Setting the opening view of every scene
Why initial yaw, pitch, and FOV matter more than people think — and how to set them in seconds inside the editor.
When a viewer first arrives in a scene, they see one specific direction at one specific zoom level. That's the "opening view" and you control it. It's the most underrated setting in any virtual tour platform — and the easiest one to get right.
Why it matters
A buyer clicks the doorway hotspot. The screen fades and they arrive in the kitchen. What do they see first? If you've set the opening view well, they see the island with the dramatic pendant lighting. If you haven't, they see the wall of the pantry and have to drag around to find anything interesting.
Multiply that across 12 scenes and you have either a tour that feels guided and intentional, or one that feels like the camera is broken.
The three controls
- Yaw — horizontal rotation. Which way is the viewer facing? Think compass direction.
- Pitch — vertical tilt. Looking up at a vaulted ceiling, level at the wall, or down at the floor finish?
- Field of view (FOV) — zoom level. Wide angle (90°+) feels open and architectural; narrow (60°) feels intimate and focused on a detail.
How to set it in the editor
- Open a scene in the editor with Editing mode on.
- Drag the panorama until you're looking at what you want viewers to see first.
- Pinch or scroll to set the zoom level.
- The new view auto-saves the moment you let go of the mouse.
That's it — no button to hit. The scene now opens to that exact view every time someone arrives, including via a scene-link hotspot.
What to frame in each room
- Front exterior — the front of the house, dead center. This is the cover image; treat it like a magazine cover.
- Foyer — looking down the main sight line into the rest of the house, not at the front door.
- Living room — the focal feature: fireplace, big window, accent wall.
- Kitchen — the island, or the run of cabinetry. Avoid framing on the fridge.
- Bedroom — the bed wall (usually the headboard side). Wide enough to see the room is a real size.
- Bathroom — the vanity if it's nice; the tub/shower if it's the standout feature.
- Backyard — looking out at the yard, not back at the house.
A simple FOV rule
Default to 90° FOV for almost everything. It feels natural — close to what a camera lens around 24mm would show.
- Drop to 70° in tight rooms or when you want to draw attention to a specific detail (a tile pattern, a piece of cabinet hardware).
- Push to 110° in dramatic spaces — vaulted living rooms, wide backyards. The wider FOV exaggerates the sense of space, which is exactly what you want there.
"Apply to all scenes"
In the Align panel of the editor there's an Apply to all scenes button. It copies the current scene's yaw, pitch, FOV, or roll to every scene at once. Useful when:
- You want every scene to start at FOV 90 — set it once, apply FOV to all.
- You want a consistent slight downward pitch across the whole tour for a "looking-at-the-room" feel.
Don't apply yaw to all scenes — every room has a different "best angle" so blanket yaw makes no sense.
Always check the result on a phone
Mobile screens are vertically oriented and shorter than monitors. A view that frames a kitchen island beautifully on desktop might cut off the island on a phone. After you've set opening views, open the share URL on your phone and walk through the tour once. Adjust any scene that doesn't read well in portrait orientation.
What's next
Navigation works, scenes open well-framed. Next, making the whole thing look like it belongs to you: branding your tour.