30-second answer: Keyframes in Edits let a property — position, size, rotation, or opacity — change gradually over time, instead of jumping from one state to another. Set a starting value at one point in the clip, set an ending value later, and the app fills in the movement between them. Use few keyframes, keep movements small and purposeful, and check the result at full speed, because a movement that looks smooth in slow motion can look frantic at normal speed.
On this page
- Understand what a keyframe does
- Start with one property, two points
- Choose timing that matches the moment
- Keep movements small and purposeful
- Fix wobble and overshoot
- Combine keyframes with cuts and effects
- Using this in a desktop workflow
Keyframes are the most powerful animation tool in a mobile editor, and also the easiest to overuse: a creator who discovers them often animates everything, producing videos that never sit still. Edits runs on your phone, and keyframes are applied within the app to clips and elements, changing a property over time; this tutorial explains the principle and the discipline, rather than promising a particular keyframe control, because controls change while the principle — two points, a change between them — does not.
Think of a keyframe as a pin: you pin a value at a moment, pin a different value later, and the app creates the movement between the pins. If you understand that, you understand keyframes, whatever the interface looks like. If you do not, no amount of button-pressing will produce smooth motion, because you will be adding pins without knowing what each one is meant to do. For the basics of ordering clips before animating them, see our trim and split tutorial, and for effects that pair with motion, see our effects tutorial.
Step 1: Understand what a keyframe does
A keyframe records a value at a point in time. Two keyframes with different values create a change: a clip that starts small and ends large grows, a title that starts transparent and ends opaque fades in, and a clip that starts left and ends right moves across the screen. The app calculates all the values between the two pins, so you do not need a keyframe for every frame — two pins are often enough for a clean movement.
Adding a third pin in the middle changes the path: the movement goes from the first value to the middle value, then to the last, which can create a pause, a reversal, or a curve. That is useful when a movement needs to stop, change direction, or ease in and out, but each extra pin is also a chance to introduce wobble. Start by thinking in two pins, and add a middle pin only when the movement needs a reason to change course.
Step 2: Start with one property, two points
For your first keyframed movement, animate one property only — position, size, rotation, or opacity — with two points: a start and an end. Choose a simple, purposeful movement, such as a title fading in, a clip growing slightly to emphasise a moment, or a picture drifting slowly across the frame. One property and two points are easy to judge, easy to fix, and usually enough to achieve the effect you actually want.
Set the start point first, then move to the end point and set the ending value, and watch the result at full speed before adding anything else. If the movement looks right, stop; if it does not, adjust the two points before adding more, because adding keyframes to fix a movement that is wrong at its endpoints rarely works. A movement that is clean with two points will stay clean, while a movement that is messy with two points will only get messier with more.
Step 3: Choose timing that matches the moment
Timing is as important as distance: a movement that happens too fast looks frantic, and one that happens too slowly looks like a mistake, as in our transitions tutorial. Match the timing to the moment the movement serves: a quick emphasis can be fast, a slow reveal should be slow, and a movement that accompanies speech should not outpace the words. As a rule, slower is safer than faster, because viewers need time to notice a movement without being distracted by it.
Place the keyframes with the clip’s rhythm in mind, not just its length. A movement that starts on a beat, a word, or a visual change feels intentional, while one that starts at an arbitrary point feels accidental. If the movement must last the whole clip, make it slow and steady; if it must happen within a second, make it small, because a large movement in a short time is the most common cause of frantic-looking animation.
Step 4: Keep movements small and purposeful
Keep each movement small: a slight growth, a gentle drift, a short fade, or a modest rotation. Large movements — a clip flying across the screen, spinning, or growing to twice its size — draw attention to themselves, and they should be reserved for moments that genuinely need that attention, such as a comic beat or a dramatic reveal. Most good keyframe work is barely noticeable, and that is the point: the movement serves the video, rather than becoming the video.
Ask of every movement what its job is, as in our effects tutorial: does it emphasise a moment, guide the eye, reveal something, or smooth a transition? If it has no job, remove it. A video with one purposeful movement will look more professional than a video with ten movements that serve nothing, because restraint reads as confidence, while constant motion reads as uncertainty.
Step 5: Fix wobble and overshoot
Wobble happens when keyframes are too close together, too many, or slightly inconsistent, so the movement stutters instead of flowing. The fix is usually to remove keyframes, not add them: delete the middle pins, space the remaining ones further apart, and check whether a simpler two-point movement does the job. Overshoot happens when a movement goes too far and then corrects itself, which looks like a bounce; the fix is to reduce the distance or to add a settling point that stops the movement cleanly.
Check movements at full speed, on the device where viewers will watch, because a movement that looks smooth when scrubbed slowly can look jumpy at normal speed. If a movement still wobbles after simplification, try a different property: a fade often achieves what a position move was meant to do, with far less risk of wobble. When in doubt, simplify — a clean, small movement always beats a complex, wobbly one.
Step 6: Combine keyframes with cuts and effects
Combine keyframes sparingly with cuts and effects, because each layer of motion adds complexity. A keyframed movement that ends at a cut should land cleanly, not mid-motion, unless the cut is meant to interrupt it; a movement paired with an effect should serve the same moment, not compete with it. As in our cinematic filters tutorial, consistency matters: if one clip drifts gently, a neighbouring clip that spins wildly will look like an error, even if both movements are individually clean.
Use keyframes to solve problems that cuts and effects cannot: a slow push-in to emphasise a detail, a gentle pan across a wide shot, or a fade that softens a harsh transition. Those are the movements that justify the effort, because they do something no other tool does. When a cut, a filter, or a simple trim achieves the same result, use that instead, and save keyframes for the moments that genuinely need motion over time.
Common keyframe mistakes
The most common mistake is animating everything, so the video never sits still and viewers cannot focus. The second is using too many keyframes, which creates wobble and makes movements hard to fix. The third is making movements too large or too fast, so they distract from the subject.
Another mistake is judging movements by scrubbing slowly, which hides frantic timing that is obvious at full speed. Finally, many creators add keyframes before the edit is locked, then re-cut the clip and break every movement. Lock the cut first, using our trim and split tutorial, then animate, and check the result with our export settings tutorial before publishing.
Using this in a desktop workflow
Keyframing is precise work, and a desktop setup helps even though the edit happens in Edits on your phone. Plan movements on paper or on your computer first: write down the property, the start value, the end value, and the timing, so you add two deliberate pins rather than a scatter of guesses. That plan also makes it easy to repeat a successful movement on another clip, by copying its values instead of rediscovering them.
If you edit on an emulator, the larger display and mouse control make it easier to place keyframes precisely and to judge small movements, but always check the final video on a phone, since that is how most viewers will see it. Keep a note of movements that worked — property, distance, and timing — so future projects can reuse proven motion instead of starting from scratch. Smooth motion comes from planning and restraint, not from the number of keyframes you add.
Frequently asked questions
What is a keyframe?
A point in time where a property’s value is recorded. Two keyframes with different values create a change between them.
How many keyframes do I need?
Usually two: a start and an end. Add a middle keyframe only when the movement needs to pause, reverse, or change course.
Why does my movement wobble?
Too many keyframes, too close together, or inconsistent values. Remove pins, space them out, and simplify the movement.
How fast should a movement be?
Slow enough to notice without distraction, matched to the moment. Slower is safer than faster for most movements.
Should I animate before or after cutting?
After. Lock the cut first, then animate, so re-cutting does not break your keyframed movements.
What movement should I try first?
One property, two points, small and purposeful — such as a title fading in or a clip growing slightly to emphasise a moment.
Next: Advanced Audio Tools in Edits →
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