how to make text appear line by line?

Question

Level 1

9 points

how to make text appear line by line?

Hello everybody,

I am trying to take my first steps in iMovie '09 (version 8.0.6) and have some troubles to let text appear line by line.

Aim:

I want to show text on a 8 seconds clip. The text contains 4 lines and looks something like this:

line 1

line 2

line 3

line 4

I want that line 4 appears first. After two seconds line 3 appears, too (that means line 4 is meant to remain displayed as well). After additional two seconds line 2 appears while line 3 and 4 are still on display and after yet another 2 second line 1 is supposed to appear so that all lines are visible on the clip.

What I tried already:

- I dragged and dropped a text and laid it over my clip. I could edit the text and arrange how it fades in and out. Here is the first question:

1) is there any chance to distinguish between fading in and fading out? because it would be already a bit of help if I could fade in the text without having it to be faded out in the end and by the same duration.

- Moreover, I tried to lay more than one text over the same timespan of my clip. But I think laying more than 1 text field over the same time span of a clip is not possible since the text fields in iMovie are actually TITLE fields and therefore it would make sense to only have one possibility. Thus my second question:

2) Is there another possibility to lay more than 1 TEXT field over the same time span of a clip?

And finally

3) is there maybe already something available in iMovie I haven't seen yet with which I can perform the action I am trying to similarly as it would be possible in keynote or powerpoint for example?

Thanks!

Posted on Jul 4, 2012 2:25 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 4, 2012 5:25 PM in response to mac-a-rooney

If you have Keynote, you can create a file that can be used in iMovie.

Here is a sample of doing it with a Green Screen effect.

I created the bullets in Keynote. I created a green background on a gradient between two similar shades of green (green screen works better if the green is not too perfect).

Then I exported as a timed QuickTime movie.

I imported into iMovie and used this as a green screen clip over video.

Here are the results. I didn't spend much time on this, but if I were using it in a real movie, I owuld use a larger font and choose a color that stood out against my background.

Here is a sample of doing it using a Picture in Picture effect.

I did the drop down animation of the bullets in Keynote. Then export as a quicktime file, which can be used in iMovie. Then put your video in a Picture in Picture video as the bullets were on the screen.

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Answer 2

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 5, 2012 1:00 AM in response to AppleMan1958

Hey,

THANKS A LOT!!

too bad you can't give more than 10 points per answer!!

Cheers

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Answer 3

Jul 5, 2012 4:11 AM in response to mac-a-rooney

You are welcome! Glad it worked for you.

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Answer 4

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 5, 2012 12:33 PM in response to AppleMan1958

hmm.. sorry to re-start the thread, but after watching your sample clips I might have thrown out the glory a little bit too quick 😟

AppleMan1958 wrote:

I imported into iMovie and used this as a green screen clip over video.

HOW have you imported the clip and how did you set it to a green screen clip?

Even if I get not the green screen effect, I cannot lay the keynote clip over another clip. One clip will always become split. But the sample videoS you posted are actually exactly what I am trying to achieve, so obviously it works somehow ... but how... #+@?!?

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Answer 5

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 5, 2012 12:36 PM in response to mac-a-rooney

oh wait... did you export the iMovie-video, load it into keynote, used it THERE as background and then, after inserting the text fields onto the iMovie-video, you have exported the whole thing once again as a quick time .mov file 😮 pleeease tell me there is an easier way...

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Answer 6

Jul 5, 2012 12:47 PM in response to mac-a-rooney

After you export the green screen file from Keynote, you should have an .mov file.

You need to import this into iMovie. Use FILE/IMPORT.../MOVIE and assign it to an Event.

Now, you can use this in your iMovie Project.

Go to iMovie/Preferences and make sure the Advanced Tools are enabled.

Drag your background clip into the project.

Next drag your green screen clip from the Event into your project and drop it on top of the background clip at the point where you want it to start. A pop-up menu should appear. Choose Green Screen.

Here is a good Tutorial on Green Screen.

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/imovie_09_stone.html#green%20screen

Let me know if you are still having trouble.

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Answer 7

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 5, 2012 12:48 PM in response to mac-a-rooney

ok, hopefully the final post, at least for today XD

I guess it's supposed to be way easier than I was afraid of in my last post. It seems like when one drags a clip and drops it on another clip a context menu appears from which one can choose the way or style in which on wants to add the clip to the movie, right?

however, I feel to have the problem, that I can only choose from a restricted context menu. The only options I am provided is

replace

insert

only audio

cancel

does anyone know why I get this short list and what is necessary for a clip to have the full list of choices?

Thanks.

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Answer 8

Jul 5, 2012 12:50 PM in response to mac-a-rooney

YOu have to enable the advanced tools as I mentioned so you see the full list.

Also, if you are on a version of iMovie before iMovie 09, this will not work. iMovie 09 and iMovie 11 both have green screen.

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Answer 9

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 5, 2012 12:51 PM in response to mac-a-rooney

Go to iMovie/Preferences and make sure the Advanced Tools are enabled.

... There we go!!

Thanks again. Great help!

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Answer 10

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 6, 2012 3:19 AM in response to AppleMan1958

Hey AppleMan,

the import of the green screen worked flawlessly. Thanks again. In order to optimize the qualitiy could you give some more hints? You've mentioned already

I created a green background on a gradient between two similar shades of green (green screen works better if the green is not too perfect).

And indeed, it makes a huge difference! I also experienced that while having a particular tone of green my actually white font became black in iMovie as a result of the green screen option. Thus I guess it is also important what green on uses in keynote, isn't it? Is there a particular green that works best for green screens or is this eventually dependend on the movie onto which one lays the keynote clip?

Yet another thing I've experienced is that when importing a keynote clip as a green screen into iMovie the font isn't that sharp as it is in either keynote or a usual iMovie title would be. Have you any thoughts on that how to improve the font quality?

Thanks!

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Answer 11

Jul 6, 2012 3:53 AM in response to mac-a-rooney

Here is a screen shot of the green I used.

For the font, the only thing I can think of is to try a black border to make it pop out.

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Answer 12

mac-a-rooney Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 6, 2012 4:16 AM in response to AppleMan1958

ok. I had the gradation the other way around, i.e. from the uper left corner (light) to the lower right corner (dark) and my font was in the darker part in the lower right corner. I might change this around.

I couldn't find the option for setting a black boarder around my font, so what I did is to copy and paste the default font out of iMovie (i think it's Gills Sans) which has a black boarder around it by default into keynote. Could this cause any problems?

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