Animating text quickly with the Range Selector and Offset property: Tutorial

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Animating text quickly with the Range Selector and Offset property

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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 which text is affected by the animator at a given time and the offset determines how the selector moves through the text.

To animate text, simply add an animator to the text layer, 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.

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Create a text layer and add a Position animator.

Select the horizontal type tool, click in the Composition window, and then type a word or phrase. Choose Position from the Animate pop-up menu in the text layerâ™s Switches/Mode column. Click the triangle next to Range Selector 1 to expand its properties. Youâ™ll notice in the Composition window that all the text is now contained within the vertical lines of the Range Selector.

Specify the Range Selector and enter a Position keyframe.

In the Composition window, drag the triangle on the right vertical selector line, moving it to the 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 youâ™ve selected. Enter a y Position value of -100. The selected text moves up in the Composition 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.)

Move the animation through the text using offset.

Move the current-time indicator to 1 second, and then click the Offset stopwatch. In the Composition window, hold down Shift and drag the right selector triangle to the left. (Holding down 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. Youâ™ll notice in the Timeline window that the Offset value is now a negative percentageâmeaning that the offset happens outside the range of textâso that the text appears stationary until 1 second.

Drag the current-time indicator to 4 seconds. Hold down Shift and drag the left selector triangle to the right until the selector closes and the last letter returns to itâ™s original position. As you drag, youâ™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%. Press the Home key to return to the beginning of the composition, and then press the spacebar to preview the animation.


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