Text Transitions in Premiere Pro

When it comes to creating titles and text in Adobe Premiere Pro, you may think you know all the basics - after all, who doesn't love a good old-fashioned playhead move? (You could also just move the playhead, but how boring is that?) But did you know there are some hidden controls in Premiere's Title Editor that can elevate your titling game?

By default, as soon as you create a new title in Premiere (Cmd+T), the Title Editor opens and displays a window containing the timeline frame under the Playhead ready for you to start entering type. Click and drag the timecode indicator at the top of the window to change the image displayed in the window. While you can't use it to create animated titles, this feature has some tricks up its sleeve - including features that even exceed Photoshop!

The standard text controls - font, size, alignment, and letter spacing - are all located in the toolbar at the top. The Title Editor in Premiere provides one of the most robust titling interfaces I've ever worked with.

But before you start creating your masterpiece, there are some essential rules to keep in mind:

• When creating text that you want your audience to read, be sure the text contrasts in shape, texture, color, and gray scale from the background. Even today, not all displays show the entire image.

• When creating projects for the web, keep your text inside Action Safe.

• When creating projects for broadcast or cable, keep all your text inside Title Safe.

• When creating projects for broadcast or cable, avoid fonts containing highly saturated colors or white levels greater than 100%.

• Avoid using highly curved fonts unless they are sized very large.

• Avoid using fonts with very thin bars or serifs unless they are sized very large.

• For SD video, avoid point sizes smaller than 24 points. In general, for HD fonts, avoid point sizes smaller than 20 points.

• Given the same amount of screen time, horizontal text is more readable than text at an angle or vertical.

• Hold your text on screen long enough for you to read it twice.

• Always add a drop shadow to text that you want your audience to read. If the audience can't read the text, you've picked the wrong font.

By following these rules and exploring the hidden controls in Premiere's Title Editor, you'll be well on your way to creating titles that will leave your viewers in awe.

Text transitions in premiere pro