What keyframes do in Alight Motion

A keyframe is a single point in time where you tell Alight Motion to remember a specific state of your object — its position, size, rotation, opacity, or any other property. When you set two keyframes with different values, Alight Motion automatically fills in all the frames between them, creating smooth motion or change. Without keyframes, everything stays static. With them, you control exactly when and how things move or transform.

Think of it like this: if you want text to slide in from the left side of the screen, you set one keyframe at the start (text far left, invisible) and another keyframe a half-second later (text in its final position, fully visible). Alight Motion draws all the in-between positions automatically.

Key Takeaways

  • Keyframes mark specific moments in time where you lock in the current state of an object's properties like position, size, or opacity.
  • You create keyframes by tapping the diamond icon next to each property in the timeline, with the playhead positioned exactly where you want the keyframe to sit.
  • At least two keyframes with different values are required to create any visible motion or change — one marks the start state and one marks the end state.
  • You can edit, move, or delete individual keyframes by selecting them in the timeline and using the on-screen controls or the properties panel.

Finding the keyframe button in Alight Motion

Open your project and select the layer you want to animate. In the properties panel on the right side of the screen, you will see a list of properties: Position, Scale, Rotation, Opacity, and others depending on your layer type. Next to each property name is a small diamond-shaped icon. That diamond is the keyframe button.

When the diamond is empty (outline only), no keyframe exists at the current playhead position for that property. When the diamond is filled (solid color), a keyframe already exists at that exact moment in time. Tapping the diamond creates a new keyframe or removes an existing one.

Setting your first keyframe

Move the playhead (the vertical line in the timeline) to the exact frame where you want your animation to start. For example, if you want text to appear at the 0.5-second mark, drag the playhead to 0.5 seconds. Then select the layer and adjust its properties to the starting state — move it off-screen, make it invisible, or rotate it however you want the animation to begin.

Once the object is positioned correctly, tap the diamond icon next to the property you want to animate. The diamond fills in, and Alight Motion records that state at that moment. You have now created your first keyframe. If you move the playhead away and come back to this exact time, you will see the diamond is still filled.

Creating the second keyframe to define the end state

Move the playhead forward in time to where you want the animation to finish. This might be one second later, two seconds later, or wherever the motion should end. Then adjust the same property to its final state — move the object to its final position, make it fully visible, or rotate it to its resting angle.

Tap the diamond icon for that same property again. Alight Motion now has two keyframes: one at the start time with the original values, and one at the end time with the new values. The software automatically fills in every frame between them, creating smooth motion or fading.

You can see both keyframes in the timeline as small diamonds on the property's row. The space between them shows a colored bar indicating that property is being animated during that time range.

Animating multiple properties at once

You are not limited to moving one thing. You can set keyframes on Position, Scale, Rotation, and Opacity all at the same time, and they will all animate together. For example, you might want text to slide in from the left (Position keyframes), grow larger (Scale keyframes), and fade in (Opacity keyframes) all during the same two seconds.

Set your first keyframe by tapping the diamond next to each property you want to animate, with the playhead at your start time. Then move the playhead to your end time, adjust all the properties to their final states, and tap the diamond next to each one again. Alight Motion will animate all of them in parallel.

Editing and deleting keyframes

To move a keyframe to a different time, tap and hold the diamond in the timeline and drag it left or right. To delete a keyframe, select it and tap the diamond icon again — the filled diamond becomes empty, and that keyframe disappears. The animation will no longer change at that moment.

To change the values a keyframe holds, move the playhead directly to that keyframe (the diamond will be filled), adjust the property values in the properties panel, and the keyframe updates automatically. You do not need to tap the diamond again — it is already there.

Understanding keyframe timing and spacing

The distance between two keyframes in the timeline controls how fast the animation happens. If your keyframes are close together, the change happens quickly. If they are far apart, the change happens slowly. You can adjust speed by dragging keyframes closer or farther apart without changing the start or end values.

Alight Motion uses linear interpolation by default, meaning the object moves at a constant speed between keyframes. If you want the motion to ease in or ease out (start slow and speed up, or speed up then slow down), you can tap a keyframe and adjust its easing curve in the properties panel. This is a separate control from the keyframe itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to set keyframes at the very beginning of my video?

No. You can start your animation at any point in the timeline. If you want an object to sit still for the first two seconds and then animate, set your first keyframe at the two-second mark. Before that point, the object will hold whatever state it had when you first placed it.

What happens if I set two keyframes with the same values?

Nothing visible will happen — there is no change to animate. Alight Motion will not error, but the object will stay in that state throughout. This is sometimes useful if you want an object to hold a position for a while, then move later.

Can I copy keyframes from one layer to another?

Alight Motion does not have a direct copy-paste for keyframes between layers. However, you can manually recreate the same keyframe timing and values on a different layer by setting keyframes at the same times and adjusting the properties to match.

How do I make an animation loop?

Set your keyframes for the animation you want, then in the layer settings, enable the loop option. The animation will repeat from the first keyframe to the last keyframe continuously. You can also adjust how many times it loops or set it to loop infinitely.

What if I accidentally delete a keyframe?

Use the undo button (the curved arrow at the top of the screen) to restore it. Alight Motion keeps a history of recent changes, so you can undo multiple steps if needed.