Use Exponential Scale to change the speed of scaling

You can simulate a realistic acceleration of a zoom lens when working with 2D layers by using Exponential Scale, which converts linear scaling of a layer to exponential scaling. Exponential Scale is useful for creating a cosmic zoom, for example. Zooming optically with a lens is not linear—the rate of change of scaling increases as you zoom in.

  1. In layer bar mode or in the Graph Editor, hold down the Shift key and select starting and ending keyframes for the scale property.
  2. Choose Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Exponential Scale.
Note: Exponential Scale replaces any existing keyframes between the selected starting and ending keyframes.

Richard Harrington provides a video tutorial on the Peachpit website that shows how to use the Exponential Scale keyframe assistant as part of the process for panning and scanning across a series of still images.