Creating a Text Generator Effect

RED has a Generator tab for text that lets you generate random text or numbers. You can lock each letter or number in position regardless of changes made to neighboring characters. A typical example would be a timecode or numerical countdown or a text scramble. In this exercise you will create a random text effect. The text will appear randomly scrambled, then it will reveal itself in an animated wave-like effect to be a familiar phrase.

The Type On tab in RED features a new Always Visible checkbox. The Type On feature applies transformations progressively to text characters. In the existing implementation, characters would progressively appear or disappear from the frame. Selecting the Always Visible checkbox makes characters remain visible while the transformations are progressively applied. One way to think of this effect is like “the wave” that crowds perform at football stadiums; the transformation appears to pass through the page of text. The animatable Type On parameter behaves as the center of the wave when this checkbox is enabled.

Also available in Graffiti 3 are two new text features: Creating Text and Creating the Text Scramble

Creating Text
1. Launch the RED Engine and choose File > New Project to create a new effect.
2. Set the duration of the effect to two seconds by typing 00:00:02:00 into the Duration field in the Timeline window and pressing Return (Macintosh) or Enter (Windows).
3. Choose Color for the source media for the bottom track and set the color to black.
4. Press the Media icon for the top track and choose Text for the source media.
5. The Text window appears. Click in the window and type some text. The following examples show the phrase “the quick brown fox jumped over the fence.” However, you can use any text that you like.
6. Select the text and make any adjustments to the font, text color, shadow and fill properties. The examples in this exercise use the font Andale Mono at 68 points. but you can use any font and size that you like. Monospaced fonts work best for this exercise.
7. When the text appears the way that you want, click Update and close the Text window.

Creating the Text Scramble
1. In the timeline window, click the Track Selector button in the Controls window to expand the text track and select the nested Face track.
2. Select the first keyframe in the nested Face track. The selected keyframe turns red.
3. Click the Generator tab in the Controls window.
4. Make sure that the Generator Type menu is set to User Text. User Text allows you to type a phrase into the Text window for this effect.
5. Set Letter Variation to 14 with Ease In/Out interpolation. When you adjust Letter Variation, each ASCII character value offsets by a certain amount. When Letter Variation is 0, no variation occurs.
6. Choose Right to Left from the Progress Order menu. Choosing this option will type the text on from right to left.
7. Set the interpolation for Progress to Ease In/Out. Leave Progress set to 100. The Progress parameter allows you to control which characters change.

When you finish, your Generator tab should look like the following example.

8. Move the CTI to 00:00:01:20 in the timeline. Make sure no keyframes are selected. Selected keyframes are red.
9. Set Letter Variation to 100 with Hold interpolation. A new keyframe is automatically created in the timeline. Set Progress to 0 with Hold interpolation.
10. Preview the animation. The text now unscrambles to reveal your final text.

Time 00:00:00:00	Time 00:00:01:00	Time 00:00:01:20

Creating the Type-on Effect
1. Select the first keyframe in the nested Face track.
2. Click the Type On tab in the Controls window.
3. Set Text Type On to 0 with Ease In/Out interpolation. Text Type On adjusts the percentage of the text that is visible in each frame.
4. Select the Always Visible checkbox. Selecting the Always Visible checkbox forces characters to remain visible while the transformations are progressively applied.
5. Set Reveal Time to 1565, Fade to 34, Shift Y to -25, Scale X to 143, Scale Y to 415 and Rotate to 4 degrees. These parameters transform the letters as they reveal themselves. You only see their affects while Progress and Text Type On are animating.

When you finish, your Type On tab should look like the following example.

6. Select the keyframe at Time 00:00:01:20 in the timeline.
7. Set Text Type On to 100 with Hold interpolation.
8. Play the effect. The words reveal themselves in a wave-like effect.

Time 00:00:00:00	Time 00:00:01:00	Time 00:00:01:20

9. To see how the Always Visible checkbox affects the text, select the first keyframe in the nested Face track. In the Type On tab in the Controls window, deselect the Always Visible checkbox. Play the effect and notice how the effect changes; you cannot see all the letters until they finish animating.

Time 00:00:00:00	Time 00:00:01:00	Time 00:00:01:20

10. Select the Always Visible checkbox and complete the steps in the following section.

Adding Jitter to the Animation
Now you will randomize the Hue of the text that you created.
1. Select the first keyframe in the nested Face track.
2. Click the Jitter tab in the Controls window.
3. Set Jitter Hue to 100 with Ease In/Out interpolation.
4. Select the keyframe at Time 00:00:01:20 in the timeline.
5. Set Jitter to 0 with Hold interpolation.
6. Play the effect. The words reveal themselves in a wave-like effect.

Time 00:00:00:00	Time 00:00:01:00	Time 00:00:01:20

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