Keyframe

You sit down in the editing suite or at the animation terminal and need a movement towards the next shot — whether it's a camera move, a change in a graphic's position, or an object cut in 3D space. You don't define every frame individually. Instead, you mark two or more critical points: the start of the movement and the destination. The software interpolates everything in between. These critical points are called keyframes — the key images that define your intention.

In practical editing and motion graphics, keyframing works like this: You position an element in frame 0 in the top left, set a keyframe. Then you jump to frame 120 and position the same element in the bottom right — a new keyframe. The software now calculates the 119 frames in between and moves your element smoothly from A to B. This saves you hundreds of manual steps and enables precise, reproducible movements. The rhythm of the movement itself — whether linear, accelerated, elastic — is controlled by your easing, meaning the interpolation curve between the keys.

Keyframes are not just for position. You keyframe opacity, rotation, scale, color values, effect parameters — anything that should change over time. In the VFX workflow, you also use keyframing for tracking data or camera animation. On set, in editing, or in the grading suite, you will constantly work with keyframes: for a simple fade-in, for color correction across multiple shots, for sound design where you animate individual audio parameters. Especially in compositing, keyframing becomes the DNA of the entire work — every visual change that is not static is done via keys.

The key to efficient work: Set your keyframes consciously at narratively important points. Not too many — this creates uncontrolled movements. Not too few — then you lose control over the temporal progression. And: Plan your keys in advance. If you need a 5-second motion, you know how many frames that is. Then you position your keys strategically. This is not experimental — this is planning.