To zoom in a video, follow these simple steps:
Download and launch Movavi Video Editor.
Want to focus your audience’s attention on specific details in your video? There’s an easy way to do it: just zoom a video to bring those scenes closer to the viewer. All you need to do this is a powerful video editor with a zoom function – like Movavi Video Editor. It’s a multifunctional video editing and processing tool that will let you quickly and easily zoom in or zoom out a video, apply other special effects, add audio, titles, and transitions, and save the result to any of over 180 media formats.
There are two ways to create a zoom-in effect – using a dedicated tool or cropping a video. You can find detailed instructions for both methods in the article below.
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How to do the zoom-in effect (with pan and zoom tool)
The zooming effect is relatively easy to add. See how to zoom in on a video with the help of this simple guide.
Step 1. Install the video zoom editor
Download the video zoomer and open the file to launch the installation. Follow the onscreen guide and the program will be ready to edit your clip in just a couple of minutes.
Step 2. Add your video
Launch the video zoom software. After that, click Add Files and pick the clip you want to edit. The selected video will be added to the Media Bin. Drag it onto the Timeline.
Step 3. Apply the zoom effect
Open the More Tools tab and click Pan and Zoom to make a video zoom edit.
In the Pan and Zoom section, click the Zoom in icon and then drag it to the video.
Once you’ve added the effect, you’ll see an arrow with a start and an end point on your video on the timeline (the keyframes). Move the arrow to change the position of the applied effect on the timeline. You can adjust the duration of the effect by stretching the arrow – drag the keyframes to the right or left as needed. To select the area you want to zoom in on, adjust the orange frame in the Preview Window. You can also remove any individual keyframe (or all keyframes at once) by right-clicking the keyframe and selecting Remove Keyframe from the context menu. If you want to restore the initial zoom level, select the Zoom out option and add the effect the same way you did with zoom-in. You can apply zoom effects multiple times to any segment of your video – each time you do this, keyframes with an arrow will be added to your footage on the timeline.
Step 4. Save your clip
Click the Export button and choose the tab that’s best for your requirements. You can save the clip on your computer, export it for viewing on a specific mobile device, or prepare your movie for uploading to the Internet. Once you’ve chosen the desired option, click Start.
How to zoom in a video by cropping it
Undoubtedly, there are times when you need to trim your videos in order to erase unnecessary information and draw your viewers' attention to the most important elements. Movavi Video Editor can also be used as a video zooming app. Simply insert your videos into the program, determine the fragment you want to cut away, and save the finished file in the format you want: MP4, AVI, FLV, WMV, MPEG or in another.
Step 1. Install the video zoom software
Download the zoom-in video editor and run the installation file. Simply follow the instructions on the screen to install the software correctly.
Step 2. Add the video you want to trim
Start the program and click the Add Files button. In the newly opened window, select the video file that you want to trim using cropping. The video you selected will be added to the Media Bin. Drag it onto the Timeline.
Step 3. Crop your video
Click on the video and press the Crop button as shown in the picture. Stretch and move the rectangle in the preview window to define the frame you want. Finally, click Apply.
Movavi Video Editor is much more than just a video zoom editor. This is a multifunctional video editor: besides splitting, merging, and trimming video files, it allows you to improve video quality, add special effects, music and titles, and much more.
Step 4. Save your trimmed video
Click the Export button and select the option you want. In the dialog window, determine the desired video format or the mobile device. If necessary, enter the video settings and click on Start. That’s how you zoom in on a video by cropping it.
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*The free version of Movavi Video Editor may have the following restrictions depending on the build: watermark on exported clips, 60-second video or 1/2 audio length limit, and/or some advanced features unavailable when exporting videos.
Frequently asked questions
Sometimes you may notice that your YouTube videos are zoomed in. Recently, smartphone manufacturers have been increasingly releasing devices with displays that have an aspect ratio of 18:9 (or 18.5:9 in Apple's case). This leads to the fact that traditional video, shot in 16:9 ratio, does not completely fit on such displays, when it is played back on the screen, black bars are displayed. YouTube app now scales video for displays with aspect ratios other than 16:9.
Some manufacturers build pre-installed solutions into their skins that allow video to be stretched in such a way as to completely fill the display with images without displaying black bars. For those cases where smartphone manufacturers do not implement such a function in the interface, YouTube offers its own solution. The YouTube app now has the ability to scale the image to fill the entire available display space. Although, in some cases, such scaling may degrade the image quality. The new video scaling feature for displays other than 16:9 is available in the YouTube app starting with version 12.44.
There are two solutions to the described problem: use a special browser extension or a third-party player with a video scaling function.
OwlZoom
This tool integrates an additional line Zoom into the Settings of the YouTube player. By clicking on it, you will see several available zoom levels (from 100 to 200%). After applying the desired magnification, the Play Around button will appear on the player's toolbar, through which you can position the movie window in an optimal way, without displacement (see the first two screenshots). To return to the original scale, select the 100% level.
Zoom
The plugin is designed to accurately scale web pages, but it does an excellent job of enlarging (decreasing) a freeze frame on YouTube.
Magic Actions
This tool will seamlessly expand the player window to fit the screen. While this cannot be called scaling, the built-in function of the addon is enough to get acquainted with the details of the picture.
The second option is to download a media player that can play and zoom videos from YouTube. The problem is solved by SMPlayer with the implemented SMTube add-on. Both applications have official portable builds.
After installing SMTube in the player folder, use it as a browser-search engine for YouTube videos. The found video will open in the SMPlayer interface, and the corresponding adjustments are in the Video → Zoom menu, including the hotkeys E (increase) and W (decrease).
Zoom saves video in MP4, that’s why you can easily edit the recording in almost any video editing app. Try Movavi Video Editor – an intuitive software for everyone passionate about video-making. The editor gives you a wide variety of video-editing options that will help you create inspiring videos. Crop and rotate your videos; apply various effects, filters, and transitions; use stickers and music to make a truly unique video. Let your creativity flow by experimenting with features like Chroma Key and animation. Just add your video to the editor and try all the options by yourself!
Simultaneously zooming in and out creates the dolly zoom effect. Used in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film “Vertigo”, this type of zoom is also known as the vertigo zoom or Hitchcock effect. Originally, the effect is achieved by zooming out while the camera moves toward the object or by zooming in while the camera moves away from the object. However, you can also create this effect with the Pan and Zoom tool during the montage. If you zoom in with the camera, choose the opposite zoom while editing so that this will simulate the dolly zoom effect.
Movavi Video Editor is more than just a video-zooming app
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