Creative text integration in drone shots with After Effects

In this tutorial, you will learn how to insert a second text into a drone flight in Adobe After Effects. The goal is to guide the view through a specific letter of the text while the footage is in motion. We will go through the necessary steps to make your animation precise and position your text appealingly.

Key Takeaways

• Enabling the 3D switch is crucial for integrating the text into the 3D plane.
• Animating the position and rotation of the text enhances interaction with the footage.
• Creating frames and additional graphic elements can make your scene visually more appealing.

Step-by-Step Guide

First, open your project in Adobe After Effects and ensure that your drone footage is present in the composition.

Activate the text tool by clicking on the corresponding icon in the toolbar. Click into the composition and type "Welcome to". To structure the text better, you can arrange it in two lines.

When you play the timeline, you'll notice that the text doesn't interact with the flight yet. This is because the 3D switch for the text layer is not activated. Click on the option to enable the 3D switch. Now, the text should be visible in the shot and follow the camera movement.

Next, position the text where you want it. Ensure that the text remains visible as you fly through the letter "O". Move the text to the center of the frame to ensure a clean transition.

Note that the text will be pulled closer depending on how close you zoom in with the camera. You can adjust the position value until the text is the right size to achieve the fly-through effect.

To create the first keyframe, you need to click on the stopwatch, which starts the animation there. If you plan to further animate the text's position, you will now move on to rotation. To do this, press "Shift" and "R" simultaneously to display the rotation parameters. Keep the text's orientation at the current position to ensure it stays in the right place.

Now, you should adjust both the position and rotation at the starting point of the animation. Move to the left in the X direction and slightly upwards in the Y direction. Also consider the text size, which you may want to set to around 300 pixels to improve visibility during the fly-through.

Take the time to fine-tune your adjustments to ensure the text is positioned just right during the fly-through. If the image size and text position don't align, repeat the steps until you are satisfied with the result.

Next, add a colored shape as a frame around your text. Go to "Layer" > "New" > "Solid". Choose a suitable color and set the opacity to around 75%. Enable the 3D switch for this color layer so it behaves like the text.

With the positioning and alignment adjustment of the colored shape you have just made, based on the text's values, you ensure that the colored shape behaves parallel to your text, regardless of where the camera is positioned.

Now select the rounded rectangle tool to give the text frame a formatting adjustment. Drag with the mouse to shape the frame as desired. Make sure it matches the color area and the text and sits in the right place.

Then add an effect: "Effects" > "Generate" > "Outline" and select mask 1. Make sure the paint style is set to transparent so that only the outer frame remains visible. Change the color of the outline, if you wish, for example to black.

To give the text frame the finishing touch, you can add small lines on each side of the text. To do this, select the pen tool and simply draw additional lines to round out the visual design.

After you have placed all elements, check your animation by flying through time. Make sure the transition works and each element behaves as desired. You can also add a new adjustment layer to perform color corrections and give your entire project the desired contrast.

Summary

In this tutorial, you have learned how to securely integrate text into a drone shot and focus on an appealing visual presentation. You have learned basic techniques for positioning and animating text that will help you achieve impressive results in After Effects.