What is a keyframe?
A keyframe marks a point in time where you set how something looks: its position, size, rotation or opacity. When you set two keyframes with different values, the editor fills in all the frames between them automatically, creating smooth motion.
For example: at 0 seconds, a photo is at 100% size; at 5 seconds, it's at 120%. Play it back and the photo slowly zooms in over those five seconds. You only set two points — the editor does the rest.
Easing: why motion feels natural (or robotic)
How the editor moves between keyframes is called interpolation, and the style of that movement is called easing.
- Linear: constant speed from start to finish. Useful for steady drifts and for motion that continues past the edges of a clip, but it can look mechanical when it starts and stops abruptly.
- Eased (ease in and out): the motion starts gently, speeds up, then slows into the next keyframe — like a real camera operator. This is usually what you want.
Five moves every editor should know
1. The Ken Burns effect (slow zoom on a photo)
Named after the documentary filmmaker who made it famous, this is a slow zoom — often combined with a gentle pan — across a still photo. It brings photos to life in slideshows, memorial videos, travel recaps and history content.
How: keyframe at the start at 100% scale; keyframe at the end at 115–130%. Add a slight change in position if you want it to drift towards a face or detail.
2. The slow push-in
A subtle zoom into a person speaking builds intensity and focus. Keep it slow — a 5–10% change over several seconds is enough to feel but not to notice.
3. The punch-in
A quick jump in scale (for example from 100% to 125%) on a key word or punchline adds emphasis and resets attention. It's a staple of talking-head videos. Place two keyframes a few frames apart, or cut and zoom the next section.
4. The pan
Zoom in slightly (so there's room to move), then change the horizontal position between keyframes to sweep across the scene. Pans are great for wide landscape photos in a vertical video, or for revealing something at the edge of the frame.
5. Fade in and fade out
Opacity keyframes fade a clip from black at the start or into black at the end. A one-second fade is a calm, classic way to open or close a video.
Rules of thumb
- Less is more. Small, slow changes look cinematic; big, fast ones look amateur unless they're deliberately energetic.
- Move with purpose. Zoom towards what matters — a face, a product, a detail — not at random.
- Keep directions consistent. In a sequence of photos, alternating directions every clip can feel chaotic; a consistent drift feels calm.
- Mind resolution. Zooming in enlarges pixels. Photos and 1080p or 4K footage handle zooms well; low-resolution clips get soft.
- Pair motion with sound. A punch-in on a beat or a slow push under a swelling track feels intentional.
Step by step: keyframes in VDOAPP
Keyframes work on both video clips and photos in our free online editor.
- Select a clip on the timeline and open the Clip tab. Scroll to Keyframes.
- Try a preset. Zoom in, Zoom out, Pan →, Pan ←, Fade in and Fade out create a ready-made animation across the clip and preview it.
- Or set your own. Move the playhead to where the motion should start and press ◆ Add keyframe. Move the playhead later in the clip and change Position, Scale, Rotate or Opacity — a new keyframe is added automatically.
- Work directly on the preview. While the Clip tab is open, drag the picture to reposition it and scroll to zoom. Each change is saved as a keyframe at the playhead.
- Choose the motion style. Motion eases in and out by default. Tick Linear motion from this keyframe for constant speed.
- Navigate and refine. Use ◀◆ and ◆▶ to jump between keyframes (shown as yellow diamonds on the clip). When the playhead is on a keyframe, the button changes to Delete keyframe.
Ideas to try
- Photo slideshow: alternate Zoom in and Pan presets across photos, add Dissolve transitions and a music track.
- Product showcase: start wide, then push in slowly on the product's best detail.
- Talking head: punch in on each key point to keep energy up without extra camera angles.
- Before and after: fade the "after" clip in over the "before" using opacity keyframes.