If you are just starting on your video editing journey then it is highly likely you are going to want to zoom in and out in Shotcut. Shotcut has several ways to achieve this, and in this tutorial we cover the main 2 methods; a quick zoom, and a smooth zoom.
A quick zoom is designed to give greater impact, it generally aims to reset the viewers attention and focus in on an interesting part of the video. However, depending on the content, it might be hard to follow a quick zoom, especially if lots of things are happening on the screen at once. In these cases it is better to choose a smooth zoom. A smooth zoom generally forces the viewers towards the important part of the video without resetting attention.
Quick Zoom In and Out:
Open Shotcut
Drag your clip into the Playlist, then into the Timeline
On the timeline, go to the position you want the zoom-in to start and split the clip
Then, go to the position you want the clip to zoom back out, and split the clip
You now have 3 parts to your original video clip
Select the part you want to zoom-in and make sure the timeline head is over the clip too (this is so can see the changes in the preview pane)
Go to Filters
Click on the Plus button
Select Video tab and then search for ‘Size, Position & Rotate’
Click on the filter ‘Size, Position & Rotate’
Using the slider on the Zoom section, adjust to the correct zoom level
Alternatively, you can type the exact zoom amount required in the number box to the right of the slider
To adjust the position of your zoom, using the preview screen, click and holding the handle (small circle button in the middle of the preview pane)
Alternatively you can adjust the Position values on the filter window
Smooth Zoom In and Out in Shotcut:
Open Shotcut
Drag your clip into the Playlist, then into the Timeline
Go to Filters
Click on the Plus button
Select Video tab and then search for ‘Size, Position & Rotate’
Click on the filter ‘Size, Position & Rotate’
Click the Keyframes button to the right of Position, Size and Zoom
Right click the red diamond, go to Frame Type and select Smooth
The diamond will change to a circle
Move the playhead to where you want to zoom in to
Click the Add Keyframe button
Increase the zoom, and any other options you need on the filter pane
To adjust the position of your zoom, using the preview screen, click and holding the handle (small circle button in the middle of the preview pane)
Alternatively you can adjust the Position values on the filter window
The video also demonstrates how to pan around the video clip whilst zoomed in.
