How to zoom in on a screen recording
Add smooth zooms to a screen recording so viewers can read the small things: when to zoom, how far, and how to do it on Windows without keyframes.
Updated · 2 minute read · By the Sceed team
To zoom in on a screen recording, use an editor where a zoom is a block on the timeline: it eases in at the start of the block, holds, and eases out at the end. In Sceed you add a zoom block at the playhead and choose its target: follow the cursor, one point, or several numbered points the camera visits in turn.
Why zoom at all
Most screen recordings are watched in a small player: a chat thread, a help article, a phone. A full desktop shrunk to that size makes every label unreadable. A zoom brings the one thing you are talking about up to a size people can see, then gives the whole screen back.
When to zoom
Before you click something small: a menu item, a checkbox, an icon.
While you type into a field.
When a result appears that proves the point: a number, a status, an error.
Not during long scrolling, and not on every click. A zoom is emphasis; used everywhere, it means nothing.
How far to zoom
Between 1.5× and 2× covers most cases. Go further only for very small text. The more you zoom, the fewer recorded pixels fill the frame, so a strong zoom on a low-resolution recording looks soft. Recording at a high resolution gives zooms room. See recording in 4K.
Zoom targets in Sceed
| Target | What the camera does | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Glides after the pointer, averaged so it never twitches | Clicking through a form or a menu |
| Point | Zooms on one spot you click on the preview | A number, a button, one line of code |
| Points | Visits several numbered spots in turn, zooming in and out at each | Walking through the parts of a screen |
There are two kinds of zoom. Crop in magnifies the picture inside the frame; the window stays where it is. Move closer brings the whole framed window towards the viewer. Both ease in after the block starts and out before it ends, so the block on the timeline is exactly when the zoom is visible. Optional motion blur softens the move.
Placed zooms and automatic zooms
Some recorders zoom automatically on every click. That is quick, and often wrong: it zooms on clicks that do not matter and misses the result that does. Sceed’s zooms are placed by hand, with the Cursor target doing the following for you inside each block. See how the approaches compare in Sceed vs FocuSee and Sceed vs Screen Studio.
With Sceed, step by step
- 1
Move to the moment
In the Sceed editor, put the playhead where the detail appears.
- 2
Add a zoom
Open Zoom and add a block. It appears on the timeline at the playhead.
- 3
Choose the target
Leave it on Cursor to follow the pointer, or choose Point and click the spot on the preview. Choose Points to place several numbered spots.
- 4
Set how far
Set the zoom level. Choose Crop in to magnify inside the frame, or Move closer to bring the whole window towards the viewer.
- 5
Trim the block
Drag the block’s edges so the zoom starts just before the action and ends just after.
New to Sceed? Install to export in five steps.
Questions
Does Sceed zoom automatically on clicks?
No. You place zoom blocks where you want them. Inside a block the camera can follow the cursor by itself, so there is nothing to keyframe.
Will zooming make my recording blurry?
A zoom enlarges recorded pixels, so strong zooms on small recordings soften. Record at your display’s full resolution; Sceed keeps the whole monitor’s pixels for area recordings for this reason.
Can I zoom on several things in a row?
Yes. Use the Points target and click each spot. The camera zooms in and out at each in order.
Are zooms in the free plan?
Yes. Zoom blocks, all three targets and motion blur are free. The 3D camera is part of Sceed Pro.
Keep reading
More guides on editing
- How to smooth the cursor in a screen recordingFix a shaky, jittery mouse pointer in a screen recording. How cursor smoothing works, and how to change the cursor’s size, look and colour after recording.
- How to blur sensitive information in a screen recordingHide emails, names, API keys and account numbers in a screen recording. How to blur a region after recording on Windows, and how not to show it at all.
- How to add a background and a frame to a screen recordingPut a screen recording on a gradient background with padding, rounded corners, a shadow and a window frame, the look of modern product videos, on Windows.