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Let's focus on creating a title for this short commercial.
Check it out.
"The fighters are ready, and you can be too. Tickets are now on sale for the February 24th
fight night at the UNF arena."
Okay, I'm going to back up to an earlier version of this sequence, and show you how to build
a new title from scratch.
If you are moving back and forth between multiple sequences, Media Composer will keep a list
of recent sequences in the upper right corner of the composer window.
So, I'll choose a version of my sequence that doesn't have any titles.
To create a title, navigate to the tools menu and choose Title Tool Application.
A dialogue box will appear with two choices.
You can choose either Marquee or Title Tool.
This particular lesson focuses on using the Title Tool, which has a lower learning curve
than the Marquee Title Tool.
Okay, when the title tool launches it will show you a preview frame from wherever your
position indicator is park within a sequence.
If you move your position indicator to a different frame within the sequence, and click back
onto the title tool window, the preview frame will update.
By default the text tool will already be active for you.
Click in the canvas area and type the words tickets available.
Then click on the selection tool.
Notice that the text now becomes an object.
Then you can re-position the text object anywhere within the canvas area.
If you have a text object selected, you can also adjust the font, and size of text.
Also notice there are now eight small pins surrounding the text object.
These pins affect the word wrap of the text.
They also affect the justification of the text within the object box.
So if you want your text centered within the object box, click on the centered justification
button.
By default when creating a title in Media Composer, it will default to only showing
you one video field of the title, and the text will have a jagged look to it.
You can fix this by navigating to the object menu and choosing preview.
Also, as a general rule of thumb I recommend that you always add a one pixel edge to your
text object.
To do this, make sure you re-select your text object.
Then, navigate to the lower left corner of the tool area, and click on the border width
tool.
Choose a one pixel edge.
A one pixel black edge will help separate your text object from the background video.
You can also add a drop shadow to your text object.
To do this, drag on this shadow depth direction box in the direction that you would like for
a drop shadow.
To soften the drop shadow, navigate to the object menu and choose Soften Shadow.
You can specify a value from 0 to 40.
Now, it's also possible to adjust the size or font of an individual character within
your text object.
However, to do this you must click back onto the text tool.
Then highlight the character that you would like to change and then adjust the size or
font.
Now in doing so, the spacing or kerning between individual letters may be to far apart.
To fix this, place the blinking line cursor between the two letters and hold down the
alt key.
Then use the left or right arrows on your keyboard to move the letters close together
or further apart.
Okay, when you're finished, click back onto the selection tool, so the text becomes an
object again.
To center your text object horizontally navigate to the alignment menu and choose center to
alignment horizontally.
Okay, fantastic.
Now you have the basics of creating a text object.
And don't forget, GeniusDV also offers classroom and flat rate onsite Avid Media Composer training.