Keyframes are how still things start to move. A photo that slowly zooms in, a title that slides into place, a clip that fades from dark to bright: all of these are keyframes at work. They are the single most powerful animation tool in Edits, and they are simpler than they look.
A keyframe is simply a saved setting at a point in time. Set one value at the start of a clip and a different value at the end, and Edits fills in everything between. That one idea, applied to position, scale, and opacity, opens up almost every animation you see in Reels.
By Alex Carter, Editor · Published October 24, 2026 · Updated October 24, 2026
30-second answer: A keyframe saves a setting at one moment. Set position, scale, or opacity at the start of a clip, move to a later moment, change the value, and Edits animates the change between the two keyframes. Two keyframes are enough for most animations.
In this guide
- What keyframes are
- Add keyframes, step by step
- Animate position
- Animate scale and opacity
- Easing and timing
- Keyframe moves worth learning
- Troubleshooting
- FAQ
What keyframes are
Think of a keyframe as a pin on the timeline. Each pin stores the settings of a clip at that exact moment: where it sits, how big it is, how transparent it is. With one pin, nothing moves. With two pins holding different values, Edits creates the movement between them, frame by frame.
That is the whole system. Everything else is practice: choosing which property to animate, placing the pins at the right moments, and keeping the movement slow enough to feel deliberate. Our transitions guide covers the simpler joins between clips; keyframes cover movement inside a clip.
Add keyframes, step by step
- Select the clip or title you want to move, and move the playhead to where the movement should start.
- Open the animation or keyframe controls for that clip, and add a keyframe for the property you want to change: position, scale, or opacity.
- Move the playhead to where the movement should end, and change the value. Edits adds a second keyframe automatically.
- Play the clip back. Adjust the distance between the two keyframes to make the movement faster or slower.
- Repeat for a second property only if the shot needs it, and export a short test before you commit.
The most common beginner mistake is adding keyframes everywhere. Two keyframes make a clean move. Ten keyframes make a jittery one. If a move feels wrong, delete the middle keyframes first and see if the simple version works.
Animate position
Position keyframes move a clip or title across the frame. Start with a title below the frame and end with it in place, and you have a slide-in. Start with a photo on the left and end on the right, and you have a pan. Keep the path short: a small move feels professional, a large one feels frantic.
Position pairs well with our text and titles guide: a title that slides in gently is more readable than one that pops in instantly. Keep titles inside the safe area, away from the edges where captions and buttons crowd the frame. Our effects guide shows how motion effects differ from keyframed position.
Animate scale and opacity
Scale keyframes change size over time. A photo that grows from 100 percent to 110 percent over five seconds gives the classic slow zoom that makes still images feel alive. Keep the change small: a 10 percent zoom is noticeable, a 50 percent zoom is distracting.
Opacity keyframes change transparency. Fading a title from 0 percent to 100 percent makes it appear gently; fading a clip to 0 at the end makes a clean outro. Pair an opacity fade with a short music fade, as our advanced audio guide explains, and the ending feels finished rather than cut off.
Easing and timing
Real movement rarely runs at a constant speed. A title that eases in starts slowly and settles gently; one that moves at full speed from the first frame feels mechanical. If Edits offers easing options for your keyframes, choose ease-in for entrances and ease-out for exits.
Timing matters more than distance. A two-second slide-in feels calm; the same slide in half a second feels rushed. As a rule, give entrances at least one second, and let the viewer read a title for two seconds after it lands before anything else moves.
Keyframe moves worth learning
Start with four moves, and you will cover most Reels. The slow zoom: scale from 100 to 110 percent over a long photo. The slide-in title: position from below the frame to its resting place over one second. The fade-out: opacity from 100 to 0 over the last second of a clip. The Ken Burns pan: position drifting slowly across a landscape photo while it plays.
Each of these is two keyframes and one property. Learn them one at a time, on a throwaway project, before you use them on a video you care about. A move you can do cleanly is worth more than ten moves you half remember.
Troubleshooting
Nothing moves
Usually the two keyframes hold the same value, or only one keyframe exists. Change the second keyframe’s value and play again.
The movement is jerky
Too many keyframes, or keyframes too close together. Delete the middle ones and spread the remaining two further apart.
The movement is too fast
Move the second keyframe later on the timeline. Distance in time controls speed, not distance on screen.
The clip jumps at the start
The first keyframe does not match the clip’s resting position. Set the first keyframe to where the clip should sit before it moves.
Export looks different from the preview
Export a short test clip and watch it on a phone, as our export settings guide recommends. Preview smoothing can hide small jumps that export reveals.
Get the official app
Keyframes are part of the free Edits app. Get it from the official stores, open a practice project, and try one slow zoom today.
Next: Advanced Audio Tools in Edits →
Frequently asked questions
What is a keyframe in Edits?
A keyframe saves a clip’s setting, such as position, scale, or opacity, at one moment on the timeline. Two keyframes with different values create animation between them.
How many keyframes do I need for a simple animation?
Two. One at the start of the movement and one at the end. Extra keyframes are only needed for changes of direction or speed.
Why does my animation look jerky?
Usually there are too many keyframes, or they are too close together. Delete the middle keyframes and spread the remaining two further apart.
Can I animate text with keyframes?
Yes. Titles animate the same way as clips: slide them in with position keyframes, or fade them in with opacity keyframes.
Do keyframes cost extra?
No. Keyframes are part of the free Edits app, and exports using them carry no watermark.
Can I use keyframes on a PC or Mac?
Yes, inside an Android emulator running the same free app. Our PC guide and Mac guide explain the setup.
Edits for PC is an independent, unofficial guide. It is not affiliated with Meta Platforms, Inc. or Instagram.
Keyframe mistakes that ruin a video
- Animating everything at once, so the viewer does not know where to look.
- Moving titles too fast to read, then wondering why retention drops.
- Adding keyframes to every clip out of habit, even when a still shot would be stronger.
- Copying a complicated animation from another creator without understanding its two-keyframe core.
- Skipping the test export, then discovering a jump only after posting.
Each of these mistakes comes from the same impulse: more movement feels like more skill. In practice, the opposite is true. Viewers trust a video whose movement has a reason, and they forgive a plain cut far faster than a pointless zoom.
Keyframes for different video types
Talking-head videos need the least keyframing: a gentle fade-in for the title and a slow zoom on a supporting photo. Anything more competes with the speaker’s face, which is where the viewer should be looking.
Product and travel videos can take more: slow pans across a landscape, a zoom into a detail shot, a title that slides in over the hero image. Even here, keep one move per shot. Two moves in one shot feel busy; one move feels intentional.
A first keyframe project
Take one photo and one title, and give yourself ten minutes. The project is deliberately small: a slow zoom on the photo, a title that slides in, and a fade-out at the end. If you can do those three moves cleanly, you can do most of what keyframes offer.
- Add the photo to the timeline and set a scale keyframe of 100 percent at the start and 110 percent at the end.
- Add the title, set a position keyframe below the frame at the start and in place one second later.
- Set an opacity keyframe of 100 percent one second before the end and 0 percent at the very end.
- Export a short test and watch it on your phone before you call it done.
When that project looks smooth, repeat it with a different photo and a different title. The second time will take half as long, and the third time you will stop thinking about keyframes at all and start thinking about the video itself. That is the point where the tool disappears and the craft begins.
One slow move, done cleanly, beats a busy timeline every time. Start small, test often, and let the movement serve the story.
Watch your favorite Reels again with keyframes in mind, and you will start to spot the moves: the slow zoom on a photo, the title sliding into place, the fade that closes a scene. Once you can name a move, you can copy it, and once you can copy it, you can make it your own.
Keep a short list of the moves that worked for you, with the settings you used. That list becomes your personal animation library, and it will save you more time than any preset pack ever will.