Motion Examples

Motion presets are set via the motion array on video, image, text, and shape elements, and on groups[].animations. Only fields that differ from their defaults are shown (reversed defaults to false). easing is accepted but ignored by the renderer — a preset’s curve is baked into its keyframes; to control the curve, author a custom animation and set easing (or spring / back / elastic / bezier) on its keyframes.

For text and image elements, duration is required — the API returns 422 if it is missing. video and audio elements have no duration field — use out_point to control clip length.

Fade in

Fade the element in over 0.5 seconds at the start. Text is visible from 1 s to 5 s over video. time on the motion object is absolute timeline seconds — the same clock as the element’s own time. Match it to the element’s time for entrances, and set it to element time + duration − motion duration for exits. delay pushes the start later still — it is folded into the wire start time rather than being a standalone pre-start pause, and on loop presets it spaces the repeats instead.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "id": "vid1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/clip.mp4",
      "time": 0,
      "in_point": 0,
      "out_point": 10
    },
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "t1",
      "text": "Hello",
      "font_size": 72,
      "time": 1,
      "duration": 4,
      "x": "50%",
      "y": "50%",
      "motion": [
        { "type": "fade", "time": 1, "duration": 0.5 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Fade out (reversed)

Use "reversed": true to play the exit variant of any motion preset. Text visible from 0 s to 6 s; the fade-out runs during the last second of that window.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "id": "vid1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/clip.mp4",
      "time": 0,
      "in_point": 0,
      "out_point": 10
    },
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "t1",
      "text": "Goodbye",
      "font_size": 72,
      "time": 0,
      "duration": 6,
      "x": "50%",
      "y": "50%",
      "motion": [
        { "type": "fade", "time": 5, "duration": 1, "reversed": true }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Position in (slide)

Text slides in at 2 s, stays for 3 s, anchored on the left side of the frame.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "id": "vid1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/clip.mp4",
      "time": 0,
      "in_point": 0,
      "out_point": 10
    },
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "t1",
      "text": "SLIDE",
      "font_size": 72,
      "time": 2,
      "duration": 3,
      "x": "20%",
      "y": "50%",
      "motion": [
        { "type": "slide_right", "time": 2, "duration": 0.8 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Ken Burns (video / image)

Slow pan and zoom on footage.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/photo.mp4",
      "in_point": 0,
      "out_point": 10,
      "volume": 0,
      "motion": [
        { "type": "ken_burns_in", "time": 0, "duration": 10 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Looping animation

Continuous motion while the element is visible. Text visible from 1 s to 7 s; set the loop preset duration to match the element’s duration. Loop presets split by surface: loop_breathe, loop_shimmer, and loop_rotate resolve on text; the rest are element-only and return 422 on a text element.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "id": "vid1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/clip.mp4",
      "time": 0,
      "in_point": 0,
      "out_point": 10
    },
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "t1",
      "text": "ALERT",
      "font_size": 96,
      "time": 1,
      "duration": 6,
      "x": "50%",
      "y": "30%",
      "text_color": "#ff0000",
      "motion": [
        { "type": "loop_breathe", "time": 1, "duration": 6 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The element-only loops go on video / image / shape instead.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "image",
      "id": "badge1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/badge.png",
      "time": 0,
      "duration": 6,
      "width": "20%",
      "height": "20%",
      "motion": [
        { "type": "loop_wiggle", "time": 0, "duration": 6 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Per-character animation (text only)

Animate each character individually with "scope": "character". Only supported on text elements. Text visible from 0.5 s to 4.5 s. Supported types: bounce, blur, evaporate, rubber_in, whip_up, whip_down, glitch_pop, drift_in, drift_out, loop_breathe, loop_shimmer. Add spacing — a stagger multiplier, 1 = fully sequential, smaller values overlap the glyph windows — to control the cascade. Block-level presets (fade, slide_*, zoom_in, zoom_out) move the whole text block and return 422 for scope: "character". GET /v1/capabilities carries the per-preset truth in motions[].character.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "id": "vid1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/clip.mp4",
      "time": 0,
      "in_point": 0,
      "out_point": 10
    },
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "t1",
      "text": "WAVE",
      "font_size": 96,
      "time": 0.5,
      "duration": 4,
      "x": "50%",
      "y": "60%",
      "motion": [
        {
          "type": "bounce",
          "time": 0.5,
          "duration": 1,
          "scope": "character",
          "spacing": 0.4
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Audio-reactive motion

Offsets driven by the soundtrack’s FFT. feature is one of amplitude, bass, mid, high, beat; scale, opacity, rotate, and translate are offsets per unit feature. For a pure generator with no visible motion of its own, use type: "identity" — the engine’s no-op carrier.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "audio",
      "id": "mus1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/music.mp3",
      "out_point": 10
    },
    {
      "type": "image",
      "id": "logo1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/logo.png",
      "time": 0,
      "duration": 10,
      "width": "25%",
      "height": "25%",
      "motion": [
        {
          "type": "identity",
          "time": 0,
          "duration": 10,
          "audio": { "feature": "beat", "scale": 0.15, "opacity": 0.2 }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

audio works on video, image, shape, and group animations. It is a 422 on text — the engine never arms the FFT for a text animation; put the text in an audio-reactive group instead.

Custom animations

Name a custom_animations entry with motion[].custom instead of type. Exactly one of type, preset or custom must be set — more than one, or none, is a 422. Keyframe time here is a 0–1 fraction of the animation, not seconds.

{
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "duration": 10,
  "custom_animations": {
    "element": [
      {
        "name": "arcSwoop",
        "keyframes": [
          {
            "time": 0,
            "translate": { "x": -0.3, "y": 0.2 },
            "scale": { "x": 0.6, "y": 0.6 },
            "opacity": 0
          },
          {
            "time": 1,
            "translate": { "x": 0, "y": 0 },
            "path": { "c1": { "x": -0.1, "y": -0.2 }, "c2": { "x": 0.05, "y": 0.05 } },
            "scale": 1,
            "rotation": { "x": 0, "y": 25, "z": -6 },
            "opacity": 1,
            "spring": { "stiffness": 140, "damping": 12, "mass": 1 }
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "elements": [
    {
      "type": "image",
      "id": "card1",
      "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/card.png",
      "time": 0,
      "duration": 3,
      "width": "30%",
      "height": "30%",
      "motion": [
        { "custom": "arcSwoop", "time": 0, "duration": 1.1 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

reversed: true and scope: "character" are both 422 on a custom motion — author the exit as its own entry, and put "group": "glyph" (or "word") on the definition for per-glyph work. Text definitions go in custom_animations.text, element definitions in custom_animations.element; a motion[].custom name resolves only against this request’s registry.

All motion types

42 presets. Surface says where a preset resolves — element covers video / image / shape and groups[].animations; text block is a whole text element; character is per-glyph via "scope": "character". Asking for a preset on a surface it does not cover is a 422; GET /v1/capabilities carries the same matrix in motions[]. Types marked both have an exit variant — add "reversed": true to play it. The six exit only types (zoom_out, evaporate, whip_down, drift_out, swing_out, elastic_drop) set reversed for you and never need it in the request. Asking for "reversed": true on an entrance-only preset is a 422 — the error names the exit-only replacement.

Opacity

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`fade`	element + text block	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Fade in / fade out

Position

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`slide_up`	element + text block	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Slide in from below / out upward
`slide_down`	element + text block	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Slide in from above / out downward
`slide_left`	element + text block	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Slide in from the right / out to the left
`slide_right`	element + text block	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Slide in from the left / out to the right

Scale & bounce

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`zoom_in`	element + text block	entrance only	Scale up into view
`zoom_out`	element + text block	exit only — auto-reversed	Scale down out of view
`bounce`	element + character	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Bouncy scale entrance / exit

Wipe

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`wipe_left`	element	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Wipe reveal from right / conceal to left
`wipe_right`	element	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Wipe reveal from left / conceal to right
`wipe_up`	element	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Wipe reveal from bottom / conceal upward
`wipe_down`	element	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Wipe reveal from top / conceal downward

Rotation

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`rotate_cw`	element	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Clockwise rotation in / out
`rotate_ccw`	element	both — `reversed: true` for exit	Counter-clockwise rotation in / out

Ken Burns

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`ken_burns_in`	element	entrance only	Slow zoom in
`ken_burns_out`	element	entrance only	Slow zoom out
`ken_burns_in_out`	element	entrance only	Zoom in then out

Element-only

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`identity`	element	entrance	No-op carrier — attaches an `audio` generator with no visible motion
`swing_in`	element	entrance	Pendulum swing into place
`swing_out`	element	exit only — auto-reversed	Pendulum swing away
`elastic_rise`	element	entrance	Springy rise into place
`elastic_drop`	element	exit only — auto-reversed	Springy drop away
`tilt_zoom`	element	entrance	Perspective tilt combined with a zoom
`smooth_pop`	element	entrance	Scale-up plus fade pop

Text-only

`type`	Surface	Direction	Description
`blur`	character, text block	entrance	Glyphs resolve out of a blur
`evaporate`	character, text block	exit only — auto-reversed	Glyphs rise, blur, and fade out
`rubber_in`	character, text block	entrance	Elastic squash-and-stretch entrance
`whip_up`	character, text block	entrance	Fast vertical whip into place
`whip_down`	character, text block	exit only — auto-reversed	Fast vertical whip out of frame
`glitch_pop`	character, text block	entrance	Digital glitch snap with jitter
`drift_in`	character, text block	entrance	Slow drift and fade in
`drift_out`	character, text block	exit only — auto-reversed	Slow drift and fade out
`overlay`	text block	static	Overlay blend fill against the backdrop (timing ignored)
`difference`	text block	static	Difference blend fill — per-channel absolute difference against the backdrop (timing ignored)

Looping

`type`	Surface	Description
`loop_wiggle`	element	Continuous subtle wiggle — the AE `wiggle()` idiom
`loop_rotate`	element + text block	Continuous stepped rotation
`loop_rotate_smooth`	element	Smooth continuous rotation
`loop_3d_spin`	element	3D spin
`loop_3d_sway`	element	3D sway
`loop_orbit`	element	Continuous orbit around the element’s center
`loop_breathe`	character, text block	Gentle scale pulse
`loop_shimmer`	character, text block	Travelling highlight shimmer

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Fade in

Fade out (reversed)

Position in (slide)

Ken Burns (video / image)

Looping animation

Per-character animation (text only)

Audio-reactive motion

Custom animations

All motion types

Opacity

Position

Scale & bounce

Wipe

Rotation

Ken Burns

Element-only

Text-only

Looping

​Fade in

​Fade out (reversed)

​Position in (slide)

​Ken Burns (video / image)

​Looping animation

​Per-character animation (text only)

​Audio-reactive motion

​Custom animations

​All motion types

​Opacity

​Position

​Scale & bounce

​Wipe

​Rotation

​Ken Burns

​Element-only

​Text-only

​Looping

Fade in

Fade out (reversed)

Position in (slide)

Ken Burns (video / image)

Looping animation

Per-character animation (text only)

Audio-reactive motion

Custom animations

All motion types

Opacity

Position

Scale & bounce

Wipe

Rotation

Ken Burns

Element-only

Text-only

Looping