How to Set Up Camera Cuts and Transitions in Unreal Engine Sequencer

What will you learn in this guide?

Unreal Engine’s Sequencer lets you edit scene elements and animation properties using tracks added to a timeline. The Camera Cut Track determines which camera’s view is used during playback. Use it to switch between different spaces and angles in an architectural animation, create hard cuts, or transition between two cameras with camera blending.

This guide covers creating a Camera Cut Track, binding a camera to it, setting cut points on the timeline and configuring thumbnails. The source documentation does not specify a particular Unreal Engine version, so these steps are not tied to a version number.

Requirements

According to Epic Games’ documentation, you should have a basic understanding of Sequencer and know how to add cameras to it. Camera tracks are added and edited in the Sequencer interface. The sources do not specify account requirements, licensing terms, hardware recommendations or a particular software version.

Before you begin, identify the camera actors you plan to use in the scene. You can use an existing Camera Actor in the level or create a new Cine Camera Actor with the camera button in the Sequencer toolbar. If you’re planning multiple angles, naming the cameras in shot order and keeping them organized in the Outliner can make the tracks easier to follow.

Step-by-step: Create a camera cut

1. Add a Camera Cut Track in Sequencer. Open the Add Track (+) menu on the timeline and select Camera Cut Track. Alternatively, click the Camera button in the Sequencer toolbar. This creates a new spawnable Cine Camera Actor and binds it to the Camera Cut Track.

2. Add an existing camera to the sequence. To use a Camera Actor from the scene, go to the Actor To Sequencer submenu in the Add Track (+) menu and select the Camera Actor. This creates a Camera Cut Track and binds it to the selected camera. If cameras have already been added to Sequencer, select one from the Existing Bindings section of the Add Camera (+) menu. To add a new camera, use the level list under New Binding.

3. View the active camera. Enable the Camera Lock button on the Camera Cut Track to set the viewport to the active camera’s view. While the camera is locked, camera controls in the viewport are disabled. To move the active camera or add keyframes to it, first enable the relevant Camera Track.

4. Set a cut point on the timeline. Move the playhead to the time when you want to switch to the new camera. On the Camera Cut Track, click Add Camera (+) and select the camera to switch to. Sequencer creates a new Camera Cut section bound to the selected camera at the playhead position.

5. Adjust the cut timing. Drag the edges of adjacent Camera Cut sections to change the cut timing. By default, these sections cannot have gaps or overlap. Keep the edges of adjacent sections in mind as you adjust the cut points.

6. Blend between cameras if you want. Right-click the Camera Cut Track and enable Can Blend. Then overlap the sections to create a transition from one camera to another. Dragging the top corner of a section blends the camera in or out. The documentation notes that this can blend camera transforms and camera component properties such as depth of field and focal length.

7. Manage thumbnails. Camera Cut sections can display thumbnails of the camera view. To refresh a section’s thumbnails, right-click it and select Refresh from the Thumbnails menu. Refresh All is available for all sections. Draw Single Thumbnail displays one image, while Thumbnail Size and Quality control the image’s size and quality.

Common issues

If you try to move the camera in the viewport while Camera Lock is enabled, it may not behave as expected. First, check whether the relevant Camera Track is enabled. Trying to leave a gap between cut points also goes against the default behavior: Camera Cut sections normally do not allow gaps or overlaps. If you need to blend between cameras, enable Can Blend.

If thumbnails are out of date, try the refresh options in the section menu. If Unreal Editor slows down while Sequencer is open, consider disabling thumbnail drawing; Epic Games’ documentation notes that generating thumbnails has a performance cost.

Another planning consideration is building a long sequence by stringing together a large number of camera cuts. Epic Games recommends using a shot structure with a single camera and Camera Cut for each shot in most cinematic scenarios. Separating shots can make the timeline easier to read as the camera setup grows more complex.

Impact on architectural visualization workflows

The Camera Cut Track is useful for visualization teams that want to manage camera flow on a timeline for interior walkthroughs, façade animations or presentations that show different spaces in sequence. You can add cut points for different cameras and use Can Blend where a smooth transition is needed. The sources explain that the Camera Cut Track is used to select the active camera in cinematic sequences and arrange camera transitions.

If your project has multiple cameras and a long sequence, consider track organization and the performance impact of thumbnails together. The sources do not provide information about hardware requirements, licensing costs or compatibility with architectural software, so no specific assumptions should be made on those points. It may also be helpful to consider the recommended shot-based structure early when working with long sequences.

Next steps

Once you’ve set up the basic camera flow, explore other track types in Sequencer. The official track list includes Transform and Property Tracks for animating actor properties, Fade Track for fading the image to a color, and Level Visibility Track for managing level visibility. These tracks can help you manage scene timing in Sequencer.

During preview, check that cameras become active in the right order, then review the cut timing and any blend sections. If thumbnails affect performance, disable them or refresh them later.

Sources and licensing

This guide was adapted into Turkish from Epic Games’ Unreal Engine documentation pages “Cinematic Camera Cut Track” and “Sequencer Track List.” Both sources are provided under an open license.