Documentary graphics: evidence boards and timelines

Updated September 18, 20262 min read

How do you make the evidence boards, newspaper headlines and year timelines you see in true crime and history documentaries?

Build them from your own facts rather than from a fixed template. The layout comes from the text you type: the board places a card per name and hangs real string between the pins, the newspaper sets its own columns, and the timeline spaces its years to the dates you enter.

Investigative and history channels lean on a small set of paper graphics: the red string board, the front page, the highlighted document, the case file and the scrolling year ruler. Each one is slow to build by hand because every card, column and string is a separate layer. These presets generate the whole piece from a list of names, dates or lines of text.

Five documentary & investigation presets to start from

Hover any card to play it. Opening one loads it in the editor with every control unlocked.

Evidence Board String
8s
Cards pin onto a cork board one by one, then red string hangs from pin to pin with real sag until the key suspect is circled.
Timeline Year Scrub
9s
A ruler of year ticks glides under a fixed playhead, the big year counter rolls with it and each dated event drops a card as it passes.
Article Highlight Push
7s
A full newspaper page sets its own columns, then the camera pushes into your paragraph and a highlighter sweeps the exact words you marked.
Newspaper Front Page
6s
A full front page sets itself from your masthead, headline and deck, with halftone photo and side stories, then spins in and lands.
Document Redaction Pass
8s
A typed memo lays out from your fields and paragraphs, black marker bars sweep over every marked phrase, then the last one lifts to reveal it.

All documentary & investigation

Which format should you export?

MP4 at 16:9 for YouTube and streaming documentaries, 9:16 for Shorts and Reels cut-downs. The layouts rearrange for tall frames, so export each aspect separately rather than cropping.

Format: MP4 H.264 · WebM VP9
Alpha: Transparent WebM
Resolution: 720p to 8K
Aspect: 16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1 · 4:5
License: Commercial use included

Three tips that make it look intentional

Keep card labels short, a name or a place. Put the detail in your voice-over, not on the board.
Change the Variation value to reshuffle the board layout and which cards are linked, without retyping anything.
Use a longer duration for slow pushes under narration. The build finishes early and the camera keeps drifting until the end.

Three things people get wrong

Using real people's names or photos without the right to do so. Use cases you can legally discuss and keep claims factual.
Copying a real newspaper's masthead or logo. Type your own publication name.
Filling cards with full sentences. They become unreadable at 1080p on a phone.

Frequently asked

Can I choose which cards are connected?

The string follows a chain through every card, with extra cross links chosen by the Variation value. Change it until the web reads the way your story does.

Do these work over my own footage?

The boards and pages fill the frame. Use them as full-screen inserts between interview and archive footage.

For stock sellers
How to sell motion graphics on stock footage sites
Pick a marketplace and pass its review, produce clips that answer briefs rather than showcase technique, submit each one with a title, description and keyword list, and build a catalogue rather than a portfolio. Income comes from coverage over time, not from any single upload.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
Keywording stock video: what marketplaces actually match on
Describe the literal content first, then the attributes a buyer filters by (colour, orientation, duration, transparency, format), and only then the mood or style words. Search engines match on what is in the frame far more reliably than on how the clip feels.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
What sells: motion graphics with standing demand
The recurring furniture of edited video: lower thirds, titles, transitions, subscribe and follow prompts, sale badges, animated charts and counters, loaders, countdowns and seamless backgrounds. They are needed on almost every project, which makes demand continuous rather than seasonal.
Read the guide

Make your next clipin the next five minutes

Editing and previewing are free. You only spend a credit when the finished file lands on your machine.

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Documentary & Investigation

Documentary graphics: evidence boards and timelines

Updated September 18, 20262 min read

How do you make the evidence boards, newspaper headlines and year timelines you see in true crime and history documentaries?

Five documentary & investigation presets to start from

Hover any card to play it. Opening one loads it in the editor with every control unlocked.

Evidence Board String
8s
Cards pin onto a cork board one by one, then red string hangs from pin to pin with real sag until the key suspect is circled.
Timeline Year Scrub
9s
A ruler of year ticks glides under a fixed playhead, the big year counter rolls with it and each dated event drops a card as it passes.
Article Highlight Push
7s
A full newspaper page sets its own columns, then the camera pushes into your paragraph and a highlighter sweeps the exact words you marked.
Newspaper Front Page
6s
A full front page sets itself from your masthead, headline and deck, with halftone photo and side stories, then spins in and lands.
Document Redaction Pass
8s
A typed memo lays out from your fields and paragraphs, black marker bars sweep over every marked phrase, then the last one lifts to reveal it.

All documentary & investigation

Which format should you export?

MP4 at 16:9 for YouTube and streaming documentaries, 9:16 for Shorts and Reels cut-downs. The layouts rearrange for tall frames, so export each aspect separately rather than cropping.

Format: MP4 H.264 · WebM VP9
Alpha: Transparent WebM
Resolution: 720p to 8K
Aspect: 16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1 · 4:5
License: Commercial use included

Three tips that make it look intentional

Keep card labels short, a name or a place. Put the detail in your voice-over, not on the board.
Change the Variation value to reshuffle the board layout and which cards are linked, without retyping anything.
Use a longer duration for slow pushes under narration. The build finishes early and the camera keeps drifting until the end.

Three things people get wrong

Using real people's names or photos without the right to do so. Use cases you can legally discuss and keep claims factual.
Copying a real newspaper's masthead or logo. Type your own publication name.
Filling cards with full sentences. They become unreadable at 1080p on a phone.

Frequently asked

Can I choose which cards are connected?

The string follows a chain through every card, with extra cross links chosen by the Variation value. Change it until the web reads the way your story does.

Do these work over my own footage?

The boards and pages fill the frame. Use them as full-screen inserts between interview and archive footage.

For stock sellers
How to sell motion graphics on stock footage sites
Pick a marketplace and pass its review, produce clips that answer briefs rather than showcase technique, submit each one with a title, description and keyword list, and build a catalogue rather than a portfolio. Income comes from coverage over time, not from any single upload.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
Keywording stock video: what marketplaces actually match on
Describe the literal content first, then the attributes a buyer filters by (colour, orientation, duration, transparency, format), and only then the mood or style words. Search engines match on what is in the frame far more reliably than on how the clip feels.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
What sells: motion graphics with standing demand
The recurring furniture of edited video: lower thirds, titles, transitions, subscribe and follow prompts, sale badges, animated charts and counters, loaders, countdowns and seamless backgrounds. They are needed on almost every project, which makes demand continuous rather than seasonal.
Read the guide

Make your next clipin the next five minutes

Editing and previewing are free. You only spend a credit when the finished file lands on your machine.

Create your first animation free Browse the library

How do you make the evidence boards, newspaper headlines and year timelines you see in true crime and history documentaries?

Five documentary & investigation presets to start from

Which format should you export?

Three tips that make it look intentional

Three things people get wrong

Frequently asked

Can I choose which cards are connected?

Do these work over my own footage?

Keep reading

Make your next clipin the next five minutes

How do you make the evidence boards, newspaper headlines and year timelines you see in true crime and history documentaries?

Five documentary & investigation presets to start from

Which format should you export?

Three tips that make it look intentional

Three things people get wrong

Frequently asked

Can I choose which cards are connected?

Do these work over my own footage?

Keep reading

Make your next clipin the next five minutes