Generate a Volumetric Light Effect on Animated Text
In this tutorial, we're going to use BCC Rays Cartoon in Apple Final Cut Pro to generate a volumetric lighting effect on an animated text element. The BCC Rays Cartoon filter will also give the text the appearance of being made of neon lights. We'll complete the effect by using the BCC Light Sweep to add a light sweep across the face of the text element and then we'll use the BCC Colorize Glow filter to provide a soft glowing look. Click on any of the images to see a full resolution version.
Launch Final Cut Pro and generate a text element:
Create a text layer with the letters BCC typed out in upper case
Set the Font to Denmark
Set the Size to 218 points
The default font color is white, which is perfect for this project
Set the Alignment to center
In the timeline, drag the handle at the end of the text layer until the layer is 5 seconds long
Because we want the text to animate from the center, we'll need to move the anchor point from the bottom of the text to the middle:
Select the motion tab and twirl down the Basic Motion group
Set the Center to 0, 75
Set the Anchor Point to 0, -75
Now we'll animate the text:
Make sure the CTI is at the start of the timeline
Click the Insert Keyframe button
Set the scale parameter to 0
Move to frame 6
Set the scale parameter value to 110
Move to frame 8
Set the scale parameter value to 90
Move to the end of the text clip
Set the scale parameter value to 400
Move back 4 frames
Set the scale parameter value to 90
Hit the spacebar to preview
The text now zooms in from the distance, with a slight bounce, remains static until it nears the end of the timeline, and then zooms forward past the camera. So now that we have the text set and animated, let's add some eye candy.
Highlight the text track in the timeline and select Sequence > Nest Item(s)
A window appears allowing you to name your nested item
Control-click the nested item in the timeline and choose 'Open in Viewer' from the shortcut menu
Move the CTI to the middle of the nested item in the timeline
Apply the Rays Cartoon filter to the text by twirling open the BCC5 Lights folder in the Effects tab and dragging BCC Rays Cartoon onto the nested clip in the timeline
In the Filters tab, set the 'Cartoon From' pop-up to alpha
Set the Line Thickness parameter to a value of 25
Set the Intensity parameter to a value of 100
Set the Ray Length parameter to a value of 50
Set the Ray Style pop-up to fat
By default, the look is a fiery red-orange gradient, but we're going to change it to a blue gradient:
Click on the Color Preset pop-up and select the 'blues' gradient preset
Now we'll animate the rays so that they move across the text horizontally:
Move the CTI to the start of the timeline
Click the Insert Keyframe button on the Light Source parameter and set the values to -500, 0
Move the CTI to the last frame of the nested item, add a new keyframe for the Light Source parameter and set the values to 500, 0
Render the sequence to see the effect so far
Next we'll add the BCC Light Sweep:
Move the CTI to the center of the timeline
Add the BCC Light Sweep filter to the nested item
Set the Light Center parameter to a value of 0, -300
Set the Intensity parameter to a value of 165
Set the Ambient Follow parameter to a value of 100
Move the CTI to the beginning of the timeline
Add a keyframe for the Light Center parameter
Move the CTI to the end of the nested item
Add another keyframe for the Light Center parameter and change the values to 0, 300
Render the sequence to see the effect so far
Now, to complete the effect, we'll add the BCC Colorize Glow:
Twirl open the BCC5 Effects folder in the Effects tab and drag the BCC Colorize Glow filter onto the nested item
Set the Blur Amount parameter to a value of 4
Set the Spread parameter to a value of 100
Set the Intensity parameter to a value of 150
Click on the gradient preset pop-up and select the preset 'blueGlow' from the list that appears
Render the sequence
So now we have created an animated title effect using only a raw text element and a few filters from the 180 + arsenal of filters in the BCC 5 package. The BCC filters can be downloaded from the Boris FX web site at www.borisfx.com/downloads/. The trial version will render without watermark for a period of 14 days, after which they will render with a watermark across the image. Trial versions of the product can be unlocked by purchasing a key from Boris FX.
Your Account
