Multiple objects do not animate with offset timing

Symptoms

If one or more of these match what you are seeing, you are on the right page.

• •All elements start their animation on the same frame
• •Offsetting one element shifts the others too
• •Text animates as a single block when per-character motion was wanted
• •The stagger runs in the wrong direction

Causes and fixes

Ordered from most to least likely. Work down the list — each cause is paired with what to do about it.

1. 1

   The keyframes are being moved as one selection.

   Multiple selected keyframes move together and preserve relative timing — which is the opposite of what you want here. Select one element’s keyframes at a time and drag, or use Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right to shift by single frames.

2. 2

   Text is in Block mode.

   Block mode treats the whole text element as one unit. Switch to Line, Word or Character mode so each unit becomes independently animatable.

3. 3

   The stagger system is not configured.

   With stagger active, Delay per Unit sets the time between successive units — the default is 50ms. Direction can be Forward, Backward, From Center, From Edges or Random.

4. 4

   The stagger envelope needs its own easing.

   The Easing Override applies a curve to the stagger timing itself, separately from the easing on each unit’s individual animation. Use it to accelerate or decelerate the cascade.

5. 5

   Character mode is slowing the composition.

   Character mode on a long string creates a great many active tracks. Use Word or Line mode where the extra granularity is not visible in the final result.

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