How to Hide the Video Control Bar in Rise 360

Sometimes a video in Rise isn’t really meant to be a “video” at all. It’s a motion graphic, a branded transition, or a little visual moment that should play cleanly in the flow of the lesson—without a scrub bar sitting across the bottom.

How to Hide the Default Video Control Bar in Articulate Rise and Unlock More Creative Freedom

That’s where Mighty’s video control option comes in. With one Mighty Mod, you can repurpose a standard Rise video block into something that feels more like an embedded motion graphic than a media player.

The problem this solves#

Articulate Rise 360’s video block is great when learners need to watch, pause, rewind, or review a clip. The default control bar makes perfect sense for instructional video, interviews, software demos, and anything where learner control matters.

But there are plenty of moments where that control bar gets in the way:

• A looping brand animation near the top of a lesson
• A short motion graphic
• A visual transition between sections
• A quick ambient video used to add energy or context
• A full-width design moment where the scrub bar breaks the illusion

In those cases, you may not want the video to announce itself as a video player. You want it to feel like part of the page design.

Native Rise doesn’t give you a simple setting to hide the default video control bar. Mighty adds that option so you can keep using the familiar Rise video block while changing how it behaves visually.

What you’ll build#

In the video walkthrough, John uses a course with a fun athletic brand and a video block that functions more like a motion graphic than a learner-controlled video.

The goal is simple:

• Hide the default video controls
• Autoplay the video when it scrolls into view
• Optionally make the video full width for a bigger motion-graphic feel

The end result is a standard Rise video block that plays smoothly inside the lesson without the scrub bar appearing at the bottom.

👉 Check out the full course in MC’s Really Good Rise Courses space!

How to hide video controls in a Rise video block#

This workflow starts with a video block already added to your Rise lesson. If you’re following along in your own course, choose a short video or motion graphic where learner controls are not essential.

1. Open your Rise course in the editor.
2. Go to the lesson that contains the video block you want to customize.
3. Select the video block.
4. Open the Mighty options for that block.
5. Under Mighty Mods, turn on the option to hide the video controls.

This removes the control bar that normally appears at the bottom of the Rise video block while it plays.

That one change already makes the block feel cleaner, especially if the video is decorative, atmospheric, or designed as part of the visual system of the course.

Add autoplay for a seamless motion-graphic effect#

Hiding the controls is only half the effect. In the walkthrough, the next step is to make the video autoplay as soon as it comes into view.

Here’s the workflow:

1. With the same video block selected, stay in the Mighty options.
2. Turn on autoplay for the video.
3. Preview the Rise lesson.
4. Scroll down to the video block to check that it autoplays.

When the video enters the learner’s view, it should start playing automatically. Because the controls are hidden, there’s no scrub bar competing with the motion graphic.

That combination—hidden controls plus autoplay—is what creates the more seamless feel. The learner scrolls, the motion starts, and the block behaves like part of the page rather than a separate media object.

Make it full width for a bigger design moment#

Once the controls are hidden, the video block can become much more than a standard embedded video.

In the walkthrough, John points out that the block starts at a more medium width. That’s totally fine for many course layouts, but if you want a stronger motion-graphic effect, you can change the block to full width.

1. Select the video block.
2. Adjust the block width from the current medium-style layout to full width.
3. Preview the lesson again.

At full width, the video feels more like a designed section of the course. With autoplay enabled and the scrub bar removed, it can act as a visual break, a branded banner, or a high-energy transition between content areas.

This is especially useful when your stakeholders want the course to feel more polished or campaign-like, but you’re still building inside Rise and need to move quickly.

When to use this technique#

This Mighty Mod works best when the video is supporting the experience rather than carrying required instructional content.

Good candidates include:

• Short motion graphics
• Brand or campaign animations
• Section openers
• Decorative background-style videos
• Visual transitions
• Short clips that don’t require pausing or replaying

For example, in an onboarding course, you might use a short culture-focused motion graphic at the start of a lesson. In a product training course, you might use a full-width animation to introduce a new feature. In a sales enablement course, you might use a quick branded visual before a scenario or knowledge check.

The key is that the learner shouldn’t need the control bar to understand or complete the learning experience.

When not to hide the controls#

This is worth saying clearly: if the video contains important spoken instruction, required information, or content learners may need to review, think carefully before removing the controls.

Learners often need to pause, replay, or scrub back through instructional media. That’s especially true when:

• The video includes narration
• The video demonstrates a process
• The video contains compliance or policy information
• The learner may need more time to process the content
• The video is being used as the primary teaching element

In those cases, the standard Rise control bar is doing a useful job. Removing it may make the design cleaner, but it can also make the experience less usable.

A good rule of thumb: if the video is content, keep controls available. If the video is design, hiding the controls can make the course feel much more intentional.

Accessibility and learner control note#

Autoplay and hidden controls can be powerful design choices, but they should be used with care.

If the motion is decorative, keep it short and avoid anything overly distracting. If the video includes meaningful audio or information, provide an alternative way for learners to access that content. And if your organization has strict accessibility requirements around motion, autoplay, or media controls, check those first.

Mighty gives you the creative option, but your judgment is still the most important when it comes to instructional design.

Why this matters for Rise designers#

Rise is excellent for speed and structure. But when every media block looks and behaves the same way, courses can start to feel a little too familiar—especially when you’re working inside a strong brand system.

This technique gives you another design move without leaving Rise or rebuilding the experience somewhere else.

You can keep the practical benefits of a Rise video block while making it behave more like a lightweight motion-graphic element. No custom code. No complicated workaround. Just a cleaner presentation for the moments where the default player UI isn’t helping.

And because it’s handled through Mighty, you’re not asking your team to maintain a fragile one-off solution. You’re applying a focused customization directly where you’re already building.

👉 For more video hacks and custom video interactions, check out Mighty Studio.