How to Animate a Chart for a Video

Step by step

1. 1

   Pick the chart your data calls for

   Bar Chart Race suits rankings that change, with bars that overtake each other over 4 seconds. Line Chart Draw follows one trend over time. Pie Chart Sweep shows how a total divides into parts. For side-by-side feature checks, Comparison Table fills rows with ticks, crosses and values.

2. 2

   Type in your numbers

   Enter your data in Values and Labels, up to 12 items each, then add a Suffix such as a percent sign. Set Font, Text color, Primary, Secondary, Accent and Easing. Comparison Table works differently, using Columns, Labels and a Cells list filled in row by row.

3. 3

   Give viewers time to read

   Defaults run from 3 to 4 seconds, and clips can run to 15. Raise Duration when you have more than a few items, because the eye needs time for each label. Check 9:16 before you export a wide chart with long labels, and shorten any labels that feel tight.

4. 4

   Use MP4 when the chart owns the frame

   All 25 presets start on a solid background, so MP4 is the direct choice for a full-screen chart. To place a chart beside a presenter, set Background to Transparent and export a PNG sequence for Premiere Pro or After Effects, or WebM with alpha for CapCut or Resolve.

5. 5

   Lay it in with the voiceover

   In Premiere Pro, import the MP4 and place it on the main track where the narrator starts to explain the data. Trim the head so the first bar or line starts as the sentence begins. Raise Duration and export again if the chart needs longer on screen.

Where it is used

• Explainer and news videos

  A line or bar chart illustrates the point the narrator is making about prices, population or polling, so a claim is shown on screen and not only spoken aloud.

• Company reports and pitches

  A pie or stacked bar chart replaces a static slide in a recorded quarterly review or investor pitch, walking viewers through the numbers one part at a time.

• Data-driven video channels

  A ranking animation such as a bar chart race can carry a whole segment, showing how countries, teams or products have changed places over a period of years.

Presets

25

Default duration

3 to 4 seconds

Data limit

12 values and 12 labels

Best export

MP4 for full-frame charts

Which format should you export?

MP4 when the chart owns the frame, transparent WebM when it has to sit beside a presenter.

Format

MP4 · WebM · PNG sequence

Alpha

WebM or PNG sequence

Resolution

720p to 8K

Aspect

16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1 · 4:5

License

Commercial use included

Three tips that make it look intentional

• Four to six values is the ceiling for video; beyond that, split the chart.
• Label the axis in the animation, not in a caption people cannot read on a phone.
• Hold the completed chart for a beat before cutting away.

Three things people get wrong

• Animating every bar at once, which removes the reason to animate at all.
• Putting more than five or six series on screen in a video. A chart on a timeline is not a chart in a report.
• Dropping the axis labels because they looked cluttered, which leaves the viewer with a shape and no scale.

Frequently asked