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Add a Zoom Effect To Your Video

How to add a zoom effect to a video, place and time each zoom, and combine several zooms to create a panning effect.

Carly
Carly

Nowadays, you don’t need a complex app to add a zoom in effect when editing a video.

With the right tool, you can pinpoint in just a few clicks where you want to zoom in and fine-tune your zoom's speed and duration. You can also add multiple zooms to create a panning effect, adding depth and dimension to your videos. 

Picture this: you have a product demo with features you need to highlight or an online course lacking engagement. Zoom effects offer an easy way to add that extra spark to your content.

View zoom effects in action

You can add zooms in video tutorials, how-to videos, and more. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

To start, let’s take a look at how creators are putting zoom effects in their videos. 

Matthieu Rouif's tweet about a Stripe all-hands fireside chat, with a Tella video demoing PhotoRoom's Gen AI editor on an Eames lounge chair

Notion Coach's tweet about Notion project templates, with a Tella video zooming into the "Templates for Projects" menu

Dan Bennett's tweet about testing Tella's new zoom feature, with a Tella video of him talking to camera at his mic

As you can see, adding zooms to product demos and update videos is a great way to direct your audience's attention to specific features you want to highlight.

The effect is so popular in content creation that a dev even made it possible in OBS with a zoom effect and mouse follow. But for now, let's get into how you can add zoom effects to your Tella videos. It's easy, convenient, and takes just a few steps.

How to add zoom effects to your videos

Now, let’s get into how you can add a zoom effect to your videos.

Tella is an all-in-one screen recording and editing tool with everything you need to make great videos. You can upload your own video or record your webcam and presentations and conveniently edit your recordings afterward. Tella makes it easy to add custom layouts, backgrounds, automated subtitles AND zoom effects.

The beauty of using zoom effects in Tella lies in their simplicity. In a few easy steps, you can level up your videos. Let’s get started. 

Record or upload your content 

With Tella, you can record from the web, in Chrome, or on your Mac and share your video anywhere, including Slack. You can also upload your own content and edit it in Tella. Once the video is recorded/uploaded, you can add zoom effects to it in Tella in just a few clicks.

How to record content in Tella

Once you’ve logged in to Tella, simply hit ‘New Video’ in the top left-hand corner of your screen.

The Tella sidebar with an arrow pointing at the purple New video button, above the Welcome and All videos links

Once you’ve opened a new video, you can record your camera, share your screen, or present slides. Simply choose your option to get started. 

Tella's recorder toolbar with Quick, Multi, Select and Upload tabs above the Mute, Start camera, record and Share screen controls

How to upload content to Tella

If you’d like to upload content to Tella, follow the same instructions as above but click ‘Upload’ when you’ve opened your new video. Select the mp4 video file you’d like to upload from your device. 

Tella's Upload video file screen, noting that only mp4 files are supported, with a Select file button and the Upload tab active

 

Head over to the editor 

After you’ve finished recording or uploading your video, you’ll typically go straight into the editor.

From the dashboard, click on the three dots underneath your video, and select ‘Edit’.

The Tella dashboard with an arrow pointing at a video's three-dot menu, open on Manage channels, Duplicate, Edit and Delete

Or, if you’re viewing your video, click ‘Edit’ in the top right-hand corner of your screen. 

The Edit, Trim and Share buttons stacked to the right of a video on its viewing page

### 3. Apply the zooms

Now that you’re in the editor, it’s time to play around with Tella’s zoom effects. To get started, click ‘Zoom’ on the right-hand side.

The editor's right-hand tools, with Zoom between Trim and Re-record

Once you’re in the zoom mode, you can decide where to add some zooms. When you’ve settled on a spot, click ‘Add Zoom’ from the tool bar at the bottom or the mini-map in the right-hand corner. 

The editor timeline at 00:00 of 00:41, with the Add zoom button at the top right

Adjust the zooms duration 

You can experiment with the duration of your zooms by dragging the ends of the handles. This will change how long the video is zoomed in for. 

A zoom block on the timeline with a blue handle at each end for dragging how long it lasts

Choose the zooms focus point 

To adjust your zooms focus point, grab hold of the target on the mini map and move it to your desired zoom location. This allows you to precisely control where you zoom in your video. For example, if you’d like to zoom into the navigation menu, place the target there on the mini map. 

The zoom mini-map with an arrow pointing at the round focus-point target dropped onto the video

Adjust the zoom level and speed 

To adjust the zoom level, use the slider bar below the mini map. This determines how much your video will be magnified. You can also speed up your zoom or slow it down by hitting ‘Slow, Medium or Fast’.

The zoom settings, with a Scale slider set to 200% and Speed set to Slow rather than Medium or Fast

Add zoom transitions

Tella allows you to add as many zooms as you’d like. As I mentioned, you can connect multiple zooms to create a panning effect. Select one zoom, and press ‘Add Zoom’ to do this. 

Two zoom blocks butted up against each other on the timeline, with the Add zoom button highlighted

By connecting another zoom directly after the first one, you create a seamless transition between the two. This means that instead of zooming all the way out, the connected zooms will smoothly pan from the initial zoom position to the subsequent zoom position. 

Add finishing touches 

Once you’re happy with your zooms, click ‘Done’ on the top right-hand corner to exit zoom mode. You’ll be taken back to the editor, where you can explore Tella’s other editing features. You can add multiple clips, different clip styles, and more. 

You can also adjust the layouts and canvas sizes; the zooms you added should fit neatly within them. In some cases, you may need to adjust the zoom levels slightly to work within a particular layout or canvas size

There you have it. You’ve successfully added zooms to your video, and now you’re ready to share it with others. Press ‘Finish’ on the bottom right of the editor to head over to your videos view page. Then, name your video and click either ‘Copy Link’ or ‘Download.’ 

Elevate your videos with zoom effects 

It doesn’t take much to start making better videos. Tella’s zoom effects are a no-fuss way to bring your videos to life and drive engagement. Adding zooms to videos in Tella is easy and convenient and takes just a few moments. There’s no need to be an editing wiz - Tella is all about making recording and editing more accessible for everyone. 

Watch the video below for a quick walk-through of zoom effects in Tella. Learn more about Tella here.

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