Claude motion graphics have become a regular part of how I edit. Claude generates the animations while I keep cutting my timeline in Final Cut Pro, so my editing speed does not drop. This post covers the setup, how I brief Claude, and what I still do myself to make the result look professional.
What Claude does and what I do
Claude is very good at generating the animations themselves. Some clips needed nothing from me except sound effects, because Claude nailed them on the first try. I once cut one animation into two parts and added sound effects in between, and that was all.
The other graphics I adjust. I change speeds so the animation fits the timing of what I am saying. I hold a frame when I have not said the next word yet, then let it continue once I do. Timing everything to the voice makes it a lot better. I also add sound effects in the right places. The sounds I have heard Claude generate on its own do not sound good, so I keep sound effects and re-timing for myself. That also keeps me in control of the edit.
Step 1: Create a style guide
This is the most important step. I am not selling a prompt, and I do not think a single prompt changes anything. What matters is the material you give Claude. A style guide gives you a solid quality level every time, without rewriting the look in each request.
It does not have to be perfect. It only has to be something you like. I made mine for Studiamo, the open source study app I am building, by sending Claude my own website and letting it create a style guide from that. You can send any website, your own or one you like, and Claude will set it up. It stays as an artifact in your account, so you can reference it every time.
Step 2: Select the design system
In Claude, go to design systems and select the one you created. Claude then asks a few setup questions. This happens once. In my case, Claude created a new folder for the output, and I chose these settings:
- ProRes 4444 for graphics without a background, so they work as overlays. Most of the time I keep a background, but ProRes is what you need when you do not want one.
- 4K at 25 frames per second. You can pick 24 or 30 or whatever your project needs.
Step 3: Brief Claude while you edit
You do not need a prompt template. Give Claude enough context to understand what the video is about, point it to your style guide, mention sound effects if you want some, and describe each scene in detail. Say whether you want a background or not. If the result does not follow the style guide, tell Claude to follow it.
I put a phone next to my desk as a second device, so I can talk to Claude without leaving my timeline. You could also use a second window on your computer. The same conversation shows up on both. My flow looks like this:
- I start editing the raw clips and cut out dead space and repetitions.
- When I see a spot where a graphic would help the viewer, I describe it to Claude on my phone. For example: a minimalist animation of pacing, where going too fast loses people because they do not understand anything, and going too slow bores them, so you need balance.
- I put the phone down and keep editing. If I find another spot, I send the next request, even while the first one is still generating.
- After my first editing pass, I open the folder Claude created. The finished files are there.
It feels like telling a coworker what to do. He works on his own, puts the files in my folder, and respects my file system.
Step 4: Drag the files into Final Cut Pro
The files are already in your working directory, so you drag and drop them into the timeline. With ProRes 4444 there is no background on export, so the graphic overlays your footage. In the Final Cut Pro viewer you may see a background when you pause, but it will not be in the export. From there I retime the graphic to my voice and add sound effects.
What is coming next
In the next video I show Claude adding sound effects automatically and giving you an FCP XML file, so you can open a series of stitched animations in Final Cut Pro and still move things around, including the sound effects. I do not need the text to be editable, because Claude gets it right most of the time, but retiming is a big part of the edit.
I also compared a full Claude edit against my own in Claude Opus 5.5 vs a Human Editor.
This post may contain affiliate links. These links are marked with an * and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.