It Works Like This

Check out the Ch15 Finished Project.mov file in this chapter's folder on the book's DVD to see the final results. With the exception of the movie footage of a walking figure, the entire project is created in After Effects using only text layers and an effect. These are the main steps:

1. Create several layers of text, and animate the layers' Scale and Positions in 3D space.

2. Randomize the layers' Scale and Positions in space.

3. Use the Displacement Map effect to make an animated figure appear to be walking invisibly through the layers of text. Key out the background around the figure, and invert the track matte.

4. Animate the Tint effect to change the background text's color.

Text flies into the scene.

Text that overlaps the walking figure appears distorted.

The multilayered text appears stenciled by a word and the figure.