After Effects Motion Designer-— Short-Form Social Content

After Effects Motion Designer — Short-Form Social Content
Paid Per Project to start and could evolve to Paid Monthly Per Client

*IMPORTANT:* We understand that CapCut is an accessible and increasingly popular tool for short-form content. However, we are specifically looking for an After Effects-first motion designer. If CapCut is your primary program for creating motion graphics, this position probably isn't the right fit.

Templates, plugins, presets, and other tools can absolutely be part of your workflow, but we're looking for someone capable of designing and animating intentionally rather than relying primarily on pre-built templates.

We are looking for a skilled Motion Designer who specializes in Adobe After Effects to work with us on an ongoing freelance basis, primarily creating motion graphics, typography, captions, and visual assets for short-form social content.

This is not a video editing position.

Our editors handle the core edit. Your role is to take detailed creative briefs and provided assets and bring specific moments of the video to life through motion design.

Depending on the project, your work may include:

Animated typography
Captions and subtitles
Titles and text treatments
Image and photo animations
Motion graphics
Masks and compositing
Custom assets designed to support the edit

Some videos may require just caption design.

Others may combine captions, typography, imagery, graphics, and more involved animation.

We will typically provide the creative brief, copy/captions, images, brand assets, backgrounds, fonts, and overall visual direction.

Your responsibility is to execute that direction at a high level while also bringing your own design judgment to the work.

Our work generally leans premium, modern, editorial, minimal, and intentional.

We're looking for someone who understands that good motion design isn't about making everything move.

It's about knowing what should move, how it should move, and when restraint creates a stronger result.

You should have a strong understanding of:

Typography and hierarchy
Composition
Spacing
Scale
Visual rhythm
Animation timing
Pacing
Brand consistency
Clean, intentional transitions

Motion / Animation References

These examples aren't meant to be replicated exactly, but they provide a general reference for the level of motion we're looking for:

[Instagram reference]
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[Instagram reference]
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Caption + Title Inspiration

[Instagram reference]
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Each client and project will have its own visual system and creative brief.

Requirements

Adobe After Effects must be your primary motion-design tool.

We're looking for someone who:

Is highly proficient in Adobe After Effects
Has experience designing specifically for short-form / 9:16 content
Has a strong understanding of typography and typographic hierarchy
Has excellent visual composition and design instincts
Understands premium, modern, editorial, and minimalist visual design
Can follow detailed creative briefs accurately
Can work within established brand guidelines
Is comfortable receiving and implementing feedback
Can take an existing concept and creatively improve it **without abandoning the original direction**
Understands how motion graphics interact with video editing
Can organize and deliver clean project/source files
Communicates clearly and proactively
Has strong time-management skills
Can consistently meet agreed-upon deadlines

Life happens, and we understand that occasionally something unexpected can affect a deadline. What matters to us is that delays are RARE and communicated proactively rather than after a deadline has already been missed.

Projects will generally look something like:

Creative brief → Assets provided → Motion design → Review/revisions → Final asset delivery

Depending on the project, final delivery may include rendered assets for our editor as well as organized After Effects project files.

For animations requiring transparency, you should be comfortable delivering appropriate formats such as ProRes 4444 with alpha.

Projects are paid per project, with pricing agreed upon before work begins.

For the right person, our goal is to build an ongoing working relationship and consistently send projects rather than hire for a single project.

Application

Please include:

1. Your portfolio or 3–5 examples of work most relevant to this position
2. Your general availability and turn around times

Please do not send only a general video-editing reel. We specifically want to see your ability as a motion designer.

Test Project

Finalists may be asked to complete a small test project based on one of our creative briefs.

The purpose of the test is to evaluate:

Your ability to follow a creative brief
Design judgment
Typography
Motion
Attention to detail
Communication
Ability to deliver within an agreed timeline

The test should be submitted **watermarked** and will not be used unless paid for.

Please only apply if you're confident that your experience and portfolio align with the requirements above.

We're looking for someone who can take strong creative direction, execute it precisely, and then use their own creative judgment to make the final result even better.