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Adobe After Effects 6.0
Animating text quickly with the Range
Selector
You can quickly use a Range Selector with the offset
property in Adobe After Effects® 6.0 to move an
animator through text. The Range Selector specifies the
text affected by the animator at a given time and the offset
determines how the selector moves through the text.
To animate text, simply create an animator, select a
range of text and change its properties, and then add
keyframes for the offset property. After Effects moves
the selector through the text, applying the text
properties as it goes to create an effect that ripples
through the text. You can add multiple animators to
create robust effects.
2. Specify the Range Selector and enter a Position
keyframe.
In the Comp window, click-drag the triangle on the
right vertical selector line, moving it left until only the
first letter of your text is highlighted. Notice that in the
Timeline window, the End value reflects the percentage
of text that you’ve selected. Enter a y Position of -100.
The selected text moves up in the Comp window.
(Depending on the size of your composition, the first
letter may even move entirely out of frame. If this
occurs, you can reduce the position value so that the
letter is visible toward the top of the frame.)
1. Create a text layer and add an animator for
position.
Select the horizontal type tool, click it in the Comp
window and then type a word or phrase. Choose
Position from the Animate pop-up menu in the text
layer’s Switches/Mode column. Click the triangle next
to Range Selector 1 to expand its properties. You’ll
notice in the Comp window that all the text is now
contained within the vertical lines of the Range Selector.
Tutorial
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 6.0 2
Animating text quickly with the Range Selector
3. Move the animation through the text using
offset.
4. Add the Fill Color and Scale properties to the
animator.
Move the current-time indicator to 1 second and then
click the Offset stopwatch. In the Comp window, press
and hold Shift and then drag the right selector triangle
to the left. (Holding the Shift key as you drag moves the
selector as a unit to specify the offset.) Drag until the
selector closes and the selected letter drops back to its
original position. You’ll notice in the Timeline window
that the Offset value is now a negative percentage—
meaning that the offset happens outside the range of
text—so that the text appears stationary until 1 second.
Press Home to return to the beginning of the timeline.
Choose Property > Fill Color > RGB from the Add popup menu in the Switches/Modes column. You can use
the eyedropper or click the color swatch to specify a fill
color. Repeat this process to add Scale to the animator
and set the Scale to zero percent so it disappears.
Preview the animation. You’ll notice that now, as each
letter flies, it also changes color and decreases in size.
Drag the current-time indicator to 4 seconds and then
press and hold Shift and then drag the left selector
triangle to the right until the selector closes and the last
letter returns to it’s original position. As you drag, you’ll
see the range selector move through the text, changing
the position value as it goes. As the Range Selector
moves beyond the text, the text returns to its original
state. Also, notice that the Offset keyframe at 4 seconds
has a value of 100 percent. Press Home to return to the
beginning of the composition and then press the Space
Bar to preview the animation.
5. Fine-tune the animation using the Advanced
options.
Make sure the current-time indicator is at the
beginning of the timeline and then click the triangle
next to Advanced to expand it. Our current animation
is really smooth, the changes between the characters
happens gradually—as one letter comes down, the next
begins to go up. You can change the Smoothness setting
to make the letters move more distinctly. Change the
Smoothness setting to 10 percent and then preview the
animation (a low Smoothness value is often used with
Opacity to create write-on effects). Set Smoothness
back to 100 percent and then choose Round from the
Shape pop-up menu and preview your animation. Try a
different shape. You can use the Shape property to
change your animation in interesting ways.
You can also specify the type of units used by the Range
Selector. Percentage specifies units as a percentage of the
text, while Index specifies actual units of text (whether
they be characters, characters excluding spaces, words
or lines, depending on the Based On setting). If you
select Index from the Units pop-up menu, you’ll notice
that the End value for the Range Selector is now 1 unit
(or 1 character in our case).
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