Every editor runs into the same wall at some point: a tutorial says “adjust the easing” or “check your bitrate,” and you have no idea what that means. This glossary explains the terms you will actually meet in Alight Motion — in plain English, with a practical note for each one so you know when it matters.
Terms
Keyframe
A marker on the timeline that records a property’s value at a specific moment — position, scale, rotation, opacity, or an effect setting. Alight Motion automatically animates the change between two keyframes.
In practice: set one keyframe for where a layer starts, move the playhead, change the property, and a second keyframe appears — the app fills in the motion between them. Keyframes are the foundation of almost all animation in the app; for a full walkthrough, see how to use keyframes in Alight Motion.
Easing
Controls how animation speeds up or slows down between keyframes instead of moving at a constant rate. Common types include ease-in (slow start), ease-out (slow finish), and ease-in-out (both).
In practice: easing makes movement look natural — a title that eases out starts fast and settles gently into place. Many shared Alight Motion presets already include tuned easing you can study.
Curve / Graph Editor
A visual editor that shows animation as curves: time runs left to right, the property value runs bottom to top. A steeper curve means faster change at that moment.
In practice: open the graph editor when basic easing presets are not enough — for example, to build a bounce, a slow ramp-up, or a perfectly timed stop.
XML Preset
A shareable text file (usually ending in .xml) that contains an effect or animation setup you can import into Alight Motion, instead of building it from scratch.
In practice: creators share XML presets so you can apply a complex shake, transition, or effect in one tap. If an import fails, see our guide to XML import errors and the preset guide.
Vector
Graphics built from mathematical shapes (points, lines, curves) rather than a fixed grid of pixels, so they stay perfectly sharp at any size.
In practice: Alight Motion’s vector drawing tools let you create shapes and stylized text that will not go blurry when you scale them up or zoom in.
Bitrate
The amount of data used per second of video, usually measured in Mbps. Higher bitrate means more detail but larger files.
In practice: if you see blocky compression or banding in gradients, raise the bitrate in your export settings — quality is often a bitrate problem, not a resolution problem.
Frame Rate (FPS)
The number of frames shown per second. Common values are 24 (cinematic), 30 (standard video), and 60 (smooth, detailed motion).
In practice: 30 fps suits most social video; 60 fps looks smoother for fast action but makes bigger files. Match the frame rate to where the video will be watched — see export settings.
Resolution
The pixel dimensions of your video, for example 1080×1920 for vertical full HD or 1920×1080 for landscape full HD.
In practice: higher resolution looks sharper but renders slower and produces bigger files. For most social posts, 1080p is plenty — pick it in your export settings.
Chroma Key
An effect that removes a single color — usually green or blue — from a layer, turning it transparent. This is the classic green-screen technique.
In practice: film your subject against an evenly lit green background, apply chroma key, and you can place any video or image behind them.
Motion Blur
A blur applied along the direction of movement, mimicking how real cameras capture fast motion. It makes animation look smoother and more realistic.
In practice: enable motion blur for fast-moving layers, spins, and shakes — but use it selectively, since it increases render time.
Project Package
A single file that bundles a complete Alight Motion project — layers, media, settings, and font references — for sharing or backup.
In practice: share project packages with collaborators or keep one as a backup before big edits. If text looks wrong after importing one, the original fonts may be missing — see the custom fonts guide.
Layer
One element in your project — a video clip, image, text, shape, drawing, or effect — stacked above or below the other layers on the timeline.
In practice: complex edits are just many layers working together. Keep them ordered and sensibly named so big projects stay manageable.
Timeline
The horizontal strip that shows your project’s layers over time, with the playhead marking the current moment.
In practice: most editing happens here — trimming clips, splitting layers, placing keyframes, and syncing motion to music.
Mask
A shape that hides or reveals parts of a layer: everything outside the mask becomes invisible (or the reverse, depending on the mask mode).
In practice: masks power text-reveal effects, wipe transitions, and selective edits like blurring only part of a clip.
Opacity
How transparent a layer is, from 0% (invisible) to 100% (fully solid).
In practice: animate opacity for fade-ins and fade-outs, or lower it to make watermarks, overlays, and background textures subtle.
Blend Mode
A setting that changes how a layer’s colors mix with the layers beneath it — examples include Multiply, Screen, Overlay, and Add.
In practice: blend modes are the fast route to light leaks, glows, shadows, and textured overlays without building effects from scratch.
Aspect Ratio
The shape of your video frame, written as width:height — 16:9 for landscape, 9:16 for vertical, 1:1 for square.
In practice: set the aspect ratio before you start editing. Changing it later means reframing every layer.
Export / Render
The process of turning your timeline project into a finished video file (MP4, GIF, image sequence, and so on). Rendering calculates every frame with all effects applied.
In practice: double-check your export settings before a long render — the wrong resolution or bitrate wastes the whole wait.
Font
The typeface used by text layers. Alight Motion ships with built-in fonts, and you can add your own files to the app.
In practice: see our custom fonts guide for importing TTF fonts, fixing missing fonts in shared projects, and understanding font licensing.
Keep Learning
Terms make more sense with context. When you are ready to go deeper:
- Alight Motion Export Settings — resolution, frame rate, and bitrate in action
- Alight Motion Presets — ready-made effects and how to use them
- Custom Fonts Guide — import and use your own typefaces
- Troubleshooting — fix crashes, import failures, and render problems