Quick answer
Open Earth Zoom Out, add a sharp close-up photo of yourself and press make. You get an 8-second clip in one continuous move: it opens on your face looking up, pulls back over your street and the city, races over the coast and up through the cloud layer, and stops on the curve of the Earth against black space. It costs 80 credits, sound included.
Zooming out from Earth was a meme before it was an AI trend. The footage is a 4K video the YouTube channel UNIVERSE DOPE posted in 2019, one pull-back from Germany out into space. In July 2022 a TikTok creator set it to Frank Ocean’s “Pink + White”, and the format followed: a small worry as the caption, then the zoom showing how small it is. The point was perspective.
The AI version puts a person at the start of the shot. Instead of anonymous footage, the zoom begins on your own face, so the perspective joke becomes personal. That’s the version this guide is about.
What the camera does
- 1It opens close on your face, looking up into the lens, like a normal selfie video.
- 2It lifts away: the street around you shrinks to a grid of rooftops.
- 3It speeds up as the city spreads out and a coastline slides into view.
- 4It rises through a thin layer of cloud.
- 5It settles high above the atmosphere, the Earth’s curve glowing blue against black.
There are no cuts. The move accelerates rather than gliding at one speed, which is what makes the last seconds feel like a launch. The ground below is generated for the video, not taken from a map, so it doesn’t give away where you live.
The photo carries the first second
Viewers decide in the opening close-up whether it’s really you, and after that your face is a dot. So spend the effort on a photo that holds up large.
Holds up
Face filling a good part of the frame, straight on, sharp, daylight or a bright window.
Falls apart
A distant full-body shot, a blurry night photo, heavy filters, a group. The close-up has to invent your face.
Looking up in the photo isn’t required, but a slightly raised chin matches how the clip opens and makes the first frame smoother.
Step by step
- 1Open the Earth Zoom Out page and add one sharp photo where you are alone and facing the lens, face large in the frame and evenly lit. The shot starts on that face.
- 2Keep vertical, the default, for TikTok and Reels, or choose square or widescreen for the end of a longer edit.
- 3The button shows what it costs before anything runs: 80 credits for an 8-second clip with sound.
- 4Press make. It takes a few minutes and carries on if you leave the page; if the run fails, the credits are returned.
- 5Download the MP4 from Assets and post it as it is, or use it as the last shot of a longer Reel.
What people post it with
- News: a move, a new job, a decision you’ve been sitting on. The zoom adds the gravity.
- The end of a travel edit, so the trip finishes on the whole planet.
- The 2022 meme’s original idea: one small worry as the caption, the zoom as the answer.
- A birthday post, “one more lap around the sun”.
For TikTok, upload the MP4 from Assets rather than a screen recording, so it stays sharp and full screen; our TikTok posting guide covers the settings. The clip already has sound, but you can swap in a trending one; drop the clip’s own audio if you do.
Common problems
My face looks smeared at the start
The photo was small, soft or filtered. Use a sharper close-up taken in good light, without beauty filters.
The city doesn’t look like mine
It isn’t meant to. The landscape is generated, which also keeps your real location out of the video.
My caption covers the Earth at the end
Keep on-screen text high in the frame, and don’t trim the end; the last two seconds are the payoff.
I want it as a zoom-in instead
Reverse the clip in a phone editor such as CapCut. It then dives from space down to your face.
FAQ
What is the Earth Zoom Out trend?
A video that starts on a person and pulls back in one shot until the whole planet is in view. It grew out of a 2022 TikTok meme about perspective.
Does it show my real location?
No. The streets, city and coast are generated for the video. Use a photo without a famous landmark behind you if you’d rather not hint.
What song goes with Earth Zoom Out?
The 2022 meme used Frank Ocean’s “Pink + White”. The AI version has no single sound; this clip comes with one, and you can swap in any.
Can a friend be in the shot with me?
It takes one person per photo. Make one each and post them back to back.
How much is it?
80 credits a clip, about $4.95 on the smallest pack (up to 2 videos for $9.90). Paid clips have no watermark, and credits come back if a run fails.
Make your first one
Earth Zoom Out: From your face to space.
Try Earth Zoom OutYour photos are deleted 7 days after upload and never used to train AI.
