Learn Mapimator

A — Global Header

• Logo & Beta tag — Indicates the current software version.
• Omni-Search (center) — Type a city (e.g. "Paris"), select from the dropdown, and the map pans and zooms to that location automatically.
• AI Director — Purple button. Opens a dialog to generate scenes from a plain-language description.
• Template Wizard — Blue button. Step-by-step builder for Travel Stories.
• Export Video — Large white button. Disabled while rendering is in progress.
• Settings — Choose format (Reels 1080×1920, Landscape 1920×1080, Square 1080×1080) and framerate (30 or 60 FPS).

B — 3D Stage (Main Map)

• Left-click + drag — Pan across the map.
• Right-click + drag / Ctrl + drag — Orbit and pitch the camera for 3D depth.
• Scroll wheel — Zoom in and out.
• Map Preview (bottom-left) — Click to open style and projection controls.
• Projections — Toggle between Globe (spherical) and Mercator (flat).
• Styles — Satellite, Voyager, Positron (Light), Dark Matter, OpenFreeMap (Terrain).

C — Quick-Add Toolbar

Floating above the stage. Every tool adds content at the current center of your view.

D — Storyboard (Bottom Panel)

Your animation is a sequence of Slides. Each slide is a camera keyframe.

• Rename — Click the label at the top of any card to rename it.
• Easing icon — Controls camera speed between slides (see Camera & Easing section).
• Retake View — Found in the "…" menu. Syncs the slide to your current map position.
• Transition timing pill — The "X.Xs" pill between cards. Click to type a custom duration.

How slides work

Each slide stores a complete camera state: position (latitude/longitude), zoom level, pitch (tilt), and bearing (rotation). The animation smoothly interpolates between consecutive slides over the duration you set.

Retake View

Navigate the map to exactly the position you want, then open the "…" menu on a slide card and click Retake View. This overwrites that slide's stored camera state with whatever is currently on screen.

Transition timing

The pill between two cards controls how long the camera takes to travel between them. Click it and type any value in seconds. Short durations (1–2s) feel like jump cuts. Longer durations (5–10s) feel like cinematic fly-overs.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Space — Toggle play/pause preview
• Delete / Backspace — Remove selected slide or sticker
• Right-click drag — Pitch the map for 3D depth

Flight

Draws a smooth arc between two points, simulating a plane route. Great for intercontinental or long-distance travel.

Driving

Fetches real road geometry from the OSRM routing engine. The path follows actual streets and highways. Moving a handle re-fetches the route automatically.

Direct

A straight line between two points. Useful for borders, sight lines, or any connection that doesn't follow roads or arcs.

Using the Magic Wand

1. Zoom out to show the region you want (e.g. Western Europe).
2. Click the Magic Wand in the Quick-Add Toolbar. Your cursor changes to a crosshair.
3. Hover over a country — it glows purple to show it's selectable.
4. Click to add it as a permanent Region sticker.
5. Zoom in further to select individual US states or Canadian provinces instead of whole countries.

Using the Region tool

Click the Region tool (globe icon) to open an alphabetical list of every country in the world. Click any country to add it as a highlighted region without needing to navigate the map first.

Once added, select the region sticker and use the color and opacity controls to style it. Combine a 50% opacity Region Highlight with an Image Sticker (your logo) for a professional corporate look.

Pins

• Bubble — Text label inside a rounded bubble. Good for city names.
• Standard Pin — Classic teardrop marker.
• Dot — Minimal circle. Good for dense maps with many locations.
• Marker — Larger, more prominent icon.

Images

Upload any image from your computer (PNG, JPG, SVG). The image is placed at the center of your current view and anchored to that coordinate. Use this for logos, photos, or custom icons. Resize and reposition after placing.

Shapes

• Line — A simple straight line.
• Arrow — A line with a directional arrowhead.
• Circle — Highlight a circular area.
• Rectangle — Box selection or callout.

All shapes support dashed line styles and custom colors.

GeoJSON import

GeoJSON is an open standard for encoding geographic data. You can upload a .geojson file directly into the Studio to animate custom paths, country boundaries, district outlines, or flight corridors.

1. Click the data import button in the toolbar.
2. Select your .geojson file.
3. The geometry is placed on the map as an editable layer.

Location search

Use the Omni-Search bar at the top of the Studio to navigate to any city, landmark, or address worldwide. The search uses geocoding to pan and zoom the map to your chosen location instantly — no manual coordinate entry required.

Phase 1 — Prewarming (0–30%)

The camera silently jumps through every frame of your animation to force the map engine to download and cache all tiles, buildings, and labels. This eliminates gray boxes or blurry textures that would otherwise appear in the final video.

Phase 2 — Rendering (30–100%)

The Studio captures high-resolution frame snapshots one by one and sends them to the encoder, which produces a high-quality MP4. When complete, your browser automatically downloads the file as map-animation-[timestamp].mp4.