Phone Camera Controller for Blender

Turn Your Phone Into a Virtual Camera for Blender

Stream your Blender viewport to your phone in real-time. Move your phone to control the 3D camera. Record keyframes by physically walking through your scene.

Get the Phone App

Get the After Effects Plugin

Coming soon.

Youtube Tutorial

Phone Camera Control is a free add-on for Blender that connects your phone to your Blender scene over Wi-Fi. It does two things:

1. Live Preview on Your Phone

See your Blender scene camera streamed to your phone screen in real time. Walk around the room, show your client, check framing on a mobile device — all without rendering out a file.

2. Physical Camera Control

Move your phone and the camera in Blender moves with it. Pan, tilt, orbit, truck, dolly — your phone's motion sensors (gyroscope + accelerometer, plus AR position tracking) translate directly into camera animation. Hold the record button and physically walk through your 3D scene to capture natural, organic camera moves that are nearly impossible to create with a mouse.

The add-on installs into Blender as a sidebar panel (View3D → Sidebar (N) → Phone Cam). The companion app runs on your phone. They find each other automatically over your local Wi-Fi network — no IP addresses to type, no configuration needed.

Step 1 — Install the Add-on

Install the Phone CamController add-on in Blender (Preferences → Install from Disk). It takes about 30 seconds and works the same on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Open the panel from the 3D viewport sidebar (press N → Phone Cam).

Step 2 — Install the App

Download Phone Camera Control from Google Play (or the App Store when available for iOS). Open the app and sign up — it takes a few seconds and you'll receive 30 free Ad Credits to start with.

Step 3 — Connect

Make sure your phone and computer are on the same Wi-Fi network. In the Phone Cam panel click Start Server, then open the app on your phone. Your phone automatically discovers Blender within seconds — no setup required. Blender appears in the app's host list, and the panel shows the connection status.

Step 4 — Stream & Control

Pick which camera to control in the app and Blender automatically looks through it, streaming the view to your phone. Activate camera control in the app — now your phone's physical movement drives the camera in Blender in real time. Adjust zoom, focus distance, depth of field, and aperture directly from your phone's controls.

Step 5 — Record

When you find a camera move you like, tap the record button. Single-tap places a keyframe at the current frame. Press and hold to record continuously — the add-on advances the timeline and captures a keyframe as you move your phone, creating smooth, natural camera animation. Release to stop recording.

Requirements

Blender 4.2 or later (macOS, Windows, or Linux)
A phone with the Phone Camera Control app (Android now, iOS coming soon)
Both devices on the same Wi-Fi network (5 GHz band recommended for best performance)

Your First Session

Open a scene in Blender that has a camera — the default scene works fine, or add one with Add → Camera.
Open the panel — in the 3D viewport press N and select the Phone Cam tab. Click Start Server; the status changes to "Running" and shows your host address.
Open the app on your phone. If this is your first time, sign up for an account. Your phone scans for Blender on your network.
Blender appears in the app's host list — select it, then choose a camera to control. Blender switches the viewport to that camera and your scene starts streaming to your phone screen within seconds.
Activate camera control in the app. Hold your phone steady and move it slowly — you'll see the Blender camera follow your movement in real time.
Calibrate — if the camera orientation feels off, tap the calibrate button (or click Set Camera Rest Pose in the panel) to reset. The current phone pose becomes the new "neutral" position.
Record a move — set the playhead where you want the animation to start. Tap record for a single keyframe, or press and hold for continuous recording. Move your phone during the hold — each frame captures your position and rotation as keyframes.

Real-Time Viewport Streaming

Your scene camera view is rendered and streamed to your phone over Wi-Fi as a live MJPEG video feed. The preview mirrors your Blender viewport, so you see it exactly as shaded — set Solid for a fast grey preview or Material Preview for a colored, lit one, using Blender's own viewport shading toggle.

6DOF Camera Control

Full six degrees of freedom — position (X, Y, Z) and orientation (pan, tilt, roll) — all driven by your phone's built-in motion and AR sensors. The camera in Blender mirrors your physical movement precisely.

One-Tap & Continuous Recording

Single-tap the shutter to place a keyframe at the current frame. Press and hold for continuous recording — the add-on advances frame by frame, capturing your motion as real keyframes on the camera's location and rotation. Release to stop.

Camera Settings from Your Phone

Control zoom (focal length), focus distance, aperture, blur level, and the depth of field toggle directly from your phone. Changes are applied to the Blender camera in real time.

Auto Camera View

Choose a camera in the app and Blender instantly switches the viewport to look through it — and the phone preview follows. Switch cameras without touching Blender.

Motion Tuning

Dial in the feel from the sidebar: enable Rotation and Position independently (truck without rotating, or pan in place), set position sensitivity, smooth out sensor jitter, and invert any axis that feels reversed.

Rest-Pose Calibration

Set any camera pose as the neutral "center" that phone motion is layered on top of, so you always start from a known framing. Recalibrate any time from the app or the panel.

Timeline Control

Play, pause, scrub, step forward/back, and jump to the start/end of your timeline — all from your phone. No need to reach for the keyboard during a recording session.

Multi-Phone Support

Connect multiple phones at once — each phone drives its own camera object in the scene. Great for scouting several angles or collaborating with a team.

Zero Configuration

The add-on and app find each other automatically via Bonjour/mDNS on your local network. No IP addresses, no port numbers, no pairing codes. The add-on includes its own network discovery, so there's nothing extra to install — not even on Windows.

Native Sidebar Panel

The Phone Cam panel lives in the 3D viewport sidebar like any Blender tool. It shows connection status, the camera picker, live motion diagnostics, and all tuning controls in one place.

Download phone_cam_control-1.4.0.zip above.
In Blender, go to Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions (or Add-ons).
Click the ▾ menu in the top-right → Install from Disk…
Select the downloaded .zip.
Enable Phone CamController if it isn't already ticked.
In the 3D viewport, press N to open the sidebar and select the Phone Cam tab.

You can also simply drag the .zip file onto the Blender window to install it.

No administrator password and no system folders — the add-on installs into your Blender user profile.

Phone Camera Control is free to use with all features included. There is no "lite" or "pro" version — every user gets the full experience: live streaming, camera control, multi-phone support, camera settings, timeline control, and recording.

What Are Ad Credits?

Ad Credits are your recording currency. When you record camera keyframes (single-tap or continuous recording), you spend Ad Credits. Each Ad Credit gives you recording time.

Free Credits on Sign-Up

When you create your account in the app, you receive 30 free Ad Credits — enough to get started and capture your first camera moves right away.

Earning More Ad Credits

When your Ad Credits run out, you can watch a short video ad to earn 10 seconds of additional recording time. Watch as many ads as you want — there's no daily cap. This way, the app stays completely free for everyone who's willing to watch a quick ad between recording takes.

Everything Else Is Unlimited

Streaming your scene to your phone, moving the camera in real time, adjusting camera settings, controlling the timeline, connecting multiple phones — all of this is completely free and unlimited, with no ads. Ad Credits only apply to recording keyframes.

If you prefer uninterrupted recording sessions without watching ads, you can upgrade to the Ad-Free version through a one-time in-app purchase.

What you get:

Unlimited recording — no Ad Credits needed, no ads to watch
Record as long as you want, as many takes as you need
All other features remain exactly the same

What doesn't change:

All features are identical between free and Ad-Free users
There are no locked features, no premium tiers, no subscriptions
The only difference is unlimited recording without ads

The Ad-Free upgrade is a one-time purchase — pay once, record forever.

Network Performance

Use a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network for the fastest, most reliable streaming
2.4 GHz works but may introduce more latency
Keep both devices on the same network — the add-on uses local network discovery

Smooth Recording

Hold your phone with both hands for steadier movement
Start slow — fast movements can create jerky keyframes
Raise Pos Smoothing / Rot Smoothing in the panel to steady the motion
Use the timeline controls on your phone to review your take immediately
If a take isn't right, undo in Blender (Cmd/Ctrl+Z) and try again

Camera Settings

Adjust zoom (focal length) on your phone to frame your shot before recording
Enable Depth of Field for cinematic focus pulls (line up the focal plane with the Focus Scale control in the panel)
Aperture and focus distance can be adjusted live while recording

Multi-Phone Workflow

Connect a second phone to control a second camera at the same time
Add a camera in Blender for each phone, then use the camera picker in the app to bind each phone to its own camera
The Blender viewport follows the most recently selected camera

Is the add-on really free?

Yes. The Blender add-on is 100% free — no trial period, no license key, no subscription, no feature limits. Download it, install it, use it forever. It's open source under the GPL.

Is the app free?

Yes. The app is free to download and includes all features. You start with 30 free Ad Credits for recording. When they run out, watch a short ad to earn more. Or upgrade to Ad-Free for unlimited recording with a one-time purchase.

Do I need an internet connection?

You need Wi-Fi to connect your phone to your computer, but it's a local connection — no internet required. Your scene data never leaves your network. However, the phone app needs an internet connection for sign-up and for loading rewarded ads (if using the free version).

Does it work with any scene?

Yes. The add-on streams your active scene camera's view — meshes, materials, lighting, everything your viewport shows. Camera control drives the camera you select in the app; your scene needs at least one camera (add one with Add → Camera if it doesn't have one).

Does it work over cellular / remote networks?

No. Both devices must be on the same local Wi-Fi network. The add-on uses Bonjour/mDNS for discovery and direct TCP/UDP for streaming, which only work on local networks.

What phones are supported?

Any Android phone with Android 8.0 or later. iOS support is coming soon. The phone needs a gyroscope and accelerometer (virtually all modern smartphones have these).

Can multiple people control cameras at the same time?

Yes. Connect multiple phones and bind each one to its own camera in the scene. Each phone independently controls its own camera — great for multi-angle setups or team scouting sessions.

Will it slow down Blender?

The add-on only renders the preview while the server is running and a phone is connected, at a small preview size (640 px wide by default). When no phone is streaming, it does no rendering. On heavy scenes the preview frame rate drops, but your camera motion stays responsive because it runs independently of the preview.

What data does the app collect?

The app requires an account for Ad Credit tracking. Your scene content is streamed locally over your Wi-Fi — it is never uploaded to any server.

Common Issues

Phone can't find Blender

Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network
Check that you clicked Start Server in the Phone Cam panel (status shows "Running")
Try disabling your firewall temporarily, or allow Blender through your firewall
No Apple Bonjour or iTunes install is needed — the add-on includes its own network discovery. Ports used: HTTP 8254, UDP 8255

Stream is very slow or choppy

Switch to a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network
Lower the Preview Width / FPS in the add-on preferences
Switch the viewport to Solid shading for a faster preview
Close other network-heavy applications
Keep your phone and computer on the same access point (not mesh network roaming)

Camera movement is jittery

Calibrate by tapping the calibrate button in the app (or Set Camera Rest Pose)
Raise Pos Smoothing / Rot Smoothing in the Phone Cam panel
Hold the phone steadily with both hands
Avoid very fast movements — the motion sensors have physical limits

Add-on doesn't appear in Blender

Make sure it's enabled: Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions (or Add-ons), search "Phone", and tick it
Restart Blender after installing, then re-open the sidebar (N) → Phone Cam
If it still doesn't show, re-install the .zip from Preferences → Install from Disk

Contact

For bugs, feature requests, or questions: john@motionist.studio