Guide · Updated
How to make a text message story video
Step by step: turn a conversation into an animated text-message or group-chat video for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Text message stories work because viewers read along. The trick is pacing: each message should appear just after the viewer finishes the last one, with typing dots building suspense in between.
You do not film anything. You type both sides of the conversation, and the chat plays itself out on a phone screen. The whole thing takes a few minutes.
1. Choose the chat style
Open the Blue text messages or Green chat template, or any of the other chats styles: Gradient DMs DMs, Yellow snap chat, Community chat, Sky-blue chat, Bubble gradient chat, Private chat, Material text messages, Workspace chat, Dating chat – Flame and more. Set the contact name, the contact photo and the theme.
The style you pick changes more than the color of a bubble. Blue and green bubbles suggest different phones. A dating app says the conversation is with a stranger. A work chat says the stakes are different. Pick the app your character would really be using.
2. Write the conversation
In the Content tab, press + Me or + Them to add a message, and drag the handle to reorder. Each message has its own options: a timestamp, a receipt (none, sent, delivered or read), a reaction, a quoted reply, a sender name and avatar for group chats, and an edited label. Which of those appear depends on the app you chose.
You can also add an Image message with a caption, a Divider such as "Today" to jump forward in time, and a System line for things like a missed call. Sample loads a demo conversation to work from, and Clear empties the list. Both ask a second time before replacing your work.
Short messages read faster, so split long ones in two. A conversation of eight to fourteen messages fits comfortably in a 30 to 45 second video.
3. Set the timing
In the Motion tab, set the Speed between 0.5x and 2.5x. Turn on the Typing indicator so the other person's dots appear before each of their messages, and Type my messages so your own side is typed into the input bar first. Already visible at start lets the chat open with the first few messages in place, which saves a couple of seconds at the top. Hold at end keeps the last message on screen for up to eight seconds so viewers can finish reading.
Messages can enter with a Pop, a Slide or a Fade, and the whole screen can have its own entrance.
4. Make the phone look right
- Set the status bar time and battery to match the moment in the story. 3 a.m. and 4 per cent tell their own story.
- Choose the frame: a flat screenshot, a rounded screen or a full device bezel, with an island, a notch or no cutout.
- Pick the phone width, from compact 360 to extra large 480, and the screen size in the Style tab, from a small 667 phone up to a 1180 tablet.
- Use read receipts for tension. A message left on "Read" says more than a reply.
- Match light or dark mode to how your character would use their phone.
- For group chats, give each message a sender name and an avatar.
5. Export for your platform
Choose 9:16 and export MP4 at 1080p, 30 fps. Chat text is mostly still between messages, so 60 fps adds render time without adding much. Then add music, a hook and sound effects in your editor or in the TikTok or Instagram app.
Pacing that keeps viewers watching
- Open with the most surprising message, not with "hey".
- Keep most messages under ten words, and use typing dots before a reveal.
- Let one message sit alone for a beat. Raise the delay on the message after it.
- End on a cliffhanger, then continue the story in a part two.
Common mistakes
- Too many messages. If viewers cannot read a message before the next one lands, they leave. Cut the conversation, do not speed it up.
- No pause before the punchline. The reveal needs a gap in front of it.
- A wall of text in one bubble. Real people send short messages. Split them.
- Forgetting the end hold. Without it, the video cuts the instant the last message lands.
- Mismatched details. A green group chat drawn with blue text-message bubbles pulls people out of the story.
Questions people ask
Can I add a voiceover or sound?
Not here. gizzMotion exports a silent video. Add the voice, music and message sounds in your editor or in the app you post from.
Can I make a group chat?
Yes. Add a sender name and avatar to each message from a different person. Several apps also give the name its own color.
Can I put the chat over my own video?
Yes. Set the background to None in the Style tab and export a MOV, or a WebM for CapCut, then place it on a track above your footage.
Are the messages stored anywhere?
Only in your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
Use it responsibly
Mockup conversations are great for skits, stories and explainers. Never present them as real messages to deceive anyone, do not put words in a real person's mouth, and label the video as a dramatisation when it could be mistaken for real. App names and interface styles belong to their owners.