Glossary
Easing
Also called: Ease in, Ease out, Easing curve
Definition
Easing is the rate of change of an animation over time: instead of moving at a constant speed, an eased element accelerates, decelerates or both, which makes motion feel natural.
What “easing” means
Real objects don’t start or stop instantly. A ball rolling to a stop slows down; a car pulling away speeds up. Easing reproduces that in animation. Ease-in starts slow and speeds up, ease-out starts fast and settles gently, and ease-in-out does both. Overshoot or “back” easing goes slightly past the target and returns, which gives a playful pop. Spring easing simulates a bouncy physical spring.
In most tools, easing is drawn as a curve between two keyframes: the horizontal axis is time, the vertical axis is progress. A straight line is linear motion; an S-shape is ease-in-out. Designers often describe these curves with cubic Bézier values, the same model CSS uses for transitions.
Why it matters for short explainer videos
In a short vertical video, motion competes with captions and narration for attention. Ease-out motion is the workhorse of explainers: elements arrive quickly, then settle and hold still so they can be read. Linear motion tends to look robotic, and heavy bounces get tiring when every element uses them.
Consistent easing is also part of a visual identity. If every element in a video shares the same family of curves, the whole thing feels designed rather than assembled.
Example
Two versions of the same scene: a price tag slides in from the right. With linear motion, it glides in at constant speed and stops abruptly, as if it hit a wall. With an ease-out, it arrives fast, decelerates and settles on the word “price”. Same duration, but the second version is easier to read and feels intentional.
In Motiongist
How Motiongist handles it
Easing is built into the engine. Entrances, chart animations, counters and camera moves use eased curves chosen by the look and the type of element, and they are timed to the voice. You don’t pick curves per element; there is no curve editor.
What you do choose is the look (Light, Night, Illustrated, your brand or a custom look on higher plans) and the pace of the narration, through the script and the voice. A calmer voice and fewer words per scene give the animations more room to breathe.