF camera motion capture controller. Stream live to Blender, Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D, and 3ds Max over Wi-Fi for film, VFX, and game cinematics.

Video

Design

3D Modeling Tools

About

VirtuCamera is a realtime camera motion capture application designed for filmmakers, cinematographers, VFX artists, and game developers. By using your Apple or Android device as a physical camera controller, it captures 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) movement — position and rotation in all axes — and instantly transmits that data over Wi-Fi to the camera rig inside your 3D application. When you're satisfied with a take, pressing Record stores the motion as keyframes, removing the tedious process of manually animating camera paths. The app supports live viewport streaming directly to your phone or tablet at up to 60 FPS, so you can frame shots visually in real time. Scene controls such as camera selection, focal length adjustment, and movement scaling are all accessible from the app interface, enabling full virtual production workflows on set or at a desk. PRO-tier features expand the toolset with joystick and Bluetooth gamepad (PlayStation/Xbox) PTZ control, the Hitchcock Vertigo/dolly-zoom effect, custom attribute and script handling, and slider presets for common cinematic values. Official plugins cover the most widely used DCCs: Blender 5.x/LTS, Autodesk Maya 2026–2027, SideFX Houdini 21, Maxon Cinema 4D 2026, and Autodesk 3ds Max 2026–2027. For studios requiring custom pipeline integration, the open PyVirtuCamera Python API makes it straightforward to embed VirtuCamera into proprietary tools. Enterprise and team licensing options are available for studios working on IP-protected projects, with industry-standard encryption protecting all video streams.

Key Features

6DoF Motion Capture via Mobile Device: Move your iOS or Android device in any direction — translation and rotation — and VirtuCamera captures all six degrees of freedom, transmitting them in real time to the camera in your 3D software over Wi-Fi.
Live Viewport Streaming: See your 3D scene through the app in real time as you move the camera. Viewport data is streamed back to your phone or tablet at up to 60 FPS, enabling precise, visually guided shot composition.
One-Click Keyframe Recording: When you're happy with a take, press Record to bake the captured motion directly into keyframes in your DCC — no manual animation or cleanup required.
Multi-DCC Plugin Support: Official plugins ship for Blender, Autodesk Maya, SideFX Houdini, Maxon Cinema 4D, and Autodesk 3ds Max, covering the most popular 3D platforms used in film, TV, and games.
PRO Camera Controls & Effects: PRO features include Bluetooth gamepad PTZ control, the Hitchcock Vertigo/dolly-zoom effect, custom script and attribute handling, and cinematic slider presets for professional workflows.

Use Cases

A cinematographer on a virtual production stage uses VirtuCamera to physically walk through a set and capture organic camera moves for a feature film, with motion recorded as keyframes directly in Maya.
A game developer records dynamic cinematic camera animations for cutscenes in Blender by moving their smartphone, avoiding hours of manual keyframe animation.
A VFX artist previews complex crane and dolly shot simulations in Houdini using live viewport streaming on an iPad before committing the motion to keyframes.
An animation studio integrates VirtuCamera into its proprietary pipeline via the PyVirtuCamera API, enabling layout artists to block out camera moves physically rather than through graph editors.
A freelance 3D artist uses the Hitchcock Vertigo dolly-zoom effect in VirtuCamera PRO to create dramatic perspective shifts for a short film rendered in Cinema 4D.

Pros

Eliminates Manual Keyframing: Physical device movement is converted directly to keyframes, drastically reducing the time and effort needed to create organic, natural-feeling camera animations.
Broad DCC Compatibility: Out-of-the-box plugins for five major 3D applications, plus an open Python API (PyVirtuCamera) for custom in-house pipeline integration, make adoption flexible across studios of any size.
Works on Both iOS and Android: Cross-platform mobile support means artists are not locked into a specific device ecosystem, and the app is tablet-friendly for a larger viewport and UI experience.
Enterprise-Grade Encryption: All video streams between the app and the DCC plugin are protected with industry-standard encryption, making it safe for use on IP-sensitive film and game productions.

Cons

Requires Wi-Fi Network: The app communicates with the 3D software exclusively over Wi-Fi, which means it depends on a stable local network and won't work in offline or air-gapped environments without a local hotspot.
Plugin Installation Required: Each DCC requires a separate plugin to be downloaded and installed, adding a setup step before artists can start using the app in their pipeline.
PRO Features Behind Paywall: Advanced cinematic controls such as the Vertigo effect, Bluetooth gamepad support, and custom scripting are reserved for the PRO tier, limiting the free version for professional use cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

VirtuCamera currently ships plugins for Blender 5.1, 5.0, and LTS 4.5; Autodesk Maya 2026–2027; SideFX Houdini 21; Maxon Cinema 4D 2026; and Autodesk 3ds Max 2026–2027. Additional integrations are in development.

Yes. VirtuCamera 2 includes a redesigned iOS app and a brand-new Android version, so artists can use whichever mobile platform they prefer, including tablets for a larger viewport experience.

VirtuCamera sends device motion data and receives viewport frames over a local Wi-Fi connection. Your computer runs the DCC plugin as a server, and the mobile app connects to it by IP address on the same network.

Yes. The PyVirtuCamera Python API is available for developers who want to integrate VirtuCamera into proprietary or in-house 3D tools. Any application that can run Python can potentially be connected.

Yes. VirtuCamera offers team and enterprise licensing options, encrypted streams to protect IP, and support for virtual production stages used in feature films, triple-A games, and TV series. Contact the team directly for pipeline consultations and onboarding.