A pull out is a camera movement in which the camera retreats away from a subject, increasing the distance between the lens and the subject and widening the field of view to reveal more of the surrounding environment. The movement is the reverse of a push in, and creates a visual effect of withdrawal, expanding context, or spatial revelation as more of the scene becomes visible within the frame.

Pull out is used interchangeably with pull back and dolly out in much of the industry, all referring to the same fundamental movement: the camera physically moving away from the subject rather than optically zooming out. The movement is achieved by a dolly rolling backward, a camera operator stepping back, a drone ascending or retreating, or a crane arm retracting. Cinematographically, the pull out carries specific emotional and narrative connotations. Beginning on a close detail and pulling out to reveal the full context is a classic technique for recontextualizing information: what appeared intimate or small is revealed to exist within a larger environment. The movement can convey loneliness or scale, the conclusion of a scene as the camera withdraws from the action, or a gradual transition from subjective intimacy to objective distance. Extended pull outs, such as those that begin on a close human detail and end with a wide aerial view, are used as dramatic scene closers and to communicate the smallness of individuals within large environments.

In AI video generation, "pull out," "pull back," "dolly out," and "camera retreats from subject" are all understood instructions for this movement. Specifying the starting framing and ending framing helps define the scale of the movement: "pulls out from a close-up of a face to reveal a crowd" conveys both the motion and the narrative payoff of the reveal.