scrolling text on a gradient
by Mike Johnson
on
May 8, 2008 at 7:36:36 pm
I don't know why this is so hard for me. I'm sure I'm missing something really obvious, as is often the case.
I have a list of names (think closing credits) that are scrolling from bottom to top. There is a bit of vertical space in between each name (font size=32, leading=80). What I'm trying to get is for them to start a dark grey and then get whiter as they approach center, then go back to grey.
Seemingly simple, I thought. What's happening is that the color shift is jumping versus a gradual shift. I've tried this in numerous ways, layer style gradient over the text, over a solid with the text as a track matte, you name it.
Is this something I need an expression to change the color value as it gets closer to the center position and then again as it gets farther away?
Re: scrolling text on a gradient by Dave LaRonde on May 8, 2008 at 7:58:17 pm
If you're using, say, the Ramp effect on a solid to create the change from gray to white and back again, you simply need to precompose the solid layer with the effect. Then it'll work properly.
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: scrolling text on a gradient by Mike Johnson on May 9, 2008 at 11:50:36 am
That did the trick. My issue had something to do with using the Layer style>gradient overlay. I wanted the "reflective" setting of black to white to black. For whatever reason, even precomping the solid with the layer style would give me the popping that I was trying to avoid.
My solution (from your advice) was to make two solids with ramps going in opposite directions (again, black-white-black) and precomp them. I set my scrolling text (also a precomp) as the track matte for my Ramp precomp. Bingo!
What's odd (at least to me) is that when I went into the Ramp precomp, I added a solid and applied the reflective gradient Layer Style to it. I turned off the two solids with ramps. Guess what? It still worked fine.
Is there something I'm missing about pre-comping layer styles?
Thanks for the help,
Mike
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