Keyframe-Based Pan and Zoom

Keyframes let you add smooth camera movement to your clips -- panning across the frame, zooming in on a subject, or pulling back to reveal the full scene. This is especially useful for adding visual interest to static shots like interviews or presentations.

What Are Keyframes?

A keyframe is a point in time where you define how the frame should look -- where it's positioned and how much it's zoomed in. StarZero Agents smoothly animates between your keyframes, creating fluid camera-like movement.

Think of it like giving directions to a camera operator: "Start wide, then slowly zoom into the speaker's face over three seconds."

What Each Keyframe Controls

Every keyframe has:

• Position -- Where the camera is pointing within the frame (horizontal and vertical). This controls panning left, right, up, or down.
• Zoom level -- How close or far the view is. Higher zoom means a tighter, closer shot.
• Interpolation type -- How the camera moves to this keyframe from the previous one. See Interpolation Types below.

Adding Keyframes Through Conversation

The easiest way to add keyframes is to describe the movement you want:

"Add a slow zoom into the speaker starting at 2 seconds."

"Add keyframes to clip 1: start zoomed out, then slowly zoom into the speaker's face over 3 seconds."

"Pan from left to right across the scene during clip 3."

"Start tight on the product, then zoom out to show the full table at the 4 second mark."

StarZero Agents will set the appropriate keyframes based on your description.

Adding Keyframes Through the Visual Editor

You can also use the visual editor for more precise control:

1. Select the clip you want to add movement to.
2. Navigate to the time position where you want to place a keyframe.
3. Add a keyframe and set the position and zoom level.
4. Move to another time position and add another keyframe.
5. StarZero Agents animates between the two points.

Use the next and previous keyframe buttons in the editor to jump between your keyframes and adjust them.

The Framing Panel

When editing keyframes, a floating Framing panel appears over the video preview. This gives you precise numeric control over each keyframe's position and zoom without needing to drag the viewport.

The panel shows:

• Position — Horizontal and vertical values (as percentages), with plain-language descriptions like "center", "slightly left", or "top edge" so you know where you're pointed at a glance.
• Zoom — The current zoom level as a percentage, plus a dropdown of aspect ratio presets (like 16:9, 9:16, 4:5) that automatically set the zoom to frame your content at that ratio. This is handy when you want a keyframe to match a specific platform format.
• Keyframe navigation — Previous/next buttons to jump between keyframes without leaving the panel.

You can scrub any value by clicking and dragging left or right on its input field, or click to type an exact number. The panel auto-collapses during playback so it doesn't block the preview, and expands again when you pause. You can also drag it to reposition it anywhere over the video player, or click its header to collapse and expand it manually.

Managing Keyframes

• Update a keyframe -- Navigate to an existing keyframe and change its position or zoom.
• Remove a keyframe -- Select it and delete it, or ask StarZero Agents: "Remove the second keyframe from clip 1."
• Add more keyframes -- You can have multiple keyframes on a single clip for complex movements.

Keyframes and Trimming

When you trim a clip, keyframes near the trim boundary stay visible and selectable on the timeline — they appear clamped at the clip edge so you can still select them, adjust their timing, or nudge them back inside the clip. Keyframes that end up far outside the trimmed region are hidden from the timeline and skipped during navigation, but they're not deleted — if you later extend the clip to include them again, they reappear automatically.

Interpolation Types

Each keyframe has an interpolation type that controls how the camera moves from that keyframe to the next one. The interpolation on the last keyframe has no effect since there's nothing after it.

• Ease (default) -- Smooth, natural movement that accelerates and decelerates gradually. Best for most situations.
• Linear -- Constant-speed movement to the next keyframe. Useful for steady, mechanical pans or zooms.
• Hold -- No movement. The camera stays locked at this position until the next keyframe, then snaps to it. Great for cutting between different framings within the same clip.

Changing the Type in the Editor

Right-click any keyframe marker on the timeline to open a menu where you can switch between Linear, Ease, and Hold. Each type has a distinct shape on the timeline so you can tell them apart at a glance:

• Circle -- Ease (smooth transition to the next keyframe)
• Diamond -- Linear (constant-speed transition to the next keyframe)
• Square -- Hold (stays at this position until the next keyframe)

Changing the Type Through Conversation

You can also ask StarZero Agents to set the interpolation type:

"Make the second keyframe on clip 1 a hold."

"Set all keyframes on clip 2 to linear."

Auto-Detected Hold Keyframes

When StarZero Agents auto-reframes your clips for a different aspect ratio, it automatically detects moments where the camera should hold position rather than pan. When the framing should stay put, StarZero Agents sets a hold keyframe so it stays locked until it needs to move. This keeps auto-reframed footage stable and avoids unnecessary drift.

Smart Zoom Constraints

When you zoom in, StarZero Agents keeps your subjects properly framed and avoids awkward partial crops.

Sticky Vertical Positioning

When you drag the viewport in the visual editor to reposition a clip, the vertical axis is "sticky" — small vertical movements are ignored so you can pan horizontally without accidentally shifting the framing up or down. Once you move far enough vertically, the stickiness breaks and you can position freely in both directions.

Snap to edges (Alt+drag): Hold the Alt key while dragging to snap the vertical position to useful anchor points — the top edge, bottom edge, center, and positions in between. This is handy when you want the viewport to sit exactly at the top or bottom of the source frame, especially when zoomed out past the source boundaries.

Practical Examples

Adding energy to a talking-head video:

"For clip 1, start zoomed out showing the full frame, then slowly zoom into the speaker's face over 5 seconds."

Revealing a scene:

"Start zoomed in on the product close-up, then zoom out over 3 seconds to show the whole room."

Panning across a group:

"Pan from the left side to the right side of the frame during clip 2."

Combining zoom and focus hints:

"Focus on the presenter for clip 1, and add a gentle zoom in over the first 4 seconds."

Tips

• Start with subtle movements. A slow, gentle zoom often looks more professional than a fast, dramatic one.
• Preview your keyframe animations with a low-quality render before doing your final export.
• Keyframes work alongside focus hints -- use focus hints for basic reframing and keyframes when you want actual movement.
• This feature is great for repurposing static content (like webinar recordings or presentations) into more dynamic social media clips.