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Moving text with images
I am a very novice Final Cut Pro version 7 user. I work for a nonprofit organization and am trying to create a video version of our Donor Wall. In the past, we have just printed lists of our top donors on a poster board to display at our annual meeting, but we decided to try something different for this year’s meeting. We would like to create a movie to be shown on a projector that looks as if one is watching scenery pass by through a train window, but with each new scene that passes by, a different donor’s name is displayed. The idea is for the names to move with the scenery, with each name in the center of the screen for about 5 seconds.
I have already figured out how to put footage or images behind a green-screen train window. Which of the following would be the simplest, least time-consuming way to create the desired effect?
1) Use FCP’s built-in text module to add scrolling text to a background image or movie. (I haven’t yet been able to figure out how to make text move–a recommendation for a good tutorial on this would be appreciated.)
2) Use FCP’s built-in text module to create a series of static text blocks, one for each donor’s name.
3) Use a photo editor to superimpose text on a series of photos and import these photos into FCP.Is there an existing FCP module that achieves the desired effect that I could simply download and edit the text?
I greatly appreciate any advice you may have. Thanks!
– Malcolm
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2 Replies
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I would not try to generate a scroll and pause it before moving on…that will get very complicated very quickly.
For me, i would create a different text clip for each individual name. Then place the text above the scenery layer and below the train window (this will keep the text outside the window). You can trim the text clip so its not running for the duration of the project if its not visible…this way you can have multiple text files on the same video layer, one after the other.
Then i would double click the text to open in the viewer and use keyframes to manually fly the text in from one side to the centre point, then out the other side. Do this on the Motion tab/Center.
Once you have got the timing right, you might want to add motion blur (but don’t do this until everything else is right as it will take a lot of rendering ( i happen to like using 16 samples and 50% its a bit more believable than the default setting).
Im sure others will have different methods, but thats a pretty foolproof and simple way to achieve the effect.
adam
Adam Taylor
Video Editor/Audio Mixer/ Compositor/Motion GFX/Barista
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UKhttp://www.sculptedbliss.co.uk
My YouTube Animations Page -
My preference for this would be to export the project to Apple Motion, which was designed for just this kind of work. The independent 3-d camera available in Motion makes this kind of shot look even better, because you can actually compose the window, text, and backdrop layers in the z-depth axis, and create the subtle depth cues of focus controlled depth of field and motion blur that “sell” the illusion. Also, saving the motion project, makes the thing easy to update if and when you want to change donor names or add more.
As far as where you generate your text, if you don;t use Apple Motion for this, FCP7 also came with a decent titler by Boris Effects, or you could compose the text in photoshop and export it with an alpha channel for easy layering. Build this project in high def first, then down-scale it as needed.
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