Overlaying 3D Text Tutorial

Overlaying 3D Text Tutorial

Scenario: "Our competitor won the account. Their presentation had scrolling text in 3-D. I think that's what clinched it."

You force back the first twenty responses that spring to mind. Instead, you just say, "really?"

Your boss nods. "Add something in 3D to our next presentation," he says. "I'm going out to play golf!"

MainActor Sequencer allows you to create three dimensional animated text and insert it into your project. In this scenario we will briefly describe how to modify a 3d animated text clip.

Because there is an awful lot you can do with 3d text, this scenario will give you only a general idea on how to create and insert 3d text into a project. We suggest you experiment with this tool yourself to get a good idea of the capabilities of this option.

  1. Open MainActor Sequencer.

    RESULT: The Profile Window appears.

    tutorial-profile window.gif

  2. Click Accept.

    RESULT: The Profile Window closes.

  3. From the Button Bar, click the Insert 3D Text Object button.

    btn_insert_3d_text.gif

    RESULT: the 3D Text Configuration Window appears.

    wnd_3dtext_config.gif

    NOTE: The 3D Text Configuration Window is split into five sections. The top of the window has the animation field, which takes you to a dialog that will allow you to specify the typeface, size and message that will be rendered in 3d. The bottom of the window has the Accept, Cancel and Help buttons. Accept will create the 3d text based on the settings in this window. Cancel will close the 3D Text Configuration Window without applying any of the settings. Help will open a help screen that you can refer to if you need more information on any of the tools here.

  4. Click the very left button in the 6 cubes toolbar wnd_3d_6cubes_tab.gif, if it is not there by default.

    RESULT: The preview will show the text from the front perspective.

    wnd_3d_preview.gif

  5. Now click the second icon in the 6 cubes toolbar wnd_3d_6cubes_tab2.gif .

    RESULT: The preview area will show the text from an overhead perspective.

    wnd_3d_preview2.gif

    NOTE: the shading menu wnd_3d_shading.gif allows you tol change the type of rendering used on the preview display. You can choose between viewing the text as a wireframe or from 3 different types of 3d shading.

  6. Under the “animation” tab you can configure the textpath.Click this btn_add_point.gif button to add another point to the animation path. Now, move the “MA” to the upper left corner as shown below:

    tutorial_3dtext_path1.gif

  7. Now choose "Point 1", and move "MA" to the upper right corner:

    tutorial_3dtext_path2.gif

    You can also choose a textpath from the animation menu: tutorial_3dtext_animenu.gif

  8. To generate a preview just click on the play button in the preview window. After finishing your 3D settings you only need to click the “accept” button to load the text into the timeline.