Type Animation Style

[Team Castle]

Any After Effects gurus out there? I am looking to duplicate the animation style of the type in the video below. It happens in the first 7 second of the video. The first letter starts moving then the second and so on. As the type comes to a stop in the center of the screen, the letters return to their normal spacing. Same animation when leaving, first letter starts to leave first, then the second, and so on. Does someone know how to do this, step by step, or provide an example AE file that can replicate the style? I have searched the forums and YouTube without the effect style or how to reproduce it, thank you! Please don't reply with a simple sentence to add a tracking animator, typewriter effect, or animate letter by letter. I am looking for a detailed answer, appreciate your time.

Video:

Looping Dynamic Background animation After Effects Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATPNytywDa4

[Rick Gerard]

Same answer as before. I don't have a specific tutorial but this can be done with a tracking animator and position animation. The look depends on the setup and the keyframe interpolation. The graph editor would be key. It would also be easier if you used 3 text layers. Animate the position first, then add the tracking animators and get those to work. I picked random, but as I look closely at the open, it is not random. Simple left-justified text with a tracking animator.

[Team Castle]

Rick, I really appreciate your answer. No doubt you know what you are talking about, I rememeber you from previous help that you have provided me. However it can be frusterating at times to read, "simply add this"or "get those to work" or "It would also be easier if you used 3 text layers" ...so please show me. Please remember I am here because I don't know how to do it. If it's simple, a quick screen recording could easly show me it can be done. Show me an example of doing it a better way with 3 text layers so I can learn and become better. A quick answer doesn't really help me. I have a very specific question, which I am spending the time to ask for the help. If it was easy, there would be 100 tuts on YouTube on how to do. Couldn't find one, link one here if you know of one. If you can provide an example of it working like the video, I can learn from it or do it myself. However, looking at your last screenshot, it is not working like the video. Your letters moved from the back, not the front. Also, the other comment did not have it working the right way either.

[Andrew Yoole]

As Rick says,  a combination of text animators and then an overall position animation will do the trick.  Here's a small sample project with the basics in place, you can tweak it to the way you want it from  there.  You could certainly do a more elegant job by seperating the three lines into seperate layers, but this version gives the general vibe in a more simplistic way.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gt6zh8vkmb9vee1/Text%20demo.aep?dl=0

[Team Castle]

Thank you Andrew for taking the time to reproduce an AE file, I am going to look at it in depth, attempt to reproduce it myself, and get back to you. I noticed in your comp layer you have line anchors, tracking amount, two different range selectors, and start all have keyframes...never would have guessed this combo wihout looking at an example, so thank you again. I understand how Rick thought this was a simple animation, however, a bit more detailed than adding a simple animator... or perhaps knowing what to do with that animtor. And after searching through the Adobe forum and YouTube and not finding a single example or tutorial, kinda made me think this wasn't a simple animation. Or if it's easy, it should be quick to create an AE file, as you have here, or do a quick screen record and demonstate the proper way, as I have come here to learn the proper steps of replicating an exact animation. The two comments on my previous post didn't end up correct, so it's not basic or simple....no other way to look at it. Also, if you do find a tut on YouTube of this style of animation, please send it my way.

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

Never said it was just adding a single animator. Here's the project file I created closely reproducing the movement. There are text layers, one text animator for tracking, a few position keyframes.

The workflow is as follows:

     1.  Line up the text layers / make them 3D and position a camera to get the shot you want.   

     2. Add position keyframes to move the from the right edge of the frame to the hero position, rest, then move left

     3. Open up the graph editor and adjust the speed of each text layer so that the top layer arrives first then the others follow

     4. Add a tracking animator to each text layer, set keyframes for start and tracking amount to get the expansion you like

Fine-tune the acceleration and timing using the speed graph and graph editor or just press F9 to easy ease the tracking animators. The whole project took me about as long as it did to create this post. Another 10 minutes and I could have nearly perfectly matched the original animation.  I even dropped a screencap movie I used for reference in my reply so you can add it to the project file.

If you want to match the timing and look of the sample video you'll need to make a screen capture video of the first 3 seconds of the video and use that as a guide. There was no magic or anything more complicated than a little manipulation of the speed graph and a few keyframes for tracking and position in the sample video. 

Personally, I'm not very impressed by the design. I probably would have used a bounce and overshoot expression for position and probably brought the text in one letter at a time instead of just fiddling with tracking.

[Team Castle]

This is great, I really do appreciate you taking the time to put a project file together. I’ve been able to break down the layers and keyframes to see how everything fits together. Looking at the range selectors and tracking amount, along with the speed graph, I was able to get a much better idea of how the animation was created. I am going to experiment with adding some overshoot with the position of the text. If I wanted to add some more flair to the animation, how would I animate the letters one at a time, as you mentioned? Bringing in the letters one at a time has been something I’ve been looking to do, as I thought this video incorporated the opposite effect since the letters didn’t arrive first to last but rather separate at the back of the word. I’m familiar where the letters appear one by one, similar to a typewriter. Also, where the letters move in a vertical position, but unfamiliar on how to animate the letters one at a time horizontally, minus me keyframing each letter of every word. Thank you again.