Animate a highlighter or underline across words in your video
Ask the Tella Agent to sweep a highlighter or draw an underline across key words. Tella Motion animates it and can start it on the word you say.
Try it in Tella
Paste a prompt into the Tella Agent in the editor, or into Claude or ChatGPT connected to Tella, then ask for changes.
When I say "three times faster", show it as a white bold title on the right of the frame. Sweep a see-through yellow highlighter bar behind "three times" from left to right over half a second, starting on the word "faster". Hold it 3 seconds, then fade both out.
Add a 5-second Tella Motion clip at the start: "Meet Quillbrook Ledger" in dark navy on a cream background. After the words land, draw a 6 px coral underline with a round cap under "Quillbrook Ledger", left to right over 0.8 seconds, easing out.
In my lesson on Larkfield Forms, put my three key terms on screen as I say each one: "field", "rule", "trigger". Draw a mint green highlighter bar behind each term as I say it, one at a time, and dim the earlier terms to 50% opacity.
How do I animate a highlighter or underline across words in a video?
In the Tella editor, open the Tella Agent chat and ask for a Tella Motion highlight or underline on the words you name. Tella Motion sets the words as a title, then draws a see-through bar behind them or a line under them, left to right. Put it in its own Tella Motion clip, or as an overlay or b-roll on a recorded clip, where it can start on a word you say.
How to do it
- Open your video and the Tella Agent chat (press Shift + S if the sidebar is hidden).
- Name the words to mark and when they appear: as you say them, or at a time in a Tella Motion clip.
- Pick a highlighter bar or an underline, plus its color, thickness and how fast it draws.
- Preview it, then ask for changes like "draw it slower" or "start one word later".
Good to know
- Available to everyone: through the Tella Agent on a paid plan or the 7-day trial, or through Claude or ChatGPT on any plan.
- Tella Motion highlights words it sets itself. To mark text already in your screen recording, use a highlight from Effect → Blur & highlight instead.
- A Tella Motion clip has no transcript, so inside one you time the highlight in seconds, not to your words.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Ask the Tella Agent for a highlight on each word or phrase, each starting as you say it. Earlier ones can stay, fade or dim, whichever you ask for.
Yes, with Tella's highlight effect. Open Effect, click the plus beside Blur & highlight, change Type to Highlight and place the clear area over the text. Everything outside it dims, and setting Transition to Smooth fades it in and out.
Yes. Connect Claude or ChatGPT to Tella's MCP server and it can build Tella Motion with the same commands the Tella Agent uses: add a title and a line path, then animate a trim path effect so the underline draws on.