How to use PowerPoint to make your own animated shorts

Ways you can effectively use animations

Think of animations in a presentation like sprinkles on ice cream—just a little bit will enhance the look and taste, but too much will be overwhelming. Animations are best reserved for the title slide, every five to six slides at most, and the conclusion. Use title text to zoom and swoop in, or even create more advanced animations that can become the focus of a slide.

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Be sure to know your audience. If you’re presenting on serious matters, then animations will undermine your message. If you’re throwing a PowerPoint party, on the other hand, you can use animations to set up a humorous point or serve as a punchline!

Types of animations you can create

You can animate text, objects, shapes, or SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint. The four major uses for animation in PowerPoint are:

• Entrance: Objects will make an appearance into the slide by flying, fading in, bouncing, or zooming from the outside of the slide to its intended position.
• Emphasis: Objects that are already on the slide will subtly bounce, spin, or move in a wave shape to attract the audience’s attention.
• Exit: Objects will disappear by swiveling, dissolving, flying, or floating out of the screen.
• Motion Paths: Objects will follow a line that you set from one point to another. They can arc, loop, or follow a custom path.

Animating in PowerPoint

Animating in PowerPoint is simple and easy. Here are the basic steps to create your own animation:

1. Open PowerPoint and create a new slide.
2. Insert your images or text box into the slide.
3. Go to the Animations tab and choose the animation effect you want to use. You can choose from dozens of effects that appear onscreen, draw emphasis, or disappear.
4. Set the timing and duration of the animation by adjusting options in the Timing section.
5. Preview your animation by selecting the Preview button.

You can also add multiple animations to a single object or slide, and you can even create complex animations by layering different effects. Be creative and experiment with different animation options to add your own unique style.

Manage animations and effects

When you’re creating a presentation, you have different options on how to start an animation when you go to the next slide:

• On Click: Start an animation when you click a slide.
• With Previous: Play an animation at the same time as the previous animation in your sequence.
• After Previous: Start an animation immediately after the previous one happens.
• Duration: Lengthen or shorten an effect.
• Delay: Add time before an effect runs.

Tips and tricks for animating with PowerPoint

Here are some helpful tips and tricks for animating with PowerPoint:

1. Using image formats that support transparency, such as PNGs, can create seamless interactions with background slides.
2. Use the Motion Paths option to create custom animations that follow a specific path. Click the Add Animation button in the Advanced Animations pane and scroll down to Custom Path, so you can allow your object to navigate around and interact with other objects on the slide.
3. Add more effects to an animation or change the order of your existing animations with the tools in the Animation pane.
4. Try adding sound effects or music to your animations to enhance the overall experience.
5. Use the Trigger option to control when an animation plays or stops, giving you greater control over your animation’s timing and pacing.
6. Find existing PowerPoint templates, illustrations and vector files, and animation tutorials so you can deepen your presentation expertise.

PowerPoint animation is a great tool to add to your creative arsenal. Take control of your Microsoft 365 tools with articles that can enhance the art of giving presentations, from improving your public speaking abilities and crafting a compelling narrative to learning how to effectively use visual aids.