Chapter 34 — Key Takeaways

The one-page card to screenshot before you add graphics to a piece. Motion graphics are an information layer on top of the picture; every element is information or it's noise, and the polish you want is cleaner, not more.

The six terms

Term Definition
Motion graphics Designed, moving elements (text, shapes, logos, simple illustrations) added on top of a video to deliver information, brand it, and guide the eye.
Title On-screen text that names or frames the piece or a section — the opening title, a section card, the end card.
Lower third A graphic in the lower part of the frame that identifies a speaker/subject (name + role), laid over the picture without blocking the face. Also name super.
Keyframe A marked point in time where a property's value (position, scale, opacity, rotation) is set; the software interpolates the frames between keys.
Animation Change over time produced by keyframed values — a graphic moving from invisible to visible, off-screen to in place, small to full.
Kinetic type Text that moves and changes in time as the designed element itself — words that appear, scale, and slide, synced to speech or a beat.

What a graphic is for — the five jobs

Job Example If it does none of these…
Identify Title, lower third, chapter card …it's noise. Cut it.
Orient Location super, date, timeline card The test: turn the graphics track off —
Clarify Stat, label, callout, subtitle does the film still play and make sense?
Brand Logo, brand color, end-card CTA If yes, the graphic was a layer.
Guide the eye / pace Arrow, highlight, transition card If the film collapses, it was a crutch.

Title & typography checklist

Check Standard
☐ Typefaces 1–2 max, chosen for voice and brand, used consistently
☐ Title size ≥ ~1/12 of frame height (readable on a phone)
☐ Supporting text size ≥ ~1/20 of frame height
☐ Contrast Light-on-dark or dark-on-light; never mid-grey on a busy shot
☐ Separation over footage A shadow or a stroke or a 40–60% scrim (pick one)
☐ Hierarchy Most important line largest & heaviest; give the eye a path
☐ Alignment Left or center, consistent through the piece
☐ Safe margins All text inside title-safe (~90%); action inside action-safe (~93%)
☐ Duration On screen long enough to read aloud twice, slowly
☐ Color-independence Meaning never carried by color alone (color-blind viewers)
☐ Scrub test Legible over the whole shot underneath, not just one frame

Lower-third safe-area & timing guide

Dimension Rule
Horizontal placement On the subject's lead-room side (the empty third they look into)
Never Over the face, mouth, or hands
Vertical placement Inside bottom title-safe; above the caption zone so they don't collide
Anatomy Name line (large, bold) + role line (small, light) + optional accent bar
Lines Two. Adding a third is almost always a mistake.
First appearance A beat or two after the person starts talking — not on frame one
Hold Long enough to read both lines twice
Repeats Show once per person; don't re-super on every cut back
No dead space? Put the name over a cutaway/B-roll of that person instead
Busy background? Add a subtle bottom gradient scrim behind the text

Easing cheat sheet

Easing Shape Feel Reach for it when…
Linear Straight ramp Mechanical, "computery" Almost never — credit rolls, progress bars only
Ease-out Fast → slow Snappy, lands with weight Titles / lower thirds arriving and settling
Ease-in-out Slow → fast → slow Natural, weighted The default for anything that travels a distance
Ease-in Slow → fast Gathers speed to leave Elements exiting the frame
Overshoot + settle Past the mark, snap back Lively, playful Sparingly, for energetic pieces — a little life

The one rule: never leave a keyframe on linear by accident. Easing is the single biggest difference between amateur and professional motion.

Animation starting points

Move Frames (at ~24–30 fps) Ease
Title fade/rise in 12–16 ease-out
Title out 10–14 ease-in
Lower third in (bar + text stagger) bar 8–10, text 10–14, offset ~4 ease-out
Lower third out 10–12 ease-in
Count-up stat ~24 (about a second) ease-out (decelerate onto value)
Underline/bar wipe 8–12 ease-out

Adjust to the piece's pace: a fast edit carries quicker moves; a slow piece wants gentler ones.

When to use kinetic type

Situation Why it fits
Sound-off / social viewing Muted viewers read the video; captions carry it (Ch.23)
Emphasis on a key word Bring up the stressed word, larger, as it's spoken
Data / pull-quotes Building a number or assembling a quote feels authored
Pure-graphics passages Title sequences, explainers with no live footage

Make it composed, not chaotic: sync the type change to the stressed word or the musical beat; keep it readable at the speed it moves.

Templates & the style kit (decide once, apply everywhere)

Slot Lock down
Type Title font + body font (1–2 total)
Color Text · accent/brand · scrim (and %)
Size Title · lower-third name · role
Placement Which third; distance from bottom safe line
Motion In frames + ease · hold · out frames + ease
Sound Logo sting? y/n · graphic SFX? (usually no)

Build each graphic once as a reusable template, then change only the text. Customize stock templates to your kit — never drop them in raw.

Top common mistakes → fixes

Mistake Fix
Thin white font over bright moving footage Add separation (shadow / stroke / scrim); scrub the whole shot
Three or four fonts Cut to 1–2, chosen for voice and brand
Lower third across the mouth Move to lead-room dead space; if none, super over a cutaway
Name super on the first frame / every cut Delay a beat; show once
Linear, robotic motion Ease it (ease-out to land)
Over-animating (spins, bounces, flares) One small eased move in, calm hold, small move out
Text touching the frame edge Pull inside title-safe (~90%)
Template dropped in unchanged Customize to your style kit
Second/third animated element Stop at one motivated element
Flashing > 3×/sec Remove — photosensitivity hazard, non-negotiable
Kinetic text too fast to read Slow it; energy comes from rhythm and easing, not speed
Lower third colliding with captions Put captions on their own track, below the name super

The principles behind the craft

  • Motivate every choice. A title, super, or animation must have a reason you can say out loud. "It names the speaker" — keep it. "It makes it feel dynamic" — cut it.
  • A graphic is information or it's noise. There is no third category. The polish you want is cleaner, not more.
  • Easing mirrors physics. Real objects accelerate and decelerate; eased motion reads as designed, linear reads as fake.
  • Restraint is the design. The best motion graphics deliver the information and get out; you barely notice them.
  • Consistency is invisible when right, glaring when wrong. One font system, one palette, one placement, one animation timing across the whole piece.
  • You shoot for the edit — and for the graphics. Frame interviews with an empty lead-room third so the name super has somewhere clean to live.

Accessibility gate (must pass before delivery)

  • ☐ Strong text/background contrast, in every aspect ratio delivered
  • ☐ No meaning carried by color alone
  • ☐ Text sized and held to be read on a phone, unhurried
  • ☐ Nothing flashes more than three times per second
  • ☐ Captions present, legible, and not colliding with lower thirds

Project 3 increment (Production Checkpoint)

Add the motion-graphics layer to your 5-minute branded piece:

  1. Style kit — decide fonts, colors, sizes, placement, timing first (from the brand).
  2. Opening title — readable, title-safe, voice matched to the story, one eased move.
  3. Lower thirds — a reusable template for every speaker, in the dead space, up once, read-twice.
  4. One animated element — motivated by the content (a stat, wipe, sting, or callout), eased, gone when done.

Then watch it with the graphics track off and on. If the film still plays with it off, and looks finished with it on, you're done. Chapter 36 delivers it.