The Ken Burns effect on any photo, by asking
Ask the Tella Agent for a Ken Burns effect. Tella Motion slowly zooms and pans across your photo with easing, and you can change each move by asking.
Try it in Tella
Paste a prompt into the Tella Agent in the editor, or into Claude or ChatGPT connected to Tella, then ask for changes.
Show the photo I attached full screen for 6 seconds. Slowly zoom from 100% to 115% while panning toward the top right, easing in and out.
Use the attached archive photo of the Fenwick mill. Start close on the clock tower and slowly pull back over 8 seconds to show the whole building, then fade to black.
Show each of the 5 portraits I attached for 5 seconds with a slow push in on the face, drifting left on one and right on the next, and crossfade between them.
How do I add a Ken Burns effect (a slow pan and zoom) to photos in a video?
In Tella, attach the photo in the Tella Agent chat and ask for a Ken Burns effect in a Tella Motion clip, or as Tella Motion b-roll over your recording. Tella Motion keyframes the photo's scale and position, so it slowly zooms and drifts with easing. Say where the move starts, where it ends and how long it takes.
How to do it
- Open your video in the Tella editor and open the Tella Agent chat.
- Click + → Attach… and add the photo.
- Say where it goes: a new Tella Motion clip, or b-roll over part of your recording.
- Describe the move: zoom in or out, which way to pan, and for how long.
- Play the preview and ask for changes, like "slower" or "end on the left side."
Good to know
- Available to everyone: through the Tella Agent on a paid plan or the 7-day trial, or through Claude or ChatGPT on any plan.
- To chain several moves on one photo, ask for continuous easing so each move flows into the next without a jolt.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Ask for it as Tella Motion b-roll or an overlay, like "show the attached photo full screen with a slow zoom while I talk about our first office." The agent times it to what you say.
Yes. Tella Motion can keyframe the scale and position of a video you place in it, the same way it does for a photo.
Yes. Claude or ChatGPT connected to Tella's MCP server can place your photo in Tella Motion and keyframe its zoom and pan with the same commands the Tella Agent uses.