# Motion graphics without After Effects

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/features/motion-graphics
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> TL;DR: Vidiyo adds motion graphics by request: number counters, titles, lower thirds, charts, hand-drawn arrows and circles, and calls to action. Each graphic is timed to the words you say, so it lands on the line and stays there after you trim. You edit the copy, colours and timing in the inspector, with no keyframing software needed.

Image: Vidiyo editor showing a "160 GB of raw footage" counter above a speaker card in a vertical video, with motion scenes on the timeline.

Motion graphics in Vidiyo are scenes the assistant places on your timeline: a number counting up, a name sliding in, a chart drawing itself, a circle scribbled around the thing you're pointing at. They aren't stickers dropped at a guessed time. Each one is timed to a word in your transcript, so it hits the moment you say it.

## How do I add motion graphics to a video in Vidiyo?

Ask for it in the AI panel. The assistant picks a starter template or writes a scene, fills in the copy from what you said, anchors its beats to your words and checks the result. The scene shows on its own timeline row, and you can select it to change its copy, colours, timing and beats in the inspector.

Things you can type:

- "Put a counter on \"160 GB\"."
- "Add a lower third with my name and role when I introduce myself."
- "Show the product above me while I explain it."
- "Circle the button when I say \"click here\"."
- "Chart signups by month: 120, 340, 910."
- "End with a call to action: download at getvidiyo.app."

## What templates are included?

The starter shelf covers the graphics most talking-head and demo videos need. Each template works before any word is anchored, because it has default timings, and each is an ordinary scene the assistant can adapt.

| Category | Examples |
| --- | --- |
| Lower thirds | Clean bar, Soft pill, Kicker and name, Mask reveal, Side rule |
| Titles | Headline slam, Word rise, Typewriter, Section card |
| Numbers | Count up, Odometer, Progress ring, Progress bar, Price drop |
| Charts | Bar chart, Line graph, Donut split, Before and after |
| Annotations | Hand-drawn arrow, Hand-drawn circle, Scribble underline, Marker highlight, Spotlight, Checklist |
| Calls to action | Follow card, Comment prompt, Save for later, End card |

Scenes can sit **under** the speaker (between the background and you) or **over** the speaker (under the captions). Animated layouts go further: you ease into a rounded card or a round bubble over a brand-coloured background, with your face kept in frame, which leaves room for a chart or a counter.

## How does it work under the hood?

A motion scene is a small HTML graphic stored in your project. Vidiyo renders it frame by frame in a sandboxed window that blocks all network access, then caches the frames by their content. Preview and export composite the same cached frames, so what you approve is what you get.

Every scene reads the project's look: ink, paper and accent colours, a body and display font, and a motif such as braces or underlines. Change the look in the Brand panel and every scene follows, in one undo step.

After the assistant touches a scene, Vidiyo plays it through and audits the layout: text held partly off the frame, text overlapping other text, text too small to read, sentences that leave before they can be read, and text under the Reels, TikTok or Shorts interface in vertical video. The assistant gets those findings and fixes them before it hands the edit back.

## How do I change a graphic after it's placed?

Select the scene on the timeline and open the inspector. You can edit its copy, colours and timing, and move its beats, the named moments where something happens, such as the counter starting or the arrow drawing on. Or ask: "make the counter slower", "move the lower third to the left", "use the accent colour for the chart bars". You can also drag the scene on the timeline like any other layer. Scenes that came from a template keep their link to it until their source is edited, at which point they become custom. Every change, by hand or by chat, is one undo step.

## What doesn't it do?

It isn't a full motion design suite. You don't draw paths on a canvas or build a 3D scene by hand. You get templates, the assistant's own scenes, and inspector controls for the parameters. Scenes can't contain playing video, and output is 1080p at 30 fps. For hand-placed text and shapes with keyframes, use [layers and keyframes](https://getvidiyo.app/features/layers-and-keyframes) alongside scenes.

## Who is it for?

Founders and product teams making launch videos and demos, where a number or a highlighted button carries the message. Creators who want explainer-style shorts without learning After Effects. Agencies who need graphics that match a client's brand colours in every video of a project. If you can say what should appear and when, you can make it.

## Honest limits

- Export is 1080p at 30 fps.
- Motion scenes can't play video inside them. A screen recording in a frame is built from clips instead.
- Brand looks are per project, so set your colours and fonts in each project's Brand panel.
- Zooms are keyframed punch-ins, not automatic cursor-follow.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I make motion graphics without After Effects?

Yes. In Vidiyo you ask for the graphic in plain words, like "put a counter on 160 GB", and the assistant adds an animated scene timed to that line. You then adjust its copy, colours and timing in the inspector.

### What kinds of motion graphics can Vidiyo make?

Starter templates cover lower thirds, titles, number counters, charts, hand-drawn annotations such as arrows, circles, underlines and highlights, and calls to action. The assistant can adapt a template or write an original scene.

### Do the graphics stay in sync if I cut the video?

Yes. A graphic's beats are anchored to transcript words, not fixed times. When you trim or delete a section, the beat moves with the word. If the word itself is cut, the graphic falls back to its default timing.

### Can the speaker shrink into a card to make room for a graphic?

Yes. Animated layouts ease the speaker into a rounded card or a round bubble over a brand-coloured background, keep the face in frame, and move the captions to fit. Ask for "show the chart above me".

### Does the preview match the exported video?

Yes. Each scene is rendered frame by frame and cached, and preview and export use the same frames. If a frame can't be rendered, export stops with an error instead of exporting a blank.

## Related

- [Layers and keyframes, by hand or by chat](https://getvidiyo.app/features/layers-and-keyframes)
- [Edit video by chatting](https://getvidiyo.app/features/chat-video-editing)
- [Motion graphics](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/motion-graphics)
- [Lower third](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/lower-third)
- [Kinetic typography](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/kinetic-typography)
- [How to make motion graphics without After Effects](https://getvidiyo.app/blog/motion-graphics-without-after-effects)

Download Vidiyo for Mac (free during the beta): https://getvidiyo.app/download