Focus, Zoom & Motion

Screentell's "secret sauce" is its ability to create smooth, professional camera movements that guide your viewer's eye. This is achieved through a system of Keyframes.

Understanding Keyframes

A Keyframe marks a specific point in time where the camera position or zoom level changes. Screentell automatically animates the transition between these points.

• Start: Your video starts at 1x zoom (full screen).
• Zoom In: Add a keyframe with 2x zoom. The camera will smoothly move from 1x to 2x.
• Zoom Out: Add another keyframe with 1x zoom to return to full view.

Adding a Keyframe

To add a zoom or focus point:

1. Scrub the timeline to the desired moment.
2. Click on the area of the video preview you want to focus on.
3. A Zoom Keyframe will appear on the Zoom Track (below the ruler) at the playhead position.
4. The Focus & Motion Panel (Inspector) will show the keyframe settings.

[!TIP] You can also duplicate existing keyframes to quickly copy settings by right-clicking on a keyframe in the Zoom Track.

Focus & Motion Panel

When a keyframe is selected, the Inspector Panel allows you to customize it:

Editing Keyframes

The Zoom Track provides powerful timeline controls for managing your keyframes:

• Move: Drag the keyframe block left or right to change when the movement occurs.
• Resize Duration: Hover over the left or right edge of a keyframe block and drag to adjust its duration.
• Context Menu: Right-click a keyframe to:
  • Duplicate: Create a copy of the keyframe next to the original.
  • Remove: Delete the keyframe.
• Update Position: While a keyframe is selected, click a new spot on the video preview to update its target focus point.

💡 Recipe: The "Pan" Effect

To move from one focused area to another (Pan) while staying zoomed in:

1. Create a Zoom Keyframe (e.g., 2x zoom on the left side).
2. Move the playhead forward a few seconds.
3. Click on the right side of the video preview.
4. This creates a second keyframe. The camera will stay zoomed in and smoothly pan from left to right between these two points.

3D Transforms

You can break free from the 2D plane and add depth to your screen recordings using 3D Transforms.

Activating 3D Mode

When you select a keyframe, you will see a 3D Joystick panel appear (floating on screen). By default, keyframes are 2D.

• Use the Joystick to rotate the camera.
• Toggle between Static (Single Position) and Motion (Animated 3D Path).
• Persistent Settings: Switching back to Static will pause the motion but save your End Position settings, so you can interactively toggle without losing work.

Using the 3D Joystick

The joystick allows you to control the camera in 3D space:

• Rotate (Tilt/Pan): Simply drag the joystick nub.
• Move (X/Y): Hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) + Drag to move the camera focus.
• Zoom/Scale: Hold Opt (Mac) or Alt (Windows) + Drag Up/Down to move closer or further.
• Reset: Double-click the joystick to reset to default.
• Move Panel: Drag the Grip Handle at the top of the panel to position it anywhere on your screen.

Dynamic 3D Motion

Switch to Motion mode to create complex camera moves within a single keyframe:

• Start Position: The camera state at the beginning of the keyframe.
• End Position: The camera state at the end of the keyframe duration.
• Auto-Switching: The panel automatically selects "Start" or "End" for editing based on where your playhead is located within the keyframe.
• Entry Style: Controls the transition into this keyframe from the previous one.
• Motion Style: Controls the movement within this keyframe (between Start and End).

This allows you to create continuous, flowing camera paths (e.g., "Orbiting" the screen while the video plays).

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