---
title: "Camera feel field of view smoothing tone mapping and post"
description: "The camera already follows the right entity but the shot feels wrong: too wide, too twitchy, flat colors, no depth. Every knob is a field on `CameraComponent`."
engineVersion: v1.0.234
date: 2026-09-28
license: "(c) Gessa, proprietary. Cite with attribution to https://gessa.ai/docs/. Terms: https://gessa.ai/terms/."
canonical: https://gessa.ai/docs/knowledge/playbooks/camera-feel/
---

# Camera feel field of view smoothing tone mapping and post

## When to use

The camera already follows the right entity but the shot feels wrong: too wide,
too twitchy, flat colors, no depth. Every knob is a field on `CameraComponent`.

## The recipe

1. Read the current camera with `project_get_graph_snapshot`, then patch fields
   with `project_add_component` (`project.entity.component.set`) carrying the
   full discriminated value `{ "type":"CameraComponent", ... }`.
2. Framing: `fov` (1..170; 60 default, 90 for FPS, 40 for a tighter cinematic
   look), `near` (>= 0), `far` (>= 0.01), `projection` `perspective` or
   `orthographic`, `orthoSize` for ortho.
3. Follow response: `followSmoothing` (0..1). Lower is snappier; 0.1..0.2 feels
   tight, 0.5+ feels floaty.
4. Color grade: `toneMapping` one of `aces`, `agx`, `reinhard`, `neutral`,
   `linear`; `exposure` (0..10). `aces` is a safe filmic default.
5. Background: `clearMode` `skybox`, `color`, or `none`; `clearColor` a
   `#rrggbb` or `#rrggbbaa` hex when `clearMode` is `color`.
6. Depth and speed cues via `postProcessing`:
   `postProcessing.depthOfField` `{ "mode":"on", "quality":"medium",
   "focusDistance":8, "bokehScale":2 }` (mode `off`/`auto`/`on`) and
   `postProcessing.motionBlur` `{ "mode":"auto", "quality":"medium",
   "samples":8 }`.
7. For runtime feel driven by a script (recoil kick, look sensitivity change),
   use the camera host ops from a GessaScript body: `ctx.camera.addLookInput`,
   `ctx.camera.setLookSensitivity`, `ctx.camera.setPitchClamp`,
   `ctx.camera.setViewTarget`.

## Pitfalls

- `postProcessing` and its sub-objects are optional, but if you supply
  `depthOfField` you must include its required `mode`; partial objects with a
  missing discriminator are rejected.
- `depthOfField.focusDistance` is 0.001..1000, `bokehScale` 0..4,
  `motionBlur.samples` 2..32; out-of-range values fail validation.
- Only ONE camera is used in Play: the highest `priority` among `active` cameras.
  Two active cameras at the same priority is ambiguous; give the hero camera a
  higher `priority`.
- `clearColor` must match `^#(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{6}|[0-9a-fA-F]{8})$`.

## Verify

- `engine_get_component_schema` on `CameraComponent` for the exact post enums
  and numeric bounds.
- `qa_capture_renderer_viewport` (`qa.renderer.viewport.capture`) before and
  after to see the grade and framing change.