Adding zoom and motion to a clip

Zoom adds movement to an otherwise static clip — a quick punch-in for a social hook, or a slow drift across a talking head — right inside the editor. It's a per-clip tool, so you can give each shot its own motion without splitting your project or touching another app.

Open Zoom on a clip

In the editor, select a clip in the timeline, then click Zoom in the clip toolbar on the right (you'll see the path Scene › Footage › Zoom). The Zoom panel opens with a live preview of the selected clip.

Pick a zoom style

Under Zoom style, choose a ready-made motion:

• None — no movement. The clip plays static.

• Punch-In — a fast snap-in, built for social clips that need an instant hook.

• Spotlight — holds focus on a single detail, handy for tutorials and product close-ups.

• Cinematic — a slow, gentle drift (a Ken Burns move) that adds life to interviews and B-roll.

Set the focus point

Each style zooms toward a focus point. Drag the dot on the preview to tell Zoom where to center — a face, a screen, a logo — and the motion builds around it.

Good to know: Hold Shift while you position the dot to bring up an alignment grid, so you can line the focus point up precisely.

Build a custom zoom

Pick Custom to build your own move. You get full control over:

• Animate zoom — the master switch for the move. Leave it on to animate the zoom; turn it off for a static framing (just Zoom amount and Direction, no movement).

• Direction — zoom In (push toward the focus point) or Out (pull back to reveal the full frame).

• Zoom amount — how far in it pushes.

• Speed — how fast the zoom happens.

• Hold zoom — when on, the zoom eases in and then holds; when off, it keeps moving across the whole clip.

• Return to start at end — when on, the clip zooms and then eases back to where it began, so the shot ends where it started.

Related articles

• Trimming clips and improving audio quality
• Working with scene layouts