During the peak of my Among Us frenzy, my wife and I stumbled on a jacksepticeye video of him and a number of other top gaming content creators playing the game together. During the voting phase, the camera punched inward to focus on Jack, making for a better viewing experience in that moment. Other streamers do this with their VODs as well, such as Pokimane, Disguised Toast, Ninja, and more.
The thing is, this zoom effect is done after the fact in a video editor. But could an entrepreneurial streamer implement that same effect in a live environment?
I have implemented it on my stream and I love having for the sake of having an “aside” with viewers without taking them completely out of the game. Here is how you can implement this zoom-in during gameplay!
NOTE: This effect is much easier to implement if you have an overlay where your camera view appears overtop of your gameplay vs. to the side. Still doable, but you will likely have more elements to stretch.
1. Make a duplicate of your gameplay scene.
2. Stretch out the elements of your scene so that your face is the focal point while still showing enough of the gameplay behind you. Try and scale them proportionally so that it looks like the whole scene is zooming in rather than two separate pieces moving independently.
If you want, you could simply end this guide here. Switch between your regular scene and your zoomed-in scene and you’re good! But if you want more, let’s kick it up a few notches.
You can use hot keys to quickly switch between the two scenes. Or, if you have one, use an Elgato Stream Deck or a Stream Deck alternative to control the transition. Either is much easier than having to use your mouse in OBS and fish for the right scene.
Do you use the standard fade transition for most of your stream but want the camera to snap to you when you focus? On the scene you’re zooming into, right click on it within the scene list, select “Transition Override”, and select Cut. That way, when you focus in on your face, it will snap into focus versus fading in.
Want to recreate the animation of the camera zooming in? Download Move Transition for OBS. This third-party plugin animates your sources as they move around the screen. You can configure your stream so that all of your scenes use move transitions, or use the transition override function to animate the zoom.
If you want maximum control over what types of transitions are triggered, download and install Transition Table for OBS. Not only does it allow you to select custom transitions for when you transition to a scene, but transitions for when you leave a scene, or when you’re transitioning between specific scenes. Not only will this help you for your zoom effect, but gives you maximum control over every possible transition you may want to make!
Even though this focus effect is popular in the realm of gaming videos, no one is really doing it live. Implementing the effect well will give you more opportunities to connect with your audience while also improving your production values in a unique way!
Buy the Elgato Stream Deck XL Now From Amazon.com
[Purchasing through this Amazon affiliate link gives me a small commission without adding any extra cost or effort to you. Thanks for your support!]
In Third Person 
Reblogged this on DDOCentral.