Welcome to Day 22 of your Adobe Premiere Pro course! Today, we will focus on one of the most crucial aspects of video editing: adding and customizing text layers. Text is essential for communicating information in a video, whether it’s for titles, subtitles, or on-screen graphics like lower-thirds.
Table of Contents:
- Understanding Text in Premiere Pro
- Adding and Customizing Text Layers
- Using Text Animations and Presets
- Common Mistakes to Avoid When Working with Text
- Assignment: Create and Animate a Lower-Third Title
- Previous Lesson: Day 21 – Introduction to Motion Graphics
- Next Lesson: Day 23 – Advanced Text and Title Techniques
Understanding Text in Premiere Pro
Text elements play an integral role in video production, providing viewers with essential information. In Premiere Pro, text is created using Text Layers, which allow you to place titles, captions, subtitles, or any other type of text over your video.
Text layers can be fully customized with different fonts, sizes, colors, and animations, giving your project a professional look. Additionally, Premiere Pro offers text animation presets to create dynamic movement for text elements, perfect for animated titles or lower-thirds.
Adding and Customizing Text Layers
Step 1: Creating a Text Layer
- Select the Type Tool (T) from the toolbar or press T on your keyboard.
- Click directly on the Program Monitor to create a text layer at the point in your timeline where the playhead is positioned.
- A text box will appear on the screen. You can now type the text you want to display, such as a title or name.
Step 2: Customizing Text Properties
Once your text layer is created, it’s time to customize it to match your project’s style.
- Open the Essential Graphics panel by navigating to Window > Essential Graphics if it’s not already open.
- With your text layer selected, go to the Edit tab in the Essential Graphics panel.
- Here, you can customize:
- Font: Choose from a variety of fonts installed on your system or sync new fonts from Adobe Fonts.
- Size: Adjust the size of the text to fit your composition.
- Color: Use the color picker to choose a text color that stands out against your video background.
- Alignment: Use alignment tools to center or justify the text.
Step 3: Positioning Text in the Frame
- You can click and drag the text directly on the Program Monitor to move it to the desired position. Alternatively, use the Position controls in the Effect Controls panel for precise placement.
- For titles, you’ll generally position the text in the center of the frame, while lower-thirds are placed at the bottom third of the screen.
- You can use Safe Margins to ensure that your text remains inside the visible area for all screen sizes. Turn on Safe Margins by going to the wrench icon in the Program Monitor and selecting Safe Margins.
Using Text Animations and Presets
Animating text can make your titles more engaging and professional. Premiere Pro comes with a variety of built-in text animation presets that you can apply to add movement and style to your text layers.
Step 1: Applying Built-In Text Animation Presets
- Select your text layer in the timeline.
- Navigate to the Effects panel and search for the Effects category.
- Scroll through the available text animation presets, such as Fade In or Slide In.
- Drag and drop the desired preset onto the text layer in your timeline. The animation will be applied, and you can adjust its timing by trimming or extending the length of the text layer.
Step 2: Customizing Text Animations
If you want to create custom animations for your text, you can manually adjust the movement using keyframes.
- In the Effect Controls panel, locate the Text Motion section, which includes properties like Position, Scale, Opacity, and Rotation.
- Click the Stopwatch icon next to the property you want to animate (e.g., Position).
- Move the playhead to another point in the timeline and adjust the property (e.g., move the text to a new position). This will create a second keyframe and animate the text between the two keyframes.
- You can adjust the timing of the animation by moving the keyframes closer together (for faster animation) or farther apart (for slower animation).
- To create smoother animations, right-click on the keyframes and select Ease In or Ease Out for more natural movement.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Working with Text
- Overcrowding the screen with text: Ensure your text is clear, concise, and doesn’t overwhelm the visuals. Keep on-screen text minimal, using bullet points or short phrases.
- Using illegible fonts: Choose fonts that are easy to read, even on small screens. Avoid overly decorative fonts for important information.
- Poor color contrast: Ensure there’s sufficient contrast between the text and the background. Light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background works best.
- Mismatching text style and tone: Ensure that the font style and animations match the overall tone of your video. For example, use professional, clean fonts for business videos and playful fonts for more casual content.
Assignment: Create and Animate a Lower-Third Title
For this assignment, you will create a lower-third title and apply custom text animations to it. Lower-thirds are commonly used to display names, titles, or additional information while the video plays.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Create a New Text Layer:
- Use the Type Tool (T) to add text in the lower-third area of the screen (bottom left or right). Enter relevant information, such as a person’s name or a video title.
- Customize the Text:
- Go to the Essential Graphics panel and adjust the font, size, color, and alignment of the text to fit your video’s style.
- Add a Background (Optional):
- Add a rectangle or other shape behind the text using the Shape Tool in the Essential Graphics panel. This can help the text stand out against the video.
- Animate the Lower-Third:
- In the Effect Controls panel, set keyframes for the Position of the text and background shape. For example, animate the lower-third to slide in from the left and fade out after a few seconds.
- Customize the timing by adjusting keyframes, and use Ease In/Out for smooth transitions.
- Preview and Adjust:
- Play back the animation and make any necessary adjustments to the timing, movement, or appearance.
By completing this assignment, you will have a professional-looking lower-third title with smooth animations that you can use in future projects.
Previous Lesson: Day 21 – Introduction to Motion Graphics
Next Lesson: Day 23 – Advanced Text and Title Techniques
Today’s lesson introduced you to the basics of working with text and titles in Premiere Pro. By learning how to create and customize text layers, apply animations, and work with lower-thirds, you now have a valuable skill set for enhancing your videos with professional on-screen graphics.
In the next lesson, we’ll explore advanced text and title techniques, including creating complex animations and using Adobe After Effects to elevate your motion graphics. Keep practicing, and don’t forget to experiment with different fonts, colors, and animations to find the perfect style for your projects!
