The Ken Burns video effect is a popular name for a  panning and zooming effect used in video production from still imagery. The name refers to Kenneth Lauren “Ken” Burns,  an American director and producer of documentary films known for his style of using archival footage and photographs.

The technique is principally used in historical documentaries where film or video material is not available. The effect is included in several movie edition softwares, for instance on the Windows platform in AVS Video Editor.

Will McGugan published a tutorial about the Ken Burns effect in javascript and canvas on his blog.