Add Movement to Any Object (Motion Paths)

Learn how to make any media or object - such as videos, text, or images - swoop, glide, or arc across the screen.

In this tutorial:

Grab your audience’s attention with objects that move gracefully across the screen. The Motion Path visual effect allows you to:

Move text or callouts to the relevant areas of a screen recording.
Trace the path of a line chart with an arrow annotation or graphic.
Transition picture-in-picture video or other media elegantly onto or off of the screen.

Apply a Motion Path to an Object

The default path appears on the canvas with start and end motion points.
Example of a motion path on the canvas

To edit the default motion path:

Click to select a start or end motion point on the canvas.
Drag the motion point to change where the path starts or ends.
Click and drag the Bezier handles to adjust the curve of the path.
Right-click the path and select Add Motion Point to add additional curves as needed.
To adjust the duration and timing of the motion, click and drag the motion points on the timeline.
Click Finish Editing in the Properties panel to return to normal editing mode.

Note: If you move the object on the canvas, any applied motion path will move with the object.

When you apply a motion path to an object, motion path properties open in editing mode in the Properties panel.
Motion Path properties panel

Edit the properties to manually customize the object’s movement along the path:

Line Type: Specify the type of motion through a selected point: angle, curve, or a combination of both.
Easing: Slow the media as it moves through a motion point.
Auto Orient: Automatically rotate the media as it follows the path.