Overview

Kinetic typography — text that moves in sync with audio or on its own — is one of the most in-demand motion skills. This guide builds a polished lower-third animation from scratch.

What You Need

Adobe After Effects (trial or subscription)
A geometric sans-serif font installed — Syne, Montserrat, or similar
Optionally: an audio file to animate against

Steps

1

Create a new composition

1920×1080px, 24fps, 10 seconds long. This is your working canvas. Name it — "Lower Third v1" is better than "Comp 1" when you have 40 of them open.

2

Create your text layer

Select the Type tool → click the canvas → type your text. Set font, size, and colour in the Character panel. For sharp-edged text at small sizes, set Anti-Alias to None.

3

Set your anchor point

Press Y for the Pan Behind tool. Move the anchor point to where you want the animation to originate — bottom-left for a slide-in from bottom-left, centre for a scale-up.

4

Add position keyframes

At frame 0, move the text off-screen. At frame 15, place it at its final resting position. Press P to reveal Position, click the stopwatch to set the first keyframe, move to frame 15, and drag the text into place.

5

Apply Easy Ease and shape the curve

Select both keyframes → right-click → Keyframe Assistant → Easy Ease. Open the Graph Editor (the graph icon in the timeline). Pull the velocity curve into a steep S-shape: fast at the start, decelerating hard into the end position.

6

Add an overshoot for a spring feel

Duplicate the end keyframe and move it 3 frames earlier. Nudge its position slightly past the final point. The last keyframe snaps it back. This 3-frame overshoot gives a natural spring-like settle that feels alive.

Pro Tips

Use the same easing curve across all animated elements. Consistency is what makes motion feel designed rather than accidental.
Animate one axis at a time when learning — horizontal or vertical, not diagonal. Diagonal moves are harder to control.
Step through the animation frame by frame (right arrow key). Timing problems are invisible at full playback speed.

Kinetic Text in After Effects