Slow Zoom Camera Animation
Camera slowly pushes in from a wide establishing shot to a tight close-up on a hero detail (logo, texture, feature). Includes subtle dolly zoom (focal length shift) for cinematic compression.
When to Use
- User wants a "reveal" or "hero shot"
- User says "zoom in", "push in", "close-up on the logo", "cinematic reveal"
- Highlighting a specific detail or feature on the product
Prerequisites
- Blender MCP: Connected
- 3D model: Already imported in the Blender scene
- Output folder:
~/Desktop/Blender Videos/ - ffmpeg: Installed
Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
duration |
5 |
Video length in seconds |
fps |
24 |
Frames per second |
start_distance |
4.0 |
Starting camera distance |
end_distance |
1.8 |
Ending camera distance (close-up) |
start_height |
3.0 |
Starting camera height |
end_height |
1.2 |
Ending camera height |
start_lens |
35 |
Starting focal length (wide) |
end_lens |
65 |
Ending focal length (tight) |
focus_point |
(0,0,0.1) |
Point to zoom toward (e.g. logo center) |
transparent_bg |
true |
Transparent background |
Flow
Step 1: Identify Focus Point
Ask user what detail to zoom into, or default to object center. Use AskUserQuestion if unclear.
Step 2: Set Up Camera
import bpy, math
# Focus target
bpy.ops.object.empty_add(type='PLAIN_AXES', location=FOCUS_POINT)
tgt = bpy.context.active_object
tgt.name = 'ZoomTarget'
# Camera
bpy.ops.object.camera_add(location=(START_X, -START_DISTANCE, START_HEIGHT))
cam = bpy.context.active_object
cam.name = 'SlowZoomCam'
cam.data.lens = START_LENS
track = cam.constraints.new(type='TRACK_TO')
track.target = tgt
track.track_axis = 'TRACK_NEGATIVE_Z'
track.up_axis = 'UP_Y'
bpy.context.scene.camera = cam
Step 3: Animate Push-In
import bpy
TOTAL_FRAMES = DURATION * FPS
scene = bpy.context.scene
scene.frame_start = 1
scene.frame_end = TOTAL_FRAMES
scene.render.fps = FPS
# Start wide
cam.location = (1.5, -START_DISTANCE, START_HEIGHT)
cam.keyframe_insert(data_path='location', frame=1)
cam.data.lens = START_LENS
cam.data.keyframe_insert(data_path='lens', frame=1)
# End tight
cam.location = (0.3, -END_DISTANCE, END_HEIGHT)
cam.keyframe_insert(data_path='location', frame=TOTAL_FRAMES)
cam.data.lens = END_LENS
cam.data.keyframe_insert(data_path='lens', frame=TOTAL_FRAMES)
# Keep default BEZIER interpolation for smooth ease in/out
Step 4: Lighting + Render
Use the same golden hour lighting setup as turntable skill. Render as PNG sequence with Cycles, encode with ffmpeg to ProRes 4444.
ffmpeg -y -framerate 24 \
-i "~/Desktop/Blender Videos/slowzoom_frames/%04d.png" \
-c:v prores_ks -profile:v 4444 -pix_fmt yuva444p10le \
"~/Desktop/Blender Videos/slow_zoom.mov"
Tips
- The focal length shift (35mm to 65mm) creates a subtle dolly zoom / Hitchcock effect
- BEZIER interpolation gives smooth ease-in/out — don't use LINEAR for this animation
- Offset the start position slightly on X (e.g. 1.5) for a more cinematic diagonal approach