An initial survey of some options for ‘the Ken Burns effect’ and 2.5D zooms, for Adobe After Effects 2015 on Windows.
The plugins and scripts here should work in older versions such as AE 2015, which was picked as a ‘universal target’ which most people can run even older hardware and Windows versions. The items below have not all been tested, as some are out of my price range.
1. Manually pan and zoom, a fiddly but relatively easy process involving keyframes. No plugins required. But an After Effects ‘expression’ can help…
zoom = effect("Zoom Speed")("Slider");
value + linear(time, inPoint, outPoint, 0, [zoom, zoom])
2. Prolost Burns for After Effects, a plugin panel and helper which removes keyframing and some of the tedium from the build process. Video tutorial with tips. $14 via Gumroad.
3. Montage Library – Most Useful Effects – V2 or V3. The basics as one-click effects, including pans and zooms. Adjustable after applying. Version 2 (or perhaps 3) is the one you want, but only V5 now seems to be available. V5 seems to be a lot different and no longer looks like this…
At mid 2023 it seems impossible to obtain this old version (I tried, lots), as seen on old demo videos. The new V.5 just does not have the same camera functionality buttons at all.
4. Pan & Zoom Script for After Effects. A script which auto-builds a comp from a folder of images. “Point-of-interest of each image is chosen randomly among the four ‘power points’ given by the rule of thirds.” Apparently the script can be hacked to control duration etc. No documentation, beyond “run the script”. Free.
5. pt_Multiplane. Now we step into a more advanced Ken Burns effect. Import a layered .PSD, then auto distribute the layers in z-depth (as if on a theatre stage). Install to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects XX\Support Files\Scripts\ScriptUI Panels and find in AE in Top menu | Window. $35 on AEscripts.
Parallaxer does something similar, at $22 on VideoHive.
The effect that can then be produced, by a small slow zoom or pan, is known by various names. “2.5D parallax” is perhaps the most technically correct name. There’s a useful Video demo of the technique and another on how to laboriously do it manually.
This is a more advanced form of Ken Burns effect, but can require a lot of work because you need either: 1) fringe-less cut-outs made from a single still image (and in-fills); or 2) a 3D scene from which a series of per-item renders can be made. Poser has a per-item render script and native .PSD export. DAZ has the 3D Bridge to Photoshop, though it now needs a complex hack-y setup to work properly.
6. VoluMax is a suite of advanced 2.5D photo-animator files for After Effects and Photoshop, with the ‘Landscape for AE’ interesting because it claims auto depth-mapping and 3D object import. $70 on Videohive (Landscape is seemingly only available as part of a big bundle, and you may need an earlier version than 7.0 to run it with AE 2015).
7. Projection 3D v4.0x is a vastly more advanced AE plugin for 2.5D parallax, with projection mapping and many other features. Looks the most professional of the bunch. Install to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects XX\Support Files\Scripts\ScriptUI Panels and find in AE in Top menu | Window. Video demo and tutorial. $85 on AEscripts.
8. AI. Of course, AI-powered services for 2.5D can’t be far away now, if it isn’t already in the latest AE (this quick blog survey is about what works in older versions). It would need to offer reliable auto-segmentation of a still image, accurate fringe-less cut-out, in-filling and then arrangement of the resulting layers on z-depth and a subtle zoom/pan. Though such things seem to have stalled in 2019 for some reason, so far as I can tell. Patent trolls?
Some may also be interested in the non-AI non-AE mass-market $99 desktop software called Corel PhotoMirage (runs back to Windows 7). But this looks fiddly, doesn’t appear to be properly segmenting / cutting-out the source image, and the results can look a bit cheesy. There’s an After Effects plugin that does the same thing, called loopFlow.
But overall… 2.5 animation seems best used only occasionally, and with a subtle zoom. Partly because it’s time-consuming to do it right, and partly because it’s a one-trick pony whose allure will quickly fade for the viewer. Many viewers may also suffer motion-sickness from too much ‘swinging and swaying about’ this way and that, which is going to be a problem in a long-form documentary film. Simple ‘establishing shots’ that convey 3D information about a place needed to ‘tell the story’ (i.e. isometric picture-maps) would most benefit from this effect. With very occasional use where a sense of ‘sudden action’ needs to be conveyed with a ‘bullet-time’ view.
Those needing a much simpler and cheaper software, for simple slow pan-and-zoom ‘Ken Burns’ on still images, might look at Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD 4 or later. Also, if you already have Lightroom Classic then you may not need this, as there’s a relatively simple slideshow-making feature which includes adjustable pan-and-zoom. Similarly Mac users are said to also have it in iMovie (which is apparently the default video editor which ships with Macs).
CHECKLIST:
Visuals:
Old still photos/scans at the highest resolution.
New still photos of the site(s) today.
2.5D cutouts in .PSD.
Public domain maps, new hand-drawn maps.
Isometric “bird’s eye” site reconstructions, in 3D software.
Suitable vintage fonts.
Footage:
Interview footage (talking heads, all in consistent lighting).
Live “as it happened” footage.
Stock and newsreel footage.
Time-lapse footage (modern, of the site).
Subtle, short, costumed re-enactment. No acting.
General ‘architectural detail’ footage from outdoor museum.
Audio:
Narrator’s voice (third person “voice of god”, script).
Voices (first person, citizen, “I was there”).
Voices (first person, actor, public domain material).
Music.
Sound Effects.
2D digital art and painting 