Hello there, welcome to this video! Let's see in a short time how to create
and design static 2D text and titles with Pinnacle Studio 21!
Please leave us feedback in the video description below to improve our next
video guides for this software!
Let's start from a ready project on the timeline. To add simple 2D text,
just click on Create Title right below the Navigation panel. This drops
a new text or title clip, with a green background and thumbnails
representing its content and appearance. This can be moved and stretched
as seen for standard visual clips.
Pay attention where to place the text clip. This should always stay on one
or more Tracks above the visual clips that should stay behind the text in
position. If text is placed on a lower track, this will be fully covered by
all the visual clips more at the top.
Now, let's see how to edit your text clips!
To start editing text, double-click on its clip. This opens a new window
called Title Editor, which allows to set and manage the text content,
appearance and any effect on it.
Once you have edited your text, you can click on Cancel to undo everything,
or go to OK to save all your modifications and exit from the Title Editor.
The Title Editor is divided in several parts. On the center you have the
main Video Preview; on the left the Navigation panel with all of its
sections; the title timeline below, and on the right the main panels to
change the text properties.
The timeline below works just like the main project timeline, with the
difference that this is referred to the whole text clip duration. This also
has a small playhead, that you can place and drag to check your text
appearance in respect to the whole project content. The Preview above is
quite useful, since you do not have to close the Title Editor to check the
result of your modifications.
Moreover, you can use the Preview to apply simple text modifications.
Click on the text to start typing inside. The text content will stay within
its box, used to delimit the area where the title can be spread.
You can move text by approaching the box edges and clicking and dragging.
Whereas, use the white nodes to scale the box, and fix the text
distribution. To rotate text, use the node at the top.
To adjust style, color and apply any effect, you have to use the panels on
the right.
Use Text Settings to set the text content, the basic text style, font, size
and distribution. All changes will affect just the text selected, if you
have any.
The Look Settings adjusts the text color and any visual effect. By default,
one Face effect is applied on the clip, which sets a white solid color as
fill. Indeed, you can add other Faces, and also any Glow or Shadow effect
by using the A buttons right on top.
All the Face, Glow and Shadow effects added are listed at the bottom,
with all their properties inside each of them. For example, use OffsetX and
OffsetY to add some horizontal or vertical offset; use Size to scale; Blur
to add some blur; and Opacity to adjust the transparency level on the
effect. To edit these properties, you can either click and move the marker
on the bar, or type the exact value on the right.
More at the bottom, you can adjust any effect color by using Fill. When
you click on its square, you can select your favorite solid color to use,
or apply a color gradient by choosing the second section below. In this
case, fix a solid color for each of the two markers, and then the gradient
angle through the right knob. Don't forget to click on the Apply button!
You can also drag and drop any picture or video from the Navigation panel
directly on the Fill square. In this way, any Face, Glow or Shadow effect
will use as color the ones from your picture or video frames time by time.
Next to each effect you have two important buttons. Use the bin button
to remove the effect from the list. Click on the orange square to enable
or disable the effect, in order to see the differences.
At the bottom, you also have Background and Stereoscopic Settings.
The first one is used to apply a background on the title through
Background Drop Zone, that works just like the Fill square just seen. Here
apply any solid color, gradient, or drop any picture or video. Then set
the transparency level through Opacity, adjust the aspect ratio more below,
and use the bin button to remove any background and make it transparent.
Stereoscopic Settings is used to adapt text for 3D view. You can also
adjust the Text Depth more below.
Title clips are not made by a single piece of text: they can contain
multiple objects, such as other pieces of text, geometrical shapes, and
even pictures and videos.
When creating a text clip, you start from a single piece of text,
represented as a layer inside the timeline at the bottom. In the top left
corner, you can use Add Text Layer to add other pieces of text, or Shape
tool to add geometrical shapes. You can also import pictures and videos by
dragging and dropping them from the Navigation panel to the title
timeline. All these objects are indeed layers, with a different icon on the
extreme left, next to their name.
You can edit all these layers in time and appearance. You can move them
through the title clip duration by clicking and dragging them on the
timeline, and set their duration by stretching their edges. You can also
show or hide each layer by clicking on their eye icon on the extreme left.
As seen for the text, you can edit the other layers through the Preview on
the center, or the panel on the right. Just make sure to select the layer
first, by clicking on the extreme left or on the Preview directly.
If you need to remove a layer, just right-click on it and go to Delete
layer.
Pay attention to the layers order. These work just like the Tracks on the
main timeline: all objects placed at the top are shown in front of all
other layers that stay lower in position. So remember to place text always
at the very top to stay visible.
This is everything you need to know to make static 2D Text! You can also
use several ready templates available inside Pinnacle, all listed under the
Titles section of the Navigation panel. Select one to check its appearance
and effects through the Video Preview, and then drag and drop it on the
timeline.
Thanks for watching this video! Check out our full and free guide to
complete your basic knowledge on Pinnacle Studio 21!