Simple text overlay - but how?

lnanne wrote on 10/19/2009, 9:50 PM
I am totally new to creating videos and struggling to learn watching YouTube and other websites. But I can't find how to do a simple 5 line text fade in, one line at a time with no fade out on any of the lines. So...
Line 1 text (comes in about 2 seconds in fading in)
Line 2 text (comes in 2 seconds later fading in)
Line 3 text (comes in 2 seconds after that fading in) etc.

I used keyframes with each new line added at the 2 second key frame intervals but I can't seem to lock the position of the previous lines (so they are moving all over the place). Not even sure this is the best way to do this (I know I could probably do multiple tracks but with only 4(?) I can't do 5 lines or more. What am I missing?!! Thank you! Ellen

Comments

Sonata wrote on 10/20/2009, 6:18 AM
There are multiple ways to do this. I have successfully done what you are trying to do, but your mileage may vary. I also clearly understand your issue with the text not staying in place and moving all around.

The idea of keyframes and adding text makes the most sense, but I have never been able to get that to work, either. This is what you would use for typewriter text, for example, but it's difficult because everything seems to move around unless you play with text justification and placement until your head hurts.

The way I do things like this to have multiple events along the same track, so Event 1 would be text Line 1. Then Event 2 would be Line 1 and Line 2 of text, Event 3 would be Lines 1, 2, & 3, etc. So, you aren't adding text during one event with keyframes, rather you have multiple events along the timeline.

However, you mentioned text *fading in*, which complicates things; I don't think you can fade in different lines with keyframes anyway, as fade affects the entire event, not elements within the event?

This may seem like extra work, but it could do the job: Put each line of text on its own track. You only have four tracks available, so do four lines of text, render those tracks into its own .AVI file, then bring that .AVI file into your project, this having a new event on one track with four lines of text fading in, then put your 5th line on another track. Now you have 5 lines of text fading in but only using two tracks!

There may be other ways of doing this, but I can't think of any right now.
Chienworks wrote on 10/20/2009, 7:50 AM
Should be easy enough to do with one track only.

Create a 4-second text event with the first line of text. Place it on a track and have a 2 second fade in. Create another 4-second text event with both lines 1 and 2, and have it overlap the first event by 2 seconds. Repeat with 3 more events, containing lines 123, 1234, and 12345 respectively. As time moves to each new event it will crossfade. Since the preceding lines are still in the new event you won't see any change, but the additional line in each event will fade in.

As long as you create each event with the text aligned top-left, existing lines shouldn't move at all from one event to the next. In fact, after creating the first event simply copy / "paste new copy" to create the 2nd, then copy that and "paste new copy" to create the 3rd, and so on. This will ensure that each new event has the same properties as the preceding one.

Use track-motion on the whole track to position the text where you want it, or use pan crop on the first one then copy and "paste event attributes" to the other 4 events.
lnanne wrote on 10/20/2009, 7:49 PM
Great suggestions - I shall play around with those - THANK YOU for replying!
lawyerboy wrote on 10/26/2009, 8:26 PM
hi im a newbe at all this but love making moives.
are you talking about puting words on a clip? like in documenterys where at the bottom of the screen the have who the person is and what they do?
cuz i have been trying to figure that out.
MSmart wrote on 10/27/2009, 12:31 AM
@lawyerboy....

Check out the Text and Backdrop Tutorials found VMS. Help > Show Me How...
richard-amirault wrote on 10/27/2009, 3:43 AM
I do this all the time.

START with a text box with ALL the lines (the end box if you will) Adjust the box for the length of time you want each line to appear. Position the text on screen where you want it to be. It does not matter if you are left, center or right aligned .. just so you are happy with the position on screen for the final box.

DUPLICATE enough boxes to equal the number of lines.

Start with the first box and remove the text from the lower lines, but LEAVE THE LINE FEEDS. This is important as it will keep each line in the same place on the screen as the previous box.

Continue for each box leavng one extra line each time 'till the end box. The end box you can make longer to leave the text on-screen for as long as you want.

For the "fading in" effect just overlap each box and do a crossfade.
richard-amirault wrote on 10/28/2009, 3:21 PM
Thats OK .. but I don't think that it is the same effect that the original poster was trying for.

I've made a quick demo to illustrate my method and results.

richard-amirault wrote on 10/28/2009, 5:54 PM
Screw you BS. I'll be sure to buy a cheesy background and a sound track next time. Didn't know you were the definative expert on this sort of stuff.

Never said I was.

Silly me thought it was a melting pot of ideas and methods for people to share and explore for the betterment of everyone here. I threw that together to help share a single simple method that might be of some help to the poster.

All I said was your method was OK but I didn't think it was the effect the original poster was looking for.

I wasn't looking for self grandeur, as apparently you were.

What gave you that idea? The animated background and the music track maybe?

Let me be the first to congatulate you and say 'Nice job, well done, never seen better, you da man.'

Maybe you should go back and read my previous post ... where I replied: "I do this all the time." That means that I have experience doing what the original poster was trying to do .. not that I'm an "expert"

That animated segment was from a previous Vegas project of mine. It was not created for the demo. For the demo I created a black & white text box for the begining ... took a screen shot of the timeline .. enlarged and panned it .. then ran the pre-existing segment.