Tickers & marquees
Also searched as: news ticker, marquee, stock ticker, split-flap display, crawl
Canonical Definition
A ticker or marquee is a continuous, horizontally or perspective-scrolling strip of textual data, stock metrics, or headlines designed to convey steady information flow.
Continuous loop (20-60 frames per phrase cycle)
Linear (for infinite crawl) or stepped/spring (for split-flap flips)
Unlike static cards or lower thirds, tickers rely on continuous linear velocity. They evoke financial exchanges, breaking newsrooms, and transit terminals.
In programmatic video, tickers allow streaming hundreds of data points (financial gains, customer testimonials, product updates) without requiring individual composition cuts.
Mechanical Split-Flap Displays
Simulating physical departure boards with flip physics and foley audio
Split-flap boards animate each character position independently with physical upper/lower tile flips. They deliver immense tactile satisfaction and suspense as words resolve.
How this works: Individual alphanumeric tiles flip rapidly around a central horizontal axis until settling on the target message.
- Simulated 3D perspective fold on the upper flap
- Cascading letter resolution timing
- Pairs seamlessly with mechanical audio click foley
Perspective & Infinite Scrollers
Angled 3D typographic rails that extend into the z-plane
By applying CSS 3D perspective transforms, an ordinary text crawl transforms into a dynamic architectural horizon.
How this works: Infinite looping text rail tilted in 3D space with continuous seamless repetition.
- Seamless modulo arithmetic for continuous loop without frame skips
- CSS rotateX and rotateY perspective projection
- Configurable linear travel velocity
Engineering Guidelines & Common Pitfalls
Best Practices (What to do)
- Use monospace or tabular figure fonts for financial tickers to avoid jitter as numbers fluctuate.
- Pair with a subtle gradient mask at screen edges so text appears from and fades into shadows.
Common Failure Modes (What to avoid)
- Setting the crawl speed too fast: text must move at a speed that allows reading without motion sickness.
- Frame stutter: marquees must increment positions by clean integer or sub-pixel values to avoid visual jitter.
Working catalog implementations
Typed Remotion components ready to drop into code.
News Ticker
Premium broadcast-style lower-third ticker with live label, headline ribbon, and scrolling news crawl.
Perspective Marquee
A 3D tilted marquee with depth feel as items roll toward the horizon.
Split-Flap Board
Solari-style departure board: every cell walks its drum forward through the intervening characters of a fixed alphabet until it lands on its target, so the text resolves as a mechanical cascade instead of a fade.
Ticker Takeover
A mono ticker rolls through options, locks on a final word with an accent flash, and promotes it into a full-frame headline.
Build tickers & marquees in Animatiq
Prompt our motion agent in natural language. Get back typed Remotion React code with custom easing curves, brand palettes, and frame-accurate timing.
Related motion principles
Kinetic typography
Kinetic typography is the expressive animation of text itself — words and glyphs that move, scale, shear, or morph in rhythm with narrative meaning rather than merely labelling a shot.
Content & VisualizationCharts & metrics
Data storytelling is the animated revelation of charts, metric count-ups, and graphs in sequential narrative order, guiding the viewer from premise to statistical conclusion.