After Effects ~ Text | Workshop

In this workshop we experimented with moving texts through After Effects and also we experimented with Cinema 4D.

To start off we created a text layer on After Effects and experimented with the colours of it. This included adding a gradient to it and also adding a border along the text.

We then duplicated the layer a few times and made it move in and out of frame in a flying motion. We added a few effects in order to make the transition smooth and it turned out really well. This was useful to learn as I am now able to create moving texts which can help me with other units.

We then started to experiment with the Cinema 4D software. The same sort of technique and tools were applied when using this software, however it helped make our text look more advanced.

Firstly, we started off with our text and from there we experimented with the thickness, the font type, the size and also the different type of styles that were available. Then we found that there are four different screens within this program, and each screens are very helpful. The main screen in the top left shows your product in 3D, the other screens shows your product in 2D form.

 

As we developed our text, we were then able to add lights. This gave our text a more professional look and also it made it look like it was actually shot in a studio with real lights. When adding the lights, the four different screens were very useful, as they all enabled the lights to move in different directions. This meant that we knew where the lights were, how far away from the text they were and also how wide they were.

Fergus then told us how to give it a certain effect, and we placed the metal effect on our text. This obviously gave our text a metallic look, but also it worked really nicely against the lights. Once we did that we had to adjust the lights and make sure they were lighting up the text nicely, evenly and most importantly, the way we wanted to be lit up.

To start the text moving, we added a camera onto the workspace. With the 4 different screens we were able to see what the camera saw, as well as seeing the position of the camera itself. We then learnt how to set a key frame at the beginning and end in order to make it move.

This workshop was really useful as it will help me with other units in the future. I'm not the editor for this current project, but in the next unit I will probably be using a lot of text, so it was great to find out how to animate it.