> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cutaway-docs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Animations

> Add moving graphics like a subscribe button, a name tag, a counter or an arrow, or describe your own and let AI make it.

An **animation** is a moving graphic on top of your video: a subscribe button that gets clicked, a name tag that slides in, a number that counts up. Animations play with their own sounds, and they look exactly the same in the preview and in your export.

## Add a ready-made animation

**1. Put the playhead where it should start**

**2. Press + on the text & effects row and choose Animation…**

The **Templates** tab opens.

**3. Pick one and type your words**

The preview plays it with your words and colours.

**4. Press Add at the playhead**

It appears as a purple block on the text & effects row.

![The Add an animation window with the Subscribe template set to say Join, and the list of templates](https://mintcdn.com/cutaway-docs/VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL/images/screens/animation-templates.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL\&q=85\&s=c82a18206e44d98d0c896340db4e8135)

### The templates

| Template | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Subscribe** | A subscribe button gets clicked and turns into "Subscribed", with a click sound. |
| **Name tag** | A lower third with a name and a role slides in, then away. |
| **Title card** | A chapter title with a small label above it. |
| **Counter** | A big number counts up with a label under it. |
| **Checklist** | Three steps tick off one by one. |
| **Highlighter** | A marker stroke sweeps across words on screen. |
| **Circle it** | A hand-drawn circle draws itself around something. |
| **Arrow** | A curved arrow points at something, with a short note. |

## Point at something on screen

**Highlighter**, **Circle it** and **Arrow** go in a **box** that you place over the thing you're talking about.

* **Move it:** drag inside the box on the preview.
* **Resize it:** drag the box's bottom-right corner.
* **Draw a new box:** select the animation, press **Draw where it goes** in the right panel, then drag on the preview.

![A Circle it animation drawn around part of the screen, with its box shown on the preview](https://mintcdn.com/cutaway-docs/VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL/images/screens/animation-box.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL\&q=85\&s=80795366ef7b07962c03e4e31edc8b8f)

## Change the words, colours and timing

Click the animation's block on the timeline. The right panel shows its words and colours; change them and the animation updates.

* **Drag the block** to make it start at a different moment.
* **Make the block longer** to hold the last frame on screen.
* **Delete** removes it.

## Describe your own

Want something there's no template for, like confetti or a progress bar? Let AI make it.

**1. Press + on the text & effects row, choose Animation…, then Describe it**

**2. Type what you want**

For example: "a burst of gold confetti from the centre". You can also click one of the examples.

**3. Press Make it**

You'll see each step as it happens: writing the animation, then testing it in Cutaway. If the test finds a problem, the AI fixes it on its own. It usually takes under a minute.

**4. Look at it, then add it**

Not quite right? Type a change ("make it slower", "use our brand purple") and press **Change it**. Happy? Press **Add at the playhead**.

![The Describe it tab showing the animation and the steps it took: the brief, writing the code, testing it, fixing a problem, and testing again](https://mintcdn.com/cutaway-docs/VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL/images/screens/animation-describe.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL\&q=85\&s=6b222328d0af4eebd9d7f3280733fa17)

> [!NOTE]
>
> Describing an animation uses your own Claude Code or Codex, the same as [Ask AI](https://cutaway-docs.mintlify.site/ai/ask-ai.md). Set it up in [Set up AI](https://cutaway-docs.mintlify.site/ai/set-up-ai.md). Only what you type is sent.

To change an animation you already added, select it and press **Change it with AI…**.

## Save your own templates

Made an animation you want to use again, for example your own name tag in your colours?

1. Select it on the timeline.
2. In the right panel, press **Save as template**.

It's saved with the words and colours you chose. It shows under **Yours** in the template list, in every project. To remove it, press the trash icon next to it in the list.

![The template list with a saved template under Yours](https://mintcdn.com/cutaway-docs/VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL/images/screens/animation-yours.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=VD2lmHtGhqo6R4cL\&q=85\&s=6c5df57b4c234ef0d8dbc92238e21169)

## Let Cutaway suggest animations

Cutaway listens to what you say and suggests animations that fit. For example, a subscribe button when you say "subscribe", or a name tag when you introduce yourself. See [AI review](https://cutaway-docs.mintlify.site/ai/ai-review.md#animation-ideas).

You can also just ask for one in [Ask AI](https://cutaway-docs.mintlify.site/ai/ask-ai.md#add-an-animation): "add a subscribe button when I say subscribe".


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.