Glossary · Camera & motion
Motion graphics
Motion graphics are animated text, shapes, maps, charts and icons used to explain an idea, show a number or label what's on screen.
Why it matters
Some facts are clearer as a moving chart or map than as words. Because graphics are designed rather than generated, names and numbers appear exactly as written, which AI-made pictures can't always promise.
Common examples are titles, lower thirds (the name and role shown near the bottom of the screen when someone appears), animated maps that trace a route, and charts that grow to show a change over time.
Motion graphics carry information, so accuracy matters more than flair. A chart's scale should be honest, a map's borders should match the year being described, and every number should come from the research behind the script.
On a phone, graphics need to be large, brief and placed where the app's buttons and captions won't cover them. A line of text that leaves the screen before it can be read is worse than none.
A short about the 1970s oil crisis shows an animated line of gas prices climbing month by month, each point labeled from the source the script used, instead of a generated picture of a gas pump with a price on it.
Last reviewed 15 October 2026.