Your production partner sends a landscape product ad and its vertical adaptation. Both use the approved easing preset, yet the vertical card seems to sweep too aggressively across the frame. “The settings match” does not resolve the disagreement: the same curve can describe quite different journeys.
For overseas brands commissioning multiple formats from a China-based team, ONCE recommends approving a relationship between movement, layout and time. A reusable motion template should explain that relationship, not merely preserve a preset name.
More control is an opportunity to specify the result
Apple’s October 27, 2026 Creator Studio announcement describes additional keyframe easing options in Final Cut Pro, with updates scheduled for November. We reviewed the announcement on November 4; we have not verified availability on a particular installation.
Figma’s easing lesson explains acceleration and deceleration through the relationship between time progression and animation progression. It is design instruction, not evidence of advertising performance. Applying that principle to commercial video still requires judging the composition and intended viewing conditions.
The useful procurement question is what the team has made reusable. Is it an opaque effect, or a motion rule with parameters that can be adapted and reviewed? Neither announcement establishes that automatic format adaptation is solved.
ONCE’s simple model: curve, distance and duration
For one element moving along one direction, describe its position as:
x(t) = x₀ + D × f(t / T)
Here x₀ is the starting position, D is displacement, T is the movement duration and f is the normalized easing function. Holding f constant does not hold the motion constant if D or T changes.
For a horizontal move, record displacement as a share of frame width W: D / W. Use frame height for a vertical move. Dividing that share by duration gives an average rate in frame widths or heights per second. This is a production comparison, not a perceptual score or a measure of ad effectiveness. It is not peak speed; a bouncing or multi-stage path needs separate treatment.
A hypothetical card animation
Suppose a card travels horizontally by 576 pixels over 0.6 seconds in both a 1920×1080 landscape file and a 1080×1920 vertical file. The easing curve remains identical. These are illustrative numbers, not client observations.
| Format | Travel as a share of frame width | Average frame widths per second |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape: 576 / 1920 | 30% | 0.5 |
| Vertical: 576 / 1080 | About 53.3% | About 0.889 |
The vertical version covers a larger share of the composition in the same time. To begin a comparison at 30% of its width, the team could try 324 pixels instead. That is a starting point for layout review, not a correct setting for every ad.
The element’s size, its destination and its relationship to the product may require another path altogether. Equal pixels do not guarantee equal character; equal proportions do not guarantee it either. The calculation makes a difference visible so the team can decide how to handle it.
Deliver a motion record with the template
ONCE proposes recording six things for each reusable move: the element, its communication purpose, its start and end references, proportional travel, duration and easing settings. Include a preview of an approved result.
For a product-benefit card, specify where it should settle relative to the product and when that should happen. A landscape entrance from the side may become an upward entrance in vertical. Treat that as a deliberate adaptation, with its own review, rather than claiming every setting has remained unchanged.
Also identify changes that require checking the animation again: a different aspect ratio, a substantially different element size or much longer copy. The point is not to redesign the entire film for every change. It is to make clear where the template can be applied and where someone must exercise judgment.
Diagnose the complaint before changing the curve
“The vertical move feels rushed” may describe longer relative travel, a shorter movement duration or the next message arriving too soon after the card lands. Watch the target layout at normal speed, then inspect the relevant values.
If the journey alone has expanded, try adjusting the start or route. If the card competes with the product, reconsider the sequence. If the destination is badly composed, fix the layout before polishing the easing. Slowing every keyframe or adding a bounce may address none of those problems.
A landscape-and-vertical pair using the same content can help the client approve which qualities should persist and which can change. That is a production study, not an audience experiment. Claims about viewing or sales outcomes would need a separate evaluation.
Price adaptation separately from a new motion idea
A practical scope distinguishes base motion design, format adaptation and new choreography. If the existing parameters cover the layout, the work may be a straightforward adaptation. Changing direction, layer relationships or the order of information introduces additional design decisions that should be named in the scope.
Automation and AI-assisted rendering do not remove that distinction. Preserve the actual settings and preview for each approved version. Successful rendering confirms an output exists; it does not confirm that the motion works in its new composition.
For ongoing creative services, the reusable asset is the approved motion together with its conditions of use. Record adjustment time and revision causes before claiming that a template saves work. No cost benchmark or guaranteed saving is implied here.
See ONCE’s video production collection for related delivery considerations and the video marketing collection for broader creative decisions.
Before expanding a template into a full format package, ask the team to explain one move: how far it travels in each composition, how long it takes and where it finishes. Approve those relationships, then scale the production.
Source note
Primary references are Apple’s October 27 announcement and Figma Learn’s “Motion design fundamentals: Easing,” reviewed November 4, 2026. The exact publication date of the lesson was not established. The formula, numerical example and handoff recommendations are ONCE analysis, not software certification, client test results or universal laws of viewer perception.
