Working with Text and Graphics, Heredity, Motion Blur

Content of the lesson:

Working with Text and Graphics

This program is widely used in the area of floating graphics and text. Now we are going to try to create a trial text. The simplest way is to click the �Horizontal Type Tool� tool if we have a composition created.

Horizontal Type Tool

Then click into the �Composition� panel by this tool and write the text you want. We can edit the text we have written by �Character� panel that is in the right part of the working environment of the program.

Working with text

The text can also be inserted manually by adding the text layer on the timeline � click the right button in the area of the timeline and choose �New� and then �Text� in the menu that appears.

Adding the text via the context menu

Demonstration of the Work with Text

You can see the work with text where the motion of the text in more directions is combined in this demonstration. Blur effect is used during appearing of the text and the blurring by motion mode is active as well. A so called �camera� (an object on the timeline) has been used in this case to create an imaginary motion because we move a camera. But this is a more advanced technique and we are going to speak about it in the later unit.

Preset Effects for a Text

To use the preset settings is the simplest way to gain interesting effects of a text. These presets are made available after clicking the menu in �Effects & Presets� panel and choosing �Browse Presets...�. The Adobe Bridge opens and there we choose �Text� file and there another file according to which effect we want. When the effect for the text has been chosen, mark the appropriate tape representing the written text on the timeline and double click the chosen item in Adobe Bridge. Another way is to take the effect (item) in Adobe Bridge and move it by the mouse (the right button) onto the tape on the timeline. We can see the changes in the setting of the tape with the text if we unroll the small arrow. We find out that different settings have been made, key frames have been added and other possibilities of setting.

Developing presetting for the text

Adobe Bridge

Preset application in After Effects

Let`s take the preset effects as a tool. We can create such an effect on our own as everything is about setting the tape with the text. As we can see in the picture there is the setting for the text and setting to transform the layer. It is also possible to add other items, just try and set. And using the preset we can see what happens and changes in the setting and also to adjust it if necessary.

Setting

Demonstration of the Work with Preset Effects for a Text

There are several examples of preset effects for a text that have been used from Adobe Bridge in the above mentioned way.

Task

Create your own text and try different preset effects.

Heredity

This ability of the program makes our work really easy and we will see it in the next example where we want to make the writing the logo next to move.

Heredity 01

Heredity 02

In the picture we can see three layers. Two of them are text layers and the third one is a picture (logo). If a simple animation of one of the layers is made (we have made a vertical movement), this effect appears only in this layer. But if we want to animate e.g. logo (as in our case), we have to set each layer separately. And that is why we use heredity and tell the other layers to inherit from the layer we choose. In the next picture then you can see the way it is done. Either we unroll the �Parent� item and choose so called parents (the layer from that the others will inherit) or we click the screw and keeping the right mouse button pressed move to the layer which we want to inherit from and release.

Heredity 03

Heredity 04

Video Demonstration of Heredity

Motion Blur

This is another easy thing. It is done by clicking a button that activates this effect and in each separate layer as well. If we make the text moving by setting (in our example the motion was horizontal only), we can see that the faster the text moves (the closer the key frames are to one another) the bigger the impression of the movement is. This difference can also be seen in the video demonstrations.

Where the blurring by motion effect is activated

Final difference

Video Demonstration of Blurring by Motion

Questions

1. What can the work with a text and graphics in AE be used for?
2. Show a way of an interesting text animation.
3. What is heredity?
4. Demonstrate heredity in practice.
5. What is motion blur?