The Ken Burns Effect - How to Create in PowerPoint

Sep 20, 2026

Ken Burns effect tutorial explains how to animate still photographs in PowerPoint using slow zooming, panning, and fade transitions to create a documentary-style sense of motion. It covers the basic approach available in Apple iMovie, then shows a practical PowerPoint workflow: using Grow/Shrink zoom, adding a custom motion path to move a subject into the center, and combining both animations so they start together. Tips include using Slide Show > Custom Animation, tuning timing to Slow or Very Slow, and adding frames with no fill or no line for clean movement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPPT

Pages12

Reading Time4 min

AccessFree to download

The Ken Burns Effect

Basic technique in iMovie and PowerPoint

Grow/Shrink settings

Custom motion path workflow

Combining animations and timing

1 PowerPoint Tutorial The Ken Burns effect 2 The Ken Burns Effect, made famous by American documentary maker Ken Burns, is the technique of embedding still photographs in motion pictures, displayed with slow zooming and panning effects, and fading transitions between them. The zooming and panning across photographs gives the feeling of motion, and keeps the viewer visually entertained. The Ken Burns effect 3 The basic Ken Burns effect that is included in Apple’s iMovie software package is simply a zoom feature. This is fairly easy to replicate in PowerPoint, but the only drawback is that you have to zoom into the centre of the image. The basic Ken Burns effect 4 Basic Ken Burns effect using Grow/ Shrink Size: 150% Speed: Slow 5 Same effect with a frame over the top 6 To zoom in on the old lady we first need to use a custom motion path to bring her to the centre of the screen. (Note because we have not zoomed in the edge of thephoto will show up in the frame.) Custom motion path 7 If we combine the Grow/ Shrink and the Custom Motion path we get a good approximation of the Ken Burns effect Custom motion path combined with Grow/ Shrink 8 1 2 3 Select Slide Show > Custom Animation Select Grow/ Shrink Make timing to Slow or Very Slow How we did itBasic Ken Burns effect using Grow/ Shrink Size:150% Speed :Slow 9 No Fill How we did itAdding a frame No Line No Line No Line No line 10 No Line No Line No Line No line No Fill How we did itAdding a frame 11 1 2 3 Select Slide Show > Custom Animation Select Add Effect > Motion Paths > Draw Custom Path > Line Move the green and red arrows and keep testing until you get the centre of the picture in the right place (this can be very fiddly to get right) How we did itCreating a custom motion path 12 1 In Custom Animation add in the Grow/ Shrink as before 2 To make both animations start at the same time, select Start > With Previous You may need to play around with the settings to get it working the way you want How we did itCombining motion path with Grow/ Shrink

FAQs

What is the Ken Burns effect and what visual goal does it achieve?

It embeds still photographs into motion by using slow zooming and panning, often with fading transitions. The goal is to create the feeling of motion while keeping the viewer engaged.

How do you create the basic Ken Burns zoom in PowerPoint?

Use Slide Show > Custom Animation and add the Grow/ Shrink effect, then set the speed to Slow or Very Slow.

How do you add the panning motion to keep the subject centered?

Create a custom motion path via Add Effect > Motion Paths > Draw Custom Path > Line, then adjust the path controls while testing until the picture subject reaches the screen center. Combine this with Grow/ Shrink and set both animations to start With Previous.

Sep 20, 2026

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