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I need to be able to add small graphical things onto a recorded movie clip. Things like arrows and text. I will need to be able to do simple animation, such as making the arrow elongate, making the text fade in, making an object rotate and such.

I have seen Apple's Motion but I am not able to use that software.

What other software can do this job?

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  • Why are you not able to use Motion? You may also want to search for "motion graphics" and see if any of the pre-existing questions cover your needs.
    – AJ Henderson ♦
    Aug 7, 2017 at 19:11
  • Are you limited to any particular platform?
    – Fridaypants
    Aug 7, 2017 at 19:37
  • @AJHenderson I do not have access to Apple software without an Apple computer
    – Steeven
    Aug 7, 2017 at 20:19
  • @Fridaypants I am not limited more than I hope for a free or cheap (free-trial perhaps) software, since this is for a small project.
    – Steeven
    Aug 7, 2017 at 20:19
  • Take a look at video.stackexchange.com/questions/13082/…. Not 100% sure it's a duplicate, but seems likely to cover your needs. If so, let me know and I'll close this one as a dupe.
    – AJ Henderson ♦
    Aug 7, 2017 at 20:44

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Adobe After Effects is what I use. It's pretty simple and there are a ton of tutorials out there.

If you need something free there is Hit Film Express, which I hear is decent though I've never used it.

Lastly what editing software are you using? You should be able to do simple things like that in any old editing program out there.

  • Spencer
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  • Hi Spencer. Thank you for your answer. I am using no special software, just plain and simple Windows Movie Maker. The editing and cutting is easy and effective in that program, but it has no real custom-animation tools except for some small stuff with text animations. I will look into the Hit Film Express and return. I have also heard of Blender, which is an actual 3D animation software but a freeware. It is a bit complicated to start out with though.
    – Steeven
    Aug 10, 2017 at 11:17
  • Here I am a year later! I'm guessing you're done with your project by now... But anyway I would definitely not suggest Blender or Fusion for something like this as Michael suggest. Blender is a 3D application (though it does other things) and not at all built for this. And Fusion is made for high-end compositing, similarly not really made for this. Fusion can absolutely do what you want and it is free, but the learning curve isn't worth it for simple text animation.
    – Spencer
    May 8, 2018 at 17:33
  • Actually, I ended up using Hit Films 🙂 Thank you for the suggestion. It worked like a charm for my purpose, although a bit heavy for my poor laptop
    – Steeven
    May 8, 2018 at 20:02
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    Glad it worked out! And yes, welcome to the world of video production... faster is never good enough, and no matter how much storage you have it's always full.
    – Spencer
    May 8, 2018 at 20:04
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Blender is wonderful, but only the most dedicated use it for making text annotations. Davinci Resolve 15 (currently at beta 2) runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux (with constraints). Its big new feature is the integration of Fusion, a comprehensive 2d and 3d compositing and effects package. It also offers templates that animate text fades (against backgrounds if you like). YouTube tutorial videos show these features in detail.

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