🎥
YouTube Storytelling
Drop text-conversation cutaways into storytime videos, drama recaps and commentary. The chat unfolds on screen in real time.
After Effects Extension
ChitChat
Realistic chat conversations for After Effects.
An After Effects plugin that builds text-message conversations on the fly. No templates. Type your script, hit Generate, and ChitChat builds the entire animated conversation as a native, fully-layered AE comp.
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✦ 7-day free trial
ChitChat comes with Filmit Studio, along with our whole suite of plugins, effects, transitions, overlays, and courses, plus everything new we ship. It's all included!
Included with Filmit Studio
M
Max online
iMessage
WhatsApp
Discord
Snap
Telegram
iMessage
Watch the Demo
See ChitChat in Action
A full walkthrough, from a plain-text script to a fully animated, layered After Effects comp.
Not a Template
Build the flow. Hit Generate.
ChitChat is a chat-flow generator, not a preset project you fight with. Add messages with bubbles right in the panel, or type the whole thing as a plain-text script. Then hit Generate and ChitChat builds the entire comp inside After Effects, one editable layer per message, and a live preview of the result.
Name: message · *typing* · [pause 2s] Generate Comp
Generate
Preview
Hey, you around?
Yeah what's up
Can we talk?
01 · John · "Hey, you around?"
02 · Sarah · "Yeah what's up"
03 · Typing indicator
04 · John · "Can we talk?"
05 · Scroll · center-frame
The Problem
Fake chat conversations shouldn't take hours.
If you've ever recreated a text conversation in After Effects, you know how painful it is. Templates get you one look and then fight you the moment the script changes.
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Screenshot Stacking
Real screenshots, cropped, masked and arranged frame by frame. No animation, no timing control, and it reads obviously fake on screen.
✓ ChitChat: type the script, get pixel-accurate app styling automatically
🎨
Hand-built Bubbles
Drawing message bubbles with shape layers, text layers and expressions. One conversation eats an hour, and changing a line means rebuilding it.
✓ ChitChat: edit the script, regenerate, done in seconds
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Rigid Templates
A locked template gives you one style and a mess of nested precomps. Want a different app, a new message, a pause? Start over.
✓ ChitChat: 18 styles, unlimited messages, no template to unpick
Features
A whole conversation, built for you.
Script parser, 18 chat styles, typing, pauses, reactions and media — all generated as native, editable After Effects layers.
Script-to-Comp Generator
Write the conversation as plain text — Name: message per line — and ChitChat parses it into a full comp. No template, no manual layout.
18 Chat Styles
iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Android, Telegram, Snapchat, Tinder, Nokia, Discord, Slack, VS Code, Terminal, Pager, Her, Thriller, Cinematic, plus a fully custom style.
Typing & Timed Pauses
Drop *typing* and [pause 2s] into your script and ChitChat bakes animated typing bubbles and beats of silence into the timeline.
Reactions & Read Receipts
Tapback reactions, read receipts, timestamps and per-speaker names — each built as its own precomp you can restyle after generating.
Media, GIFs & Voice Notes
Attach images, GIFs, video precomps and voice-note bubbles with waveforms. Per-speaker profile photos on both sides of the chat.
Native, Layered AE Output
Every message is a real After Effects layer with keyframes and a center-frame auto-scroll. Nudge timing, swap fonts, restyle colors — it's your comp.
The Styles
18 chat styles. One script.
Switch style at any time and the whole conversation re-skins instantly — from a perfect iMessage thread to a scrolling terminal or a cinematic on-screen text.
iMessage
WhatsApp
Instagram
Messenger
Android
Telegram
Snapchat
Tinder
Nokia
Discord
Slack
VS Code
Terminal
Pager
Her
Thriller
Cinematic
Custom
Reveal Animations
Eight ways to reveal a message.
Every message animates on with the preset you choose — from a springy pop to a cinematic word-fade. Here's each one, live, looping right on the page.
Nice one 🔥
Nice one 🔥
Nice one 🔥
Slide Up
Nice one 🔥
Typing this out
Nice one 🔥
Word fade
Deep Dive
Look closer.
From choosing a style to a fully animated, scrolling conversation.
18 Styles
Every chat, one re-skin away.
Pick from 18 pixel-matched styles. Each one nails the colors, fonts, bubble shapes and layout of the real thing. Switch style and the whole thread re-skins — non-destructive, no rebuild.
- iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Android, Telegram
- Snapchat, Tinder, Nokia retro SMS + a custom builder
- Discord, Slack, VS Code, Terminal and Pager text mediums
- Her, Thriller and Cinematic on-screen text looks
Style Presets
iMessage✓
WhatsApp✓
Discord✓
Terminal✓
Nokia✓
Her✓
Two ways in
Build with bubbles, or type a script.
You don't have to write anything. Add messages with bubbles right in the panel — pick the speaker, drop in media, add a reaction — and watch the preview build. Prefer to type? Paste a plain-text script and ChitChat parses it. Either way, hit Generate and it rebuilds instantly.
- Visual bubble builder — no script required
- Or script it:
Name: message, one line each *typing*and[pause 2s]add typing and beats- Emoji, media and reactions either way
Script
Hey, are you free tonight?
Yeah! What's the plan?
Movie marathon 🍿
Count me in! 🎬
Use Cases
Built for creators who tell stories.
YouTube, social, tutorials, product demos — anywhere a conversation drives the story.
📱
Social Media Content
Make scroll-stopping chat clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts. Animated message reveals keep viewers watching to the last line.
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Tutorials & Courses
Show UX flows, demo how an app works, or build scenario-based training with realistic conversation mockups in minutes.
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Film & Narrative
On-screen texting for short films and narrative pieces. Cinematic and Her styles turn a chat into part of the frame, not a UI overlay.
Setup
First conversation in under 2 minutes.
Four steps from install to a fully animated chat inside After Effects.
1
Download Filmit Studio
Install the Filmit Studio desktop app. It installs and updates ChitChat for you.
2
Open After Effects
Launch AE. ChitChat appears under Window → Extensions. Open the panel.
3
Build the Flow
Add messages with bubbles or type a script, pick a style, drop in typing and pauses.
4
Hit Generate
ChitChat builds the whole comp — layered messages, typing, reactions and scroll, ready to render.
FAQ
Common Questions
Everything you need to know about ChitChat.
No. ChitChat is a generator. You build the conversation in the panel — add messages with bubbles, or type a plain-text script — then hit Generate and it builds the entire animated chat as a brand-new, fully-layered After Effects comp, every message its own layer with keyframes. There's no template project to open, unpick or fight with. Change the flow and regenerate as many times as you like.
18 styles: iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Android, Telegram, Snapchat, Tinder and Nokia on the phone side; Discord, Slack, VS Code, Terminal and Pager as text mediums; Her, Thriller and Cinematic for on-screen text; plus a fully custom style you can colour and font yourself. Switch style at any time and the whole conversation re-skins.
ChitChat is an After Effects plugin — it builds native After Effects comps. If you edit in Premiere Pro, you can bring the finished conversation across with Dynamic Link, but the conversation itself is generated and lives in After Effects.
No. You can build the whole conversation visually — add a message bubble, pick who's speaking, drop in media or a reaction, and it appears in the preview. Scripting is just a faster option if you prefer typing: one line per message as Name: message, with *typing* for a typing bubble and [pause 2s] to hold a beat. Use whichever you like; both end at the same Generate button.
Yes — that's the point. The output is a normal After Effects comp. Every message, typing indicator and reaction is a real layer with keyframes, so you can nudge timing, swap fonts, restyle colours, add effects or drop in your own media. ChitChat gives you the whole build; you own it from there.
Yes. ChitChat is included with your Filmit Studio subscription at $20/month, along with every other Filmit tool, overlay and course. No extra cost.