expressions for styling text like a Captcha?

[Dan Ebberts]

For random upper/lower case, you could use a Source Text expression like this:

txt = "";
seedRandom(index,true);
for (i = 0; i < value.length; i++){
  txt += random(1) < .5 ? value[i].toUpperCase() : value[i].toLowerCase();
}
txt

For other properties, like rotation, you can add a Rotation Animator (and set the Rotation value to say 25 degrees), add an Expression Selector, and delete the Range Selector. Then add this expression to Expression Selector’s Amount property:

seedRandom(textIndex,true);
random(-100,100)

[Luke Jaeger]

@Dan your awesomeness knows no bounds!

I already have this in the source text expression to do random size & baseline shift:

posterizeTime(.5);
textMinSize=effect("textMinSize")("Slider")
textMaxSize=effect("textMaxSize")("Slider")
bshift=effect("baselineShift")("Slider")
for(let i = 0; i < value.length; i++){
    style = style
        .setFauxBold(parseInt(Math.random()), i, 1)
        .setFontSize(Math.random(textMinSize,textMaxSize), i, 1)
        .setBaselineShift(Math.random(-bshift,bshift), i, 1)
}

I don’t know where in that structure “setAllCaps” would go (in order to randomize the case of individual characters)

[Dan Ebberts]

Just add this to the end of the style .set commands:

.setAllCaps(Math.round(random()), i, 1)

[Luke Jaeger]

Dan you rule!

[Dan Ebberts]

You may have figured it out already, but to make the expression selectors sync up to the randomization of your posterizeTime(), you could replace the seedRandom() statement with something like this:

seedRandom(textIndex*1000 + Math.floor(time/2),true);

[Luke Jaeger]

ok here’s where we’re at so far …
right now the text effects are time-posterized to the BPM of the song.
which is fine, but I’d also like to try making the distortion & text animation change only when the source text changes.
How to do that??? (ie, recalculate the distortion & other effects at every source.text keyframe).

drive.google.com

Untitled-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter.gif

Untitled-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter.gif

[Dan Ebberts]

Try replacing your posterizeTime() statement with this:

seed = 1;
if (numKeys > 0){
	seed = nearestKey(time).index;
	if (time < nearestKey(time).time) seed--;
}
seedRandom(seed,true);

and if you’re using the Expression Selector expression, try replacing the seedRandom() statement with this:

seed = 1;
p = text.sourceText;
if (p.numKeys > 0){
	seed = p.nearestKey(time).index;
	if (time < p.nearestKey(time).time) seed--;
}
seedRandom(textIndex*1000 + seed,true);

[Luke Jaeger]

thanks Dan! the first one works great but the second one breaks. “Couldn’t turn result into numeric value”.
I wasn’t doing seedRandom for the text position, I was doing this:

myBeat=2.2166723315 ;
posterizeTime(myBeat) ;
wiggle(effect("wiggles / sec")("Slider"),effect("wiggle amount")("Slider"))

Not sure how to translate that into what you suggested.

[Dan Ebberts]

Is this for an expression selector? If so, try this:

p = text.sourceText;
t = 0;
if (p.numKeys > 0){
	n = p.nearestKey(time).index;
	if (time < p.nearestKey(time).time && (n > 1)) n--;
	t = p.key(n).time;
}
wiggle(effect("wiggles / sec")("Slider"),effect("wiggle amount")("Slider"),1.0,0.5,t)

[Luke Jaeger]

Amazing! Dan you rule.