This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to perform text tracking in Adobe Premiere Pro.
In this tutorial, we will explore how to perform text tracking in Adobe Premiere Pro. Text tracking allows you to create dynamic text that follows moving subjects in your video, enhancing the visual storytelling of your project. Whether you want to add a company name, a speech bubble, or any other text element, this guide will walk you through the process step by step.
To begin, ensure you have Adobe Premiere Pro open and ready to use. For this tutorial, we will use a video clip downloaded from the Pixels website. You can find similar clips online or use your own footage.
Importing Your Video Clip
- Open Adobe Premiere Pro.
- Drag and drop your video clip into the project panel.
- Move the video clip onto the timeline for editing.
Now that your video is in the timeline, we can create the text that will track a moving subject.
Creating Text
- Select the text tool from the toolbar.
- Click inside the video player and type your desired text. For this example, we will use “DCP web” as a placeholder.
- Highlight the text and navigate to the Effects Controls panel.
- Under the text options, choose a font that is bold and easy to read, such as Impact.
- Set the text colour to white and add a black stroke for better visibility. Adjust the stroke size to around 8.
Positioning the Text
- After typing your text, press the Enter key to create a blank space underneath.
- Insert open and closed brackets with some spacing in between. This will help us track the text later.
- Center align the text to ensure it looks neat.
- Adjust the font size to around 72 for visibility.
Next, we will track the text to follow a moving subject in the video.
Preparing for Tracking
- Drag the text layer in the timeline to the beginning of the video clip and stretch it to match the duration of the clip.
- Play through the video to find a subject to track. For this tutorial, we will track a person entering the scene.
- Pause the video when the subject appears and position the brackets around their head.
Adding Keyframes
- In the Effects Controls panel, scroll down to the position settings of the text.
- Click the stopwatch icon next to the position to create your first keyframe.
- Move forward in the timeline to where the subject has moved and adjust the text position to keep the brackets around the subject’s head.
- Continue this process, moving a few frames forward and adjusting the text position accordingly until the subject exits the scene.
To make the text appear and disappear smoothly, we will add opacity keyframes.
Setting Opacity Keyframes
Go to the first keyframe of the text position and enable the stopwatch for opacity.
Move to the keyframe where the text should start appearing and add another opacity keyframe.
Go back a few frames and set the opacity to zero. This will make the text invisible until the subject enters the scene.
Repeat this process at the end of the tracking to fade the text out as the subject exits.
Move to the center of the timeline and select the text tool again.
Delete the open and closed brackets from the text.
Click on the move tool to confirm the changes.
Now that you have set up the text tracking and fade effects, click the play button to preview your work. You should see the text appear as the subject enters the scene and follow them across the screen before fading out.
In this tutorial, we covered the basics of text tracking in Adobe Premiere Pro. This technique can be used creatively to enhance your videos, whether for branding, storytelling, or adding dynamic elements. Remember, you can adjust keyframes for finer tracking and experiment with different text styles and effects.
Thank you for following along, and I look forward to seeing you in the next tutorial!
