Chapter 34 — Quiz

Twenty-four questions to check your command of motion graphics — what they're for, how to make type readable, how to place a lower third, and how keyframes and easing make animation feel designed. Mix of multiple choice, true/false (with justification), short answer, and "what's wrong with this graphic?" perception questions. Answers and a review map are at the end. Try them all before you look.

Multiple choice

1. The best one-sentence test for whether a motion graphic belongs on screen is:

  • A) Does it look impressive?
  • B) Does it match the current trend?
  • C) Does it deliver information the viewer needs, in the quietest way possible?
  • D) Does it use the client's brand color?

2. Which is not one of the five legitimate jobs of a motion graphic?

  • A) Identify a speaker
  • B) Orient the viewer in place or time
  • C) Make the video feel more dynamic through constant motion
  • D) Brand the piece

3. A lower third should generally be placed:

  • A) Dead center, so everyone can see it
  • B) In the subject's lead-room dead space, off the face, inside title-safe
  • C) Touching the bottom edge of the frame for maximum size
  • D) Wherever there's the most colorful part of the background

4. "Title-safe" refers to:

  • A) A font that's legally free to use
  • B) The inner ~90% of the frame, inside which all text should stay to avoid cropping
  • C) A title that won't offend the client
  • D) The maximum time a title can stay on screen

5. A keyframe does which of the following?

  • A) Deletes a frame from the clip
  • B) Marks a point in time where a property's value is set, so the software can interpolate between keys
  • C) Freezes the video on one frame
  • D) Sets the frame rate of the graphic

6. Linear interpolation between two keyframes tends to look:

  • A) Natural and weighted
  • B) Mechanical and "computery," because nothing physical moves at a constant speed
  • C) Too fast to read
  • D) Identical to eased motion

7. The most reliable default easing for a graphic that travels a distance is:

  • A) Linear
  • B) Ease-in-out (slow-in, slow-out)
  • C) No easing at all
  • D) A large overshoot bounce

8. Kinetic type feels "composed" rather than chaotic primarily when it:

  • A) Uses as many fonts as possible
  • B) Moves as fast as the software allows
  • C) Is synchronized to the stressed word or the musical beat
  • D) Flashes to grab attention

9. In a two-line lower third, the correct hierarchy is:

  • A) Role line larger than the name line
  • B) Both lines the same size
  • C) Name line larger and heavier than the role line
  • D) Whichever fits the space

10. You should generally show a given speaker's name super:

  • A) Every single time you cut back to them
  • B) Once, a beat after they start talking, held long enough to read twice
  • C) Only at the very end of the piece
  • D) Continuously, for the whole interview

11. A template (saved reusable graphic) is most valuable because it delivers:

  • A) Flashier effects
  • B) Speed and, more importantly, consistency across the piece
  • C) A way to avoid choosing fonts
  • D) Automatic captions

12. The safest way to keep white title text legible over bright, moving footage is to:

  • A) Make the font thinner and more elegant
  • B) Add separation — a shadow, a stroke, or a gradient scrim
  • C) Trust that one reference frame looked fine
  • D) Move the text to the very edge of the frame

True / False — and say why

For each, mark True or False and give a one-sentence justification.

13. More fonts make a title look more designed.

14. A graphic that rides on a higher video track appears on top of the footage below it.

15. Easing is a purely cosmetic choice with no basis in how we perceive motion.

16. On social platforms, kinetic captions are optional polish because everyone watches with sound on.

17. If a shot is framed dead-center with no dead space, the cleanest fix for the lower third is to put the name over a cutaway or B-roll of that person instead of across their face.

18. Rapid flashing in a kinetic sequence is fine as long as it looks exciting.

Short answer

19. In one or two sentences, explain the "information layer" model of motion graphics and the one test it gives you for whether a graphic is earning its place.

20. Name the two text lines of a standard lower third and state which is larger and why.

21. Describe, in terms of keyframes, how you would fade a title up and slide it into place — how many keyframes, and what values change.

22. Why should the timing of a graphic's animation relate to the pacing of the piece it sits in? Give a one-line example of a mismatch.

What's wrong with this graphic?

23. A described lower third: A speaker's name appears in a thin grey script font, centered across their mouth, in three lines (name, role, company, tagline), on the very first frame they speak, sliding in at a constant speed, and re-appearing on every cut back to them. List at least four distinct problems and the fix for each.

24. A described title: For a quiet documentary about a closing family bookshop, the opening title spins in letter by letter with a lens-flare template behind it and a loud whoosh, in a bold neon font touching the top edge of the frame. Name at least four things wrong and explain the single principle that ties most of them together.

Answer Key

Show answers **1. C.** A graphic earns its place by delivering needed information in the quietest way that works — not by being impressive, trendy, or on-brand alone. (§34.1) **2. C.** Constant motion to feel "dynamic" is decoration, not a job. The five jobs are identify, orient, clarify, brand, guide the eye. (§34.1) **3. B.** The lead-room dead space keeps the name off the face and uses the negative space the composition already left. (§34.3) **4. B.** Title-safe is the inner ~90% where all text should live to avoid cropping by notches, overscan, and platform chrome. (§34.2) **5. B.** A keyframe pins a property value at a time; the software interpolates the frames between keys. (§34.4) **6. B.** Linear = constant speed = mechanical, because real objects accelerate and decelerate. (§34.4) **7. B.** Ease-in-out is the natural default for anything traveling a distance; ease-out is great for a landing; linear is for the rare mechanical case. (§34.4) **8. C.** Synchronization to the stressed word or beat is what makes kinetic type read as composed. (§34.5) **9. C.** The name is the most important information, so it's the largest and heaviest; the role supports it. (§34.3) **10. B.** Introduce a name once, a beat after they start, held to be read twice; don't re-super on every cut. (§34.3) **11. B.** Templates give speed and, crucially, consistency — the same font, position, and animation across the piece. (§34.6) **12. B.** Separation (shadow / stroke / scrim) keeps text legible no matter what the footage does; a thinner font makes it worse. (§34.2) **13. False.** One or two purposeful typefaces read as designed; three or four read as amateur. (§34.2) **14. True.** Higher video tracks are drawn on top, which is exactly why the graphics track sits above the picture. (§34.1, Ch.26) **15. False.** Easing mirrors real-world physics (inertia), which is why eased motion reads as natural and linear reads as fake. (§34.4) **16. False.** A large share of social viewers watch muted, so kinetic captions are often how the video is consumed at all. (§34.5, Ch.23) **17. True.** If there's no dead space on the interview shot, supering the name over a cutaway of that person is the clean solution. (§34.3) **18. False.** Flashing more than three times per second is a photosensitivity hazard; "exciting" never overrides accessibility. (§34.5) **19.** Motion graphics are an information layer that sits *on top of* the picture without replacing it; the test is that if you turn the graphics track off, the film should still play and make sense — proving the graphic was a layer of information, not a crutch. (§34.1) **20.** The name line (larger, heavier — the most important information) and the role line (smaller, lighter — why we should listen to this person). (§34.3) **21.** Two keyframes per property: for opacity, 0% at the start and 100% ~15 frames later; for position, an offset (nudged down/out) at the start and the final position at the end. The software interpolates between; ease the keys so it settles. (§34.4) **22.** Motion has to belong to the rhythm around it: a fast edit carries quick, snappy graphic moves; a slow, contemplative piece wants gentle ones. Mismatch example: a bouncy, fast lower third in a somber eulogy feels as wrong as hard rock under a funeral. (§34.4, §34.6, Ch.26) **23.** Problems and fixes: *thin grey script over footage* → hard to read; use a clear font with separation (scrim/stroke). *Centered across the mouth* → move to lead-room dead space, off the face. *Three/four lines* → cut to two (name + role). *On the first frame* → delay a beat or two. *Constant-speed slide* → ease it. *Re-appears on every cut* → show once. (§34.2, §34.3, §34.4) **24.** Wrong: *spins in letter by letter + lens flare + whoosh* → over-animated decoration that fights a somber tone; *neon bold font* → wrong voice for a gentle story; *touching the top edge* → outside title-safe, risks cropping; *loud whoosh* → sound decoration the piece doesn't want. The single principle tying them together: **motivate every choice / restraint** — none of these serves the story; a quiet fade in an editorial serif, inside title-safe, with no sound sting, would. (§34.1, §34.2, §34.6)

Topics to review by question

  • Q1–2, 19: what motion graphics are for — the five jobs and the "information or noise" test (§34.1).
  • Q4, 12, 13, 24: typography and titles — fonts, contrast, hierarchy, safe margins (§34.2).
  • Q3, 9, 10, 17, 20, 23: lower thirds — anatomy, placement, timing (§34.3).
  • Q5, 6, 7, 15, 21: keyframes and easing — interpolation and why easing reads as natural (§34.4).
  • Q8, 16, 18: kinetic type and accessibility — sync, sound-off, photosensitivity (§34.5).
  • Q11, 22: templates, consistency, and matching motion to pacing (§34.6, Ch.26).
  • Q14: the timeline and track order — a bridge back to Chapter 26.