Guide

How to highlight countries and borders in a map animation

Highlighting a country is the most common thing a map video does, and the most common thing done badly. These are the options you have and when to use each.

6 min read · Updated October 8, 2026

Outline and fill

Every scene draws the outline of its place with a glow, and can fill it with a tint. Set the color, the strength of the fill and the width of the line. A thin line suits a country, and a thicker one suits a city or district.

The outline appears when the camera lands on the place, so the highlight arrives with the narration.

Show several places together

Add other places to a scene to compare them in one view. Each gets its own color and name tag, and can be revealed at a chosen moment. The camera frames all of them automatically.

Trace a shared border

A line can follow the border two places share, which is ideal for stories about where one country ends and another begins. Give it a glow so it reads clearly against the satellite image.

Color countries by data

Import a table with country names and a number, and countries are colored by the value, with a legend. Pick a palette, and animate the colors fading in or sweeping across. Names are matched to countries for you, and unmatched names are reported so you can fix them.

Fills that are pictures

A fill can be a gradient, a pattern, a picture or a short video, revealed with a wipe or a grow. Use it to fill a region with a flag, a texture or footage.

FAQ

Quick answers

Are the borders accurate?

They come from OpenStreetMap, ranked against alternatives so the right place is chosen first. Far-flung territories are left out of the frame by default.

Can I highlight a region or a city?

Yes. Places can be countries, regions, cities, districts, landmarks or bodies of water.

Can I use my own shape?

Yes. You can import your own GeoJSON shape for any scene.

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