Cinematic Opening Title Redux – Day 1
Tutorial Details
- Program: After Effects, Various scripts & plugins
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Run Time: 45:58 min
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
In this 2 part tutorial we revisit the Cinematic Opening concept with an homage to all of you, our readers, by enshrining all of the comments left on the site in a “ready for Hollywood” delivery. It features a clever use of freely available scripts and expressions to create what would normally be a very complicated and time-consuming animation. The tutorial will be split into 2 days with a total of over 80 minutes of training.
In day 1 we cover cunning techniques to harness a large amount of text and quickly format and animate it in a cinematic style. This tutorial has tricks and techniques that should appeal to all users from beginners all the way to the most seasoned and advanced users of After Effects.
And best of all, it is all created by only using built it After Effects tools!
You can watch Day 2 of this tutorial here
Tutorial
Download Tutorial .flv
File size MB
Scripts used in this tutorial
First watch this tutorial on how to install and run scripts in After Effects
Then download and install these scripts:
1. 3D Text Creator Script (download 3D_text_creator_from_file.jsx)
2. 3D Layer Distributor Script (download 3D_text_creator_from_file.jsx)
3. Random Layer Shifter Script (download LayerRandomShifter 1.1)
4. Shift Selected Layers Script (download pt_ShiftLayers_v2.0.zip)
5. rd_KindaSorta Script (download rd_KindaSorta_v1.2.zip)
6. rd_Slicer Script (download rd_Slicer_v2.0.zip)
Music and Images used in the final piece
Extraterrestrial from AUDIO JUNGLE
Reflection Nebulas in Orion from NASA
In the Center of Reflection Nebula NGC 1333 from NASA

Great tutorial! I was just curious about what the time your markers were placed at. Thanks.
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
Great tutorial thanks
Great tutorial.
I’ve come across a slight problem relating to the KindaSorta Script. Basically i’m importing the lyrics of a song. But when i run the script it re-sorts the actual layers randomly. So the layers are in the right order in the composition (i.e. they’ve been sorted), but the source layers in the timeline have been given a new order so the end result is wrong? Any ideas?
I’m having trouble viewing. It stalls about 15 seconds in.
Advice?
Looks beautiful though, I’d really like to watch it.
just watching it right now, love the expressions explanations!! thx!!
i have same problem man the inpoint tell me to my mail add plz plz plz
thanks plz
hi sir i have a problem
whan i do time*20 ok and hilight 20
“time*thisComp.layer(”control”).effect(”Speed”)(”Slider”)”
it works but like you said i should subtract the inpoint of the layer to make sure it works correctly, but when i do
(time – inpoint)*thisComp.layer(”control”).effect(”Speed”)(”Slider”)
it bumps me back with the error
“After Effects warning: Class ‘global’ has no property or method named
‘inpoint’
Expression disabled”
plz help me and tell to my email plz
Javascript is case sensitive. It is inPoint with a capital P
someone send me the link
of this pt express edit scripts
plz plz plz
http://www.aenhancers.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1380
but don’t download
plz helps me
and i want to study more about scripts after effect
Hi, I have AE 6.5. how can i change the scripts that actually function with AE CS. So that they can function with Ae 6.5. Thanks a lot for the tutorial. Irina
Unfortunately you can’t do that as the script rely on features that were introduced in CS3. Some scripts will work in 6.5, you should give them a try.
Hi Lloyd,
This is really a great tutorial. I was messing around with it and thought that rather than having the text continue off screen it would be nice to have them fade. I tried to do this by adding another couple of sliders in the control layer and duplicating the linear expression in opacity. Then I substituted my control names, but it didn’t work. Is my logic flawed?
thanks – Bruce
Hey Lloyd, great tutorial!
Quick question for you : When I import my text wrangler file some of the longer sentences that I am using get cut off. I seem to only be able to import 30 characters (spaces included). Anything over that gets cut short.
Any idea on what may be causing that since in the tutorial you use comments that are well over 30 characters long.
Thanks in advance and keep up the great work!
Hey Lloyd,
I just realized that all the all my text was imported (not just the first 30 characters as mentioned above).
It wasn’t displayed in the actual layer but it was in the comp. AE must have a limit to the amount of characters it can display on each layer.
Cheers,
we will have to buy the 3d layer distributer script?????
anyone have this file 3d_text_creator_from_file.jsx to make a upload ?
im from brazil, and now need to pay to make a download..
i realllyy want to do this tut, i need the script,
anyone con help me ?
thanks
anyone have this file 3d_text_creator_from_file.jsx to make a upload ?
im from brazil, and now need to pay to make a download..
i realllyy want to do this tut, i need the script,
anyone con help me ?
thankss!
Hey men I love your tutorial but why do we have to pay for the scripts? its unfair men
Great tutorial! Thank you! It would be good to see the expressions in case of errors while making this project. Are they listed anywhere?
this video is perfect .
I like this effect .
thanks a lot.
Definitely one among the best AE tutorials I’ve ever seen on the net!!!
Many thanks and keep them coming!
very good tutorial but it’s must pay the script, i want a tutorial, with a free add-on, pfff after 3 yaers on after effect, this give me to surrender aef 7.0, pfff.
But i know the hard work of the graphic designer, it’s so hard, thanks for this good tutorial it’s very easy to use aef with these tutorial thanks !
P.S : Sorry for my english I’am french…
flat out awesome….trying really hard to do this but you have set the bar!!
1 problem im having is at 19:30, when i click the stop watch it does not open an expression for me to alter the time….any ideas?
thanks again for an awesome tutorial!!
You need to option-click the stop watch (alt-click on windows) to set an expression.
Amen, and thank you!
Lloyd,
I’m using this tutorial to create a video clip for my sister’s wedding. In this tutorial you use a reduced number of text layers.
Could you let us know how many layers you used in the “final” version?
Thank you in advance!
how did you edit the music together its been bugging me for some time can you post a tutorial on it please thx
wow….awsome!!! thanks give me mre>>>>>>>>>>
perfect………
Where did the Video gone?
Please upload Part-1 again coz its not available anymore
Hi Lloyd.
Where is part-1?
Please upload Part-1 again.
Tks,
Why does the tutorial play as tutorial 2??
I downloded it and the download is also part 2.
It’s fixed… the tutorial is back online.
Nice post. But I would appreciate as would many others if you put up some pictures to go with the content as well.
Here’s my effort of the title sequence integrated into a teaser for a kitesurfing vide i’m making
http://www.vimeo.com/18094275
Great post. I have been lurking around your blog reading articles as they pop up on my rss but never commented before.
I paid for the premium subscription to get the source files for this, but can’t seem to find them.
Please advise?
I’m sorry, this post was created before we started requiring project files be submitted with the tutorial, shoot me an email at ae@tutsplus.com if you’d like.
Aww…. the song link is dead. What a pity! Was a great song too!
Hi
First of course thank you for the tutorial. Very well explained and great vision in terms of coming up with it. Now, I know I’m late in replying to this but I just discovered the tutorial.
I’m tweaking this tutorial to fit my needs and one thing I just can’t get to work is a fade out using the same expressions (of course adjusted to a fade out) Alvarez used to fade in the texts. Basically, using sliders to control the fade out depending on the texts position in relation to the camera. So that eventually the layers would not only fade in but also fade out. Whenever I do that only either the fade out works or the fade in.
Anybody out there who can help me get my expression right for that one? I know I’m late so no worries if everybody ignores me hahaha – but thx in advance…
THX
This is awesome. Would it be possible to follow this tutorial and create an animated banner that would autoplay?
Great Tutorial! Created this last year and recently a re-edit. Here is my version starting at 2:08
http://www.vimeo.com/20343365
Great information once again! Thanks a lot=)
Hi, I’m downloading the tutorial. May I ask you one thing? I want to make the blue and red offset from the borders of the footage. Is that explained on this tutorial? I SO want to make that effect.
Thank you!
if you did almost exactly what what the video did..
what settings would you use to render it?
Where I can download this music cause it’s awesome but link on AudioJungle isn’t working. Please, help!
Hi your work is amazing, but the audio link is broken …. I hope you can upload the audio again, THXX
Dear reader,
Very nice effect.
I am truing to use it also, but i have a problem.
If i use the 3d textreator from file it does exactly what you mentioned except al my text has 3 diffrent colors, red/pink/orange and what effer i try the color wont change.
i tried to each single layer to change text color to diffrent but noting happens.. could you help me??
Or doi something wrong.. pleas help..
Thanks thanks
Thanks for this wonderful toturial. I had a problem saving teh script modification. It shows an error when I save the script. Please someone can help me?