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The Ken Burns effect is a type of panning and zooming effect used in film and video production from still imagery. The name derives from extensive use of the technique by American documentarian Ken Burns. This technique had also been used to produce animatics, simple animated mockups used to previsualize motion pictures, but Burns's name has become associated with the effect in much the same way as Alfred Hitchcock is associated with the dolly zoom.

Documentaries relying heavily on photographs were boring, and Ken discovered that by slowly zooming in, out, or panning sideways it gives the illusion of motion and makes it seem more interesting.

He made a documentary about the civil war that became such a phenom (shown over five nights in 5 parts, 10 hours in all) that by Wednesday everyone in America was rushing home to watch it.