AnnexMotion – Getting Started (Tutorial)

A hands-on walkthrough ("your first hour with AnnexMotion"). Whitepaper format, PDF-ready. Screenshots are captured according to the shot list at the end.

Goal of this Tutorial

By the end you will have produced a short social clip (about 15 seconds): two video clips with a transition, an animated title in brand-kit style, music with auto-ducking and loudness normalization, burned-in subtitles from an SRT file – exported as MP4 (H.264).

Step 1: Open a Project and Import Media

Launch AnnexMotion and drag two video clips and a music file into the media library in the sidebar. The app detects duration, frame rate, and track types automatically; video with audio appears as a linked A/V clip.

Step 2: Place Clips on the Timeline and Cut

Drag the clips onto the video track of the timeline. Position the playhead where you want the cut and slice with the blade in the transport bar. Trim away unneeded parts at the clip edges – magnetic tracks close gaps automatically.

Step 3: Insert a Transition

Open the transition browser in the sidebar and hover over the thumbnails – each transition shows a live preview. Drag a Cross Dissolve between the two clips and adjust its duration.

Step 4: Create a Title with an Animator Preset

Create a title clip on an animation track and enter text, size, and color. Choose the Fade In animator preset – the animation is baked as real keyframes that you can fine-tune in the curve editor afterwards. If a brand kit is linked, its fonts and colors are available directly in the title inspector.

Step 5: Keyframe Animation and Motion Path

Set keyframes for the title clip's position and scale in the inspector. A motion path overlay with draggable points appears in the viewer; in the Curves tab of the time panel you smooth the movement with easings.

Step 6: Music, Auto-Ducking, and Loudness

Drag the music file onto an audio track and assign it the Music role. Trigger auto-ducking in the inspector – the music is lowered under the dialogue as editable volume keyframes. Then normalize the loudness to −14 LUFS (true EBU R128 measurement).

Step 7: Adjust Color and Check Scopes

Adjust the look with Lift/Gamma/Gain in the inspector, or import a .cube LUT for the clip. Check the result in the Scopes tab of the time panel using the luma histogram and waveform.

Step 8: Import Subtitles

Import an SRT file – the subtitles land on a dedicated caption track and may overlap. In the preview you see them as an overlay at the bottom center in the safe area; that is exactly how they will be burned in later.

Step 9: Behavior and Linked AnnexDesign File

Open the sidebar tab Behaviors and drag Scale Pop onto the title clip. In the inspector set strength and duration; AnnexMotion bakes the behavior into keyframes. Change the duration later – the keyframes are recalculated.

Also import an .axdesign file from AnnexDesign and choose Link in the import dialog. The file lands as a live vector layer on an animation track. Open it in AnnexDesign by double-clicking, save a change there, and update the link in AnnexMotion.

Step 10: Set the Export Range and Export as MP4

Set the In and Out points for the export range with the I and O keys. Export via File ▸ Export… with the MP4 (H.264) preset – export uses the same render path as the preview. Save the project with File ▸ Save… (⌘S).

Result & Next Steps

You edited, animated with behaviors, added a linked design file, mixed, graded, subtitled, and exported a complete social clip – all in one document. Next, take a look at the effects (Pixelate, Vignette, Grain), track mattes, and live vector layers from AnnexDesign.

All details are in the manual (docs/manuals/en/AnnexMotion.md).

Shot List (for Screenshot Capture)