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authentic_Unicorn5C3E
Participant
June 2, 2021
Question

Help to create leavitating text effect

  • June 2, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 534 views

Hi, I am new to after effects and for my degree's final  project I am trying to get this specific effect on the text but I haven't succeded and only found bouncy text effect tutorials online that are not exactly this levitating/floating effect that I am looking for. 

 

PLEASE! if anyone can help this girl out and explain how I could do this I'll be so grateful! 

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2 replies

Community Expert
June 2, 2021

The text layers appear to be floating because they are at different distances from a moving camera and they also have some movement in Z so their distance from the camera is changing. When you combine the 2D background shot with a moving camera you get the floating effect.

 

The most efficient workflow depends on the shot. If it is a similar shot you might want to camera track the shot, set an origin and ground plane, then create a Solid and a Camera using the same points. You can then Shift + Parent your text layers to the reference solid, adjust their position so they are above the solid, then distribute them in X and Y. Just animate the text layer's z position slightly or add a slow wiggle expression like this to each text layer's position.

z = wiggle(.7, 40)[2];
[value[0], value[1], z]

 This will wiggle your Z position 40 pixels .7 times a second (slowly).

Warren Heaton
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 2, 2021

Create Camera Layer.

 

Create and distribute the Text Layers in the Comp, enabling the 3D Layar switch for each Text Layer.

 

Select all of the Text Layers and choose Layer > Transform > Auto-Orient... > Orient Towards Camera.

 

Keyframe the Camera Layer's rotation such that it does a subtle pan.

 

Adjust the position of the Text Layers as needed.  For the floating movement, try a Wiggle Expression.  Ryan Plummer over at School of Motion has a great blog on it: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/wiggle-expression

 

 

 

 

 

 

authentic_Unicorn5C3E
Participant
June 2, 2021

thank you so much for your helpful reply!! I was actually referring more to the text movement, where its subtly floating in the space, thats what I haven't been able to get, do you happen to know how I could mimic that effect? 

 

Thanks so much for the help! 🙂

 

Warren Heaton
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 2, 2021

Since I'm going for a "Correct Answer" here, I've expanded on the "Adjust the position of the Text Layers as needed." step in my original reply above.  🙂