This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:19:05
The video tutorial by Jordan from Motion Array provides comprehensive guidance on creating a realistic iPhone text message effect using Adobe After Effects. The primary themes include designing auto-scaling text bubbles, animating them to simulate real text notifications, and integrating these elements seamlessly within video footage through 3D tracking.
Key steps covered include using After Effects tools to create and customize text bubbles, ensuring they match authentic styles using reference colors and fonts (like San Francisco), and employing scripts to automate the scaling of text boxes with text changes. The tutorial emphasizes organizing layers and employing pre-compositions to manage multiple text elements efficiently.
Animation techniques are also explored, such as having text bubbles rise slightly and increase in opacity to mimic real notifications, achieved through keyframe adjustments and parenting multiple layers to a single null object for cohesive movement. The video underscores the importance of fine-tuning details like anchor point alignment and adding padding around text bubbles for a polished look.
Furthermore, the tutorial explains how to track and align text bubbles with moving footage by using motion tracking techniques, ensuring that the text appears correctly on a moving phone screen. The inclusion of context and sound effects is suggested to enhance the scene's realism. Overall, the video concludes by offering an alternative template for expedited results and a call to engage with the channel for more content.
00:00:00
In this part of the video, Jordan from Motion Array guides viewers on creating an iPhone text message effect using Adobe After Effects. He explains the importance of this effect in media and outlines the steps he’ll cover, including creating the text bubble, making it auto-scaling, animating it to look realistic, and 3D tracking it. He also mentions the availability of templates on Motion Array for quicker results.
To start, he suggests screen recording a text conversation to serve as a reference or even to use directly for a realistic effect. Moving into After Effects, he walks through creating a new composition at 3840 by 2160 pixels, importing a reference image, and forming the text bubble using the rounded rectangle tool. He emphasizes keeping the layers organized, adjusting opacity for better visibility, and fine-tuning the bubble’s shape and color to match the reference image.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, the presenter walks through making adjustments to a rectangle in an editing software. They demonstrate how to modify the width and height independently by deselecting the constrain proportions icon and adjusting the size parameters. They explain the importance of using the roundness parameter to achieve the desired corner look and how to match the rectangle’s color by using an eyedropper tool and referencing a specific color code (1989ff).
Next, the presenter shows how to add text to the created shape by using the type tool, ensuring the use of the correct font (San Francisco) for an authentic look. They provide a visual comparison to confirm the font match and offer a downloadable link for the font.
Lastly, the presenter explains how to make the text bubble auto-scale with the text by using a provided script. They guide viewers through the process of accessing the correct settings (contents, rectangle path, size) and inputting the script to enable auto-scaling, simplifying what could be a complex task.
00:06:00
In this part of the video, the narrator explains how to correct an error in a script related to the text layer in a project. They instruct viewers to change the placeholder name “my text layer” to match the exact name of the text layer by copying it directly. They also emphasize the importance of placing the position parameter correctly under “contents” and not under “transform”. After pasting a second script and adjusting the name again, the text layer auto-scales properly. However, the text box appears too tight around the text, so they add an “offset paths” feature to create padding. Lastly, to fine-tune the text box width, they suggest adjusting the scale settings.
00:09:00
In this part of the video, the presenter demonstrates how to create an auto-scaling iPhone text bubble that adjusts automatically to text changes, including new lines and paragraph adjustments. They explain how to pre-compose text and text bubble elements to streamline the process for multiple pieces of text, ensuring each piece can be independently modified. They also address potential issues with anchor point alignment and show how to center the anchor point on the text bubble for proper scaling. Finally, they highlight the importance of building out the entire text conversation in a still image format before animating, providing tips on setting text color for different conversation participants.
00:12:00
In this part of the video, the speaker explains how to animate text bubbles to appear onscreen, mimicking text message notifications. They highlight that text bubbles typically rise slightly and increase in opacity from 0 to 100%. Instead of adjusting individual text layers, the speaker suggests creating a new null object and parenting all text layers to it. This allows simultaneous movement. Keyframe positions and opacity are adjusted to create the effect of text bubbles appearing smoothly. The process includes setting initial positions, moving forward several frames, adjusting vertical positions, and easing keyframes for smoother transitions. The practical steps show a simple yet effective way to animate text bubbles.
00:15:00
In this part of the video, the creator explains how to reveal lines of text sequentially using opacity keyframes and showcases the end result. They then discuss adding context and sound effects to enhance the realism of receiving text messages in scenes. The segment proceeds to demonstrate how to track text to align with a moving phone in footage by pre-composing the text layer and using a null object for motion tracking. The method includes placing a tracking dot on a high-contrast area, setting the tracking parameters, and assigning the null object as the tracking target. After analyzing and applying the tracking data, the null object follows the motion accurately.
00:18:00
In this part of the video, the speaker explains how to reactivate the tracking sequence by going to the first frame and parenting the text message sequence to a null object. The speaker demonstrates that even though the motion is hard to see, turning off the footage layer reveals the locking motion directly to the phone. They conclude by mentioning an alternative template to save time and wrapping up with a call to like, subscribe, and click the bell icon for future content.