11 Tips for better Title Graphics
Let’s face it. If you are into videos of any kind, at some point, you’re gonna have to make some nice titles. There are tons of different styles, sizes, colors, and animated effects, and most of these factors will be defined by your project and your audience. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a title expert, I haven’t won any awards for title work, but I love making them. So, I’m giving you a look at a few different things I think about when I’m creating titles. Some things to keep in mind for your next project.
Title Tip 1: Theme
This one is simple. What’s the theme to the project? If it’s an action film, you’re probably going to want an action-filled title sequence. If you’re making a documentary on graffiti, maybe a spray paint effect is what’s appropriate. Whatever the theme to the project is, it’s important to at least consider integrating your titles with your theme.
Title Tip 2: Audience
Some might say that your audience is the single most important factor in title design. It determines or influences almost every other factor in your design. The concept is simple, you design your titles to be appealing to your audience. Not just any audience, YOUR audience. If you’re working on a scary movie, your audience will probably be impressed by, you guessed it, scary titles. If you’re making a kid’s show, design with brighter colors and happier thoughts. But, your audience is different than your theme. You may be making a scary movie, but what if it’s a highly anticipated sequel several years in the making. You know it’s a movie people will cheer for when they see the title screen. Maybe scary title’s aren’t the answer, maybe mix it with action to give them something to cheer about!
Title Tip 3: Impact
What kind of punch do you want it to have? Should it fade in, tucked away in the corner, so as not to distract? Or, should it hit you right in the face? Something to consider along with your theme and your audience.
Title Tip 4: Reveal
Ok, you’ve figured out how big of a deal this title is when it arrives, but how does it appear on screen? Does it smash in from behind the audience? Is it wiped on by a tree passing in front of the camera? Does it just appear? Does it fly in? How fast?
Title Tip 5: Color and Contrast
Usually, you want people to be able to read your title. It may sound obvious, but make sure your letters stand out from the background. If your audience can’t read the titles, what good are they? If there’s a dark blue background, don’t pick dark blue for your letters, pick something bright, clear, and easy to read. Contrasting colors are your friend. Use them!
Title Tip 6: Font
Fonts are very important. Ususally it will go along with your theme. Whatever your font is, make sure it fits with your project. If it’s a fancy movie, probably a serif font, or a script font is good. You know what isn’t good for a movie like that? Myriad Pro. Keep it relevant, keep it readable, and try to make it unique.
Title Tip 7: Structure
Are your letters plain font? Are they flat? Are they extruded? Beveled? How far? Are they traditional letters, or are they made out of household objects? Do they connect to each other? Make sure you know what you want BEFORE you start animating.
Title Tip 8: Texture
Are these letters shiny? Are they plastic? Are they nice clean vector art? Are they made of rock? Metal? Grass? Glass? Make sure you know how your letters feel as well as look.
Title Tip 9: Movement
Do your titles move? Do they fly in? Do they spread apart over a few seconds. Do they morph into something else? Do they rotate? Do they come closer to the camera? Figure out where to put your titles and where they’re going.
Title Tip 10: Environment
Titles aren’t just letters and logos it’s the whole world they inhabit. Is there smoke around the letters? Dust? Snow? Is there a foggy background? Drop shadows? Do they emit light? What about Sound? Do the titles make any type of noise? Buzzing, cracking, or flipping sounds?
Title Tip 11: Effects
Do your titles stay together or break apart? Are they generated with a glitchy video game? Are they made with runny paint? Are they on fire? All things you should know, so you can plan accordingly.
Other tips?
Any title designers out there? Got your own tips, tricks, or suggestions for how to make better title graphics? Drop us a comment or link.
And, if you’re looking for tools to help you build your titles, head on over to the products section.
Tomas Elefsiades
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Nice job Perry. I had missed the old tutorials you had done with the other guys. So a while ago I searched you on YouTube to see if there was anything new. And bam! There was a Rampant video, I immediately checked out this site and I’m digging the stuff! By the way I’m still using my rotisserie turn table!
def
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The motherboard is ASRock X79 Extreme4, which has a stunning amount of features, inputs and whatnot. And you can overclock the BIOS by simply selecting “4.6 GHz” and you’re done. (After I did that and verified it was stable, I bumped the VCore down manually until it crashed and then brought it back up.)
The cooler is a $30 CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo. Temps could be a bit cooler, imo, so I was thinking about water, but for $130 more, I know I’m not going to be able to squeeze much more above 4.6Ghz, so not worth it.
GPU is Nvidia 560Ti, but AE probably won’t use it. CUDA is still not important for AE and I’m not sure why you need it for PS. And I’m definitely not a fan of fancy Quadro cards: waste of money, imo.