Motion graphics

What a motion graphic is

A motion graphic is a per-scene animated overlay. It sits on top of the stock b-roll for a specific window inside the scene - either the full scene duration or a shorter beat you trim with the timeline. Common examples: a counter animating up to "24.8M subscribers", a world map lighting up affected regions, a quote card sliding in with attribution.

Two placements

Full-frame

Covers the whole scene. Use when the graphic IS the story of that beat (a big stat, a map, a comparison).

Picture-in-picture

Corner overlay (bottom-right, ~33% width). Use when the b-roll below still needs to breathe - small charts, tickers, sub-titles.

Live preview vs. final video

The editor gives you two ways to see a motion graphic in context:

Live mode (default)

The graphic plays live in the editor, so your edits show at once, with no render needed. It is the same graphic that goes into the final video, so what you see is what you get.

Final mode

Shows the MP4 from the last render. Handy when live playback is too heavy (many graphics at once), or to check that the finished video matches the preview.

Switch between them in the top-right corner of the viewer. Live is the default, and VidNexus remembers your choice for each project.

Auto-fill on script confirm

When you confirm a script, the AI model reads every scene's narration and suggests motion graphics where they help: a number (counter), a place (map), a quote (quote or tweet card), a comparison (comparison table).

Pacing limits

Auto-fill is sparse on purpose. Too many motion graphics back to back look busy, and viewers stop noticing them.

Limits: about 1 scene in 5 gets a motion graphic, at most 10 per video, with at least 2 scenes between graphics. These limits are fixed.

You can always add, delete, or swap graphics yourself in the editor. The Animations tab has a tile for every kind: hover to preview, drag onto a scene to add. Or press Ctrl+K and ask the assistant (adding new motion graphics with it needs an Anthropic API key).

Motion graphics apply to 16:9 Landscape videos. They are switched off for 9:16 Shorts. Map graphics use real Mapbox maps when you add a Mapbox token in Settings > API keys.

The catalog

The most-used graphics, grouped by the beat they serve - the full 100+ library lives in the app's Animations tab. This is a reference, not a hierarchy - start with what fits your narration, not what's at the top of the list.

Hook openers

First 3 seconds. Job is to stop the scroll.

Rapid cut hook

rapid_cut_hook

N images with HARD cuts + big captions ('WATCH THIS'). Highest-intensity opener. Use for hook-y curiosity gap videos.

Footage to question

footage_to_question

B-roll plays for a beat, then a dim layer fades in and a bold question stamps into center. Great for explainer openers.

News opener

news_opener

Broadcast-style card: category chip pops in, swoosh wipes across, headline slides up. For serious topical framing.

Data & stats

Numbers deserve their own screen time.

Counter

counter

Big animated number counting up to a target. Perfect for 'X million people' beats.

Stat callout

stat_callout

Single hero stat with label + context. Simpler than a chart when you just have one number.

Bar chart

chart

N categorical bars animating in. When 'stat callout' isn't enough because there are multiple values to compare.

Donut chart

donut_chart

Percentage-of-whole. Wedges animate in sequence. Use for share-of-market, breakdown-of-total.

Line chart

line_chart

Time-series line drawing left-to-right. For trends over time.

Pie chart

pie_chart

Same as donut but full-fill. Older-school look; donut usually reads cleaner.

Comparisons

This vs. that, ranked, or side-by-side.

Subject one two

subject_one_two

Two full-height portrait panels with huge 'SUBJECT 1' / 'SUBJECT 2' numbers. Analytical head-to-head beat.

Comparison table

comparison

Two-column comparison with attributes on rows. When the difference is multi-dimensional.

Ranked list

ranked_list

Numbered list with entries sliding in bottom-to-top. Great for 'top 5' videos and countdowns.

Maps & places

Location context without cutting to a Google Maps screenshot.

World map

world_map

Full-frame world with pulsing city dots. When you need 'these are the locations we mean'.

Region map

region_map

Zoomed to a continent/region with title chip + optional pinned callouts. Focus-on-a-region beat.

Country shape

country_shape

Single country silhouette with a colored glow + name label. Focus-on-one-country beat.

Map with image callout

world_map_image_highlight

World map + pin connected by a line to an image card. 'This thing is happening HERE' beat.

Travel map

travel_map

2 to 5 stops connected by a dashed line, popping in sequentially. Itinerary beat.

Animated travel

animated_travel_map

Same as travel map but a vehicle emoji/image animates ALONG the path. Dynamic 'we're moving A→B→C' beat.

Global spread

global_spread

World map where locations light up in sequence with expanding pulse rings. Contagion/network-spread beat.

Editorial & article

Reference to source material without leaving your video.

Reddit card

reddit_card

Reddit-style post card with subreddit chip, upvote count (animates), title, body, comments. Commentary/reaction beat.

Newspaper headline

headline_article_slide_up

Serif headline slides up from bottom like a newspaper masthead. Breaking-news beat.

Article zoom

article_zoom

News article image fills frame with slow Ken-Burns zoom into a specific region. Optional highlight box draws over the target.

Website screenshot

website_screenshot

Screenshot inside realistic browser chrome (traffic lights + URL bar). 'Look at this webpage' beat.

Pull quote

quote

Big serif quote with attribution. When a source line is worth showing verbatim.

Tweet card

tweet

Twitter/X-style card with avatar, handle, body, timestamp. For 'this is what they posted' beats.

Lists & structure

N points, no fluff.

Three text cards

three_text_card

3 side-by-side cards, each with emoji + title + short body. '3 things to know' beat.

Icon + 3 bullets

icon_3_bullet_points

Large accent icon on one side, 3 numbered bullets on the other. One-theme-three-points beat.

Bullet list

bullet_list

Simple numbered/bulleted list with items sliding in one at a time. When you just need to enumerate.

Product listing cut

listing_image_cut

Product-catalog cards cycling with slide transitions (image + name + price + caption). E-commerce reveal beat.

Steps

steps

Numbered step diagram, often horizontal, with connectors between. How-to beat.

Text + image with progress

text_and_image_progress

Text panel + image + bottom progress bar showing 'Step X / N'. Tutorial 'we're at step X' beat.

Timelines

Chronology as a first-class citizen.

Events timeline

events_timeline

Vertical feed with central line; dates on left, title + description on right. News chronology beat.

Five-step timeline

five_step_timeline

Horizontal 5-step timeline with milestones. Great for compressed 'here's the arc' beats.

Networks & hierarchy

When the relationship IS the story.

Hierarchy chart

hierarchy

Two-level org/bracket: one root node, N children fanning out below. Trophy → winners, boss → reports style.

Connected images

connecting_images_circle

N node images arranged in a circle with lines drawn between them (all-to-all, neighbors, or star). Network diagram beat.

Sequence & montage

Multiple clips read as one moment.

Fast sequence

fast_sequence

3 to 8 clips with moderate pace + Ken-Burns push. Cross-fades between. Softer than rapid_image_cut.

Rapid image cut

rapid_image_cut

Quick cross-fades + Ken-Burns zoom on each. Optional caption tag per image. Montage sequence beat.

Editing a graphic

Every kind has its own editor panel where you change colors, timings, pictures and text. Common settings you'll see on most kinds:

Common settings

Timing

• total length

• fade in

• fade out

• when each part appears

Background

• color and opacity

• background picture

• background video

• blur

Typography

• font family / size / weight

• letter spacing

• uppercase / italic toggles

• color and shadow

Layout

• position on screen

• padding and rounded corners

• how pictures fit the frame

A brand kit can set a theme and a background for every graphic, so you don't have to set them one by one.

Brand kits

A brand kit is a saved set of choices for a channel. Every video that uses the kit starts with them. Open Brand kits in the sidebar to make or change one.

What a brand kit holds

• Logo bug, LUT (a color grade), Intro stinger and Outro stinger

• Default voice

• Default theme & background for motion graphics

• Graphics you don't want: click a graphic to block it. Auto-fill, the build and the Ctrl+K assistant won't add it (for example, no tweet cards on a serious history channel).

• Footage sources, and sites or creators to block

A video can change its voice, theme, background, blocked graphics and footage sources in Video settings, without changing the kit. Graphics already on a video stay as they are.

What's next

Render pipeline: How motion graphics get into the final MP4.

Voiceover: How your narration becomes audio.