Zooming presentations: camera paths and the zoom canvas

Traditional presentations consist of a sequence of individual slides. Each slide replaces the one before, and the connection between them exists only in people’s heads. A zooming presentation works differently. All content lies on a large surface, the canvas. A virtual camera flies over it, zooms into individual areas and shows the whole in between.

This makes visible how parts connect. The audience first sees the map, then the individual places, and keeps returning to the overview. For topics with a clear structure, such as a process with phases, a system with building blocks or a course with modules, this is a powerful way of presenting.

Two forms can be distinguished. With a zoom canvas, whole slides are arranged on the surface, for example in a circle, a row or a spiral, and the talk follows a path from slide to slide with overviews in between. With a camera path within a slide, stops are set that are zoomed into one after another, such as the individual parts of a diagram.

Zooming pays off when spatial relationships carry meaning. A diagram with five building blocks can be shown first as a whole and then block by block. A timeline can be travelled along. A map of locations can be explored place by place.

Zooming does not pay off when there is no relationship for the movement to show. Then the camera path becomes an end in itself. Fast rotations, long jumps and constant motion can even be physically unpleasant for viewers. There should also be a calm alternative for people who are sensitive to motion.

Start with the overview. Decide which parts of the slide or canvas should be shown in which order, and set a stop for each part. Make sure each stop has the screen’s aspect ratio so that nothing is cut off or distorted.

Tie the movement to the explanation. The camera should move to a point when the speaker talks about it, not before and not after. In narrated presentations this can be controlled with markers in the narration. Play the path through before the talk and check that it feels calm and easy to follow. Return to the overview at the end; it gives the audience orientation and rounds things off.

A camera path can also help in narrated courses and videos. It replaces the presenter’s pointer: instead of saying “up here on the left you can see”, the camera moves there. Especially on small screens, where details of a diagram would otherwise be barely visible, this is a real advantage.

Make sure learners can pause the movement and that the content remains understandable without the camera path, for example when exported as a PDF.

Universe has both forms. The zoom canvas shows the whole course as one surface: in “Arrange” mode, slides are dragged, scaled and rotated, with circle, row or spiral as the starting layout; in “Presentation” mode, “Play” flies along the path and the speaker talks at each slide. The camera path in the slide editor sets stops in the slide’s aspect ratio, which are reached in time with the markers in the narration; a timeline shows the sequence and “Test run” plays it. Anyone who zooms or pans themselves pauses the presentation.