Animate visual layers

Move or change your image or videwo layers on screen with Descript’s built-in library of animations. Or, build a custom animation using keyframes. Descript also supports animations for text and captions layers. For that info, see Animate text and captions.

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Add an animation to a layer

1. Select the visual layer in the Scene Editor.
2. In the hover menu, click Animation.
3. Choose a preset from the dropdown, or select Custom.

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Remove an animation

1. Select the animated layer in the Scene Editor.
2. Click Animation in the hover menu.
3. Open the options menu for the animation.
4. Select Remove.

You can also add or remove animations from the Properties panel.

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Available animation presets

Choose from the following in/out presets for a visual layer:

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Custom keyframe animations

While most use cases can be handled via scene transitions, a custom animation allows for more granular control of how a visual element appears, moves, or changes. Define the start and end using keyframes, then adjust properties like position, size, and opacity.

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Add and adjust a custom keyframe animation

1. Select a visual in the Scene Editor.
2. Click Animation, then select Custom.
3. Your animation appears in the timeline with two keyframes.

4. Select the start keyframe and adjust position, size, rotation, cropping, or opacity.
5. Repeat for the end keyframe.
6. Press Esc to exit animation mode.

To re-adjust animations, click Edit keyframes in timeline in the Properties panel.

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Animation curves

Animation curves control pacing between keyframes. By default, animations use a linear curve (constant speed), but easing options create more natural motion. Open Animation settings in the Properties panel and hover over the available options to see a preview of the available curves.