# Photo grid that assembles

Edit / Edit effect / Motion and finish. Checked 2026-11-13.

Many images arrive as one composed wall, with one hero among them.

- Use when: Portfolios, case montages, product ranges.
- Phrase: a grid of photos assembles tile by tile with a small rise and fade, one tile twice the size of the rest, each photo drifting slowly
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/effect/grid-assemble
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/effect/grid-assemble.json

## Watch out

- In our teardown of 30 showreel templates the repeated signatures were staggered spring entrances and a slow drift on every photo. (practitioner; Director Chair field notes on motion graphics)

## Prompts

### Any chat model

```
Give me an edit brief: where it goes on the timeline, the exact settings, and what to check before export, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is photo grid that assembles: many images arrive as one composed wall, with one hero among them. How it works: a grid of photos assembles tile by tile with a small rise and fade, one tile twice the size of the rest, each photo drifting slowly. It is right for: portfolios, case montages, product ranges. In our teardown of 30 showreel templates the repeated signatures were staggered spring entrances and a slow drift on every photo. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing.
```

## Goes well with

- Ken Burns on a still: https://directorchair.ai/effect/ken-burns-still
- Grid of playing reels: https://directorchair.ai/effect/reel-grid-proof
- Ease, never linear: https://directorchair.ai/effect/ease-never-linear

## Source

Own words from Director Chair field notes on motion graphics

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.