Re: Highlighting text

Maverick wrote on 4/2/2003, 3:15 PM

Hi all

Whenever I have exhausted my own resorces the wonderful people here always come up trumps so I have another query.

I have a particular picture (png) which I have overlayed the main video. This is a diagram with certain areas labelled. As the lecturer mentions each particular area I would like the text (which is already part of the graphic) to be highlighted in some way but just briefly - maybe a small glow or similar. I could do this with my own generated text but how would I go about doing this on a graphic where the text already exists.

All help greatly appreaciated.

cheers

Comments

vicmilt wrote on 4/2/2003, 3:59 PM

There is probably a more elegant way to proceed than this, but I'm a "brute force" kind of a guy.
Here's the way I'd proceed.
1. Dupe the png as many times as there are titles, in a graphic editing program (Photoshop, etc).
2. In Photoshop (or whatever you have), erase everything except one title. DO NOT RESIZE. Now you will have a master file (720x480)and (let's say)5 more files 720x480 each with the appropriate title IN THE EXACT POSTION YOU NEED. Since you are starting with a png with alpha, you are practically done.
3. Layer each of the appropriate titles to flash, where you need them on the timeline. I'd cut the size of the title to about 1 second (experiment needed).
I'd use the Light Rays effect, starting with zero effect, give about a 10 frame "flare-up" in strength to what you like, ,a "hold" for 10 frames, and a 10 frame "flare-down" back to zero. Play around to get what you like.

Paul_Holmes wrote on 4/2/2003, 4:00 PM

You could use a glow fx (perhaps white soft) on your png and keyframe it to glow, then fade. If your png is on a track above your main track the fx will only be seen on the lettering if the rest is transparent.

Maverick wrote on 4/2/2003, 4:05 PM

Nice ideas and better than my original thought of draw an elipse around the text and making that glow for a few frames.

Cheers

JJKizak wrote on 4/2/2003, 6:01 PM

There is anothe way. Take all of the text out of the picture then recreate
it on the text media generator, set on top with another video track the length
of the picture so that the text then appears on the picture. Copy & paste the text
to the video track on top of the original text then shrink up the length then
change the text to the first word or phrase to highlight and the color you wish
to use and then with the cursor on that piece of text(so you can see it on the monitor) move the word horizontally to mesh up with the original text and with
the opacity on each track at 100% the first word will be highlited. Continue
copy and pasting until last word is highlighted. You will end up with a whole
bunch of small length copy and pastes on top of the main original long text.
Its faster than keyframing as I am not too good at it.

JJK

Tyler.Durden wrote on 4/2/2003, 6:23 PM

Hi Mav,

Fast and easy...

You might use a rectangular color gradient on a track above to darken the surrounding areas (center tranparent, surround semi-black; you can even add a light border by adding more control points & changing the colors.

Fading the gradient in appears as though the background dims around the area of interest.

HTH, MPH

Maverick wrote on 4/3/2003, 8:50 AM

HI All

Thanks for all the replies.

I have opted to add a video track for each title I want to highlight (after deleting the texts from the original graphic) then using keyframes on the generated media to add high-lights from black to yellow and back again with some feathering and it works a treat.

Wonderful