Texting is more ubiquitous than ever, having become a central part of our culture. This useful tutorial shows how to create convincing text chat boxes to overlay on your video work.
Texting presents a unique problem in filmmaking, because its increasing presence means it can't be ignored, but it can be kind of lame to just say what a message contains out loud on screen. This solution is visually interesting and immerses the viewer in a mode of communication they're already familiar with. Premium Beat notes that it does take some preconception to make this technique viable, namely choosing an appropriate background and lighting it in a way that will make the bubbles easily distinguishable, syncing with the actor's actions and reactions, and making the light from the phone screen clearly visible in darker scenes. They also recommend taking a static shot in case the text overlays don't look good with a motion shot and to make it ultra-clear that a phone is being used. The effect definitely takes a bit of work, but it's eye-catching and can add an extra shimmer to your videos.
Download the project file for free here.
[via No Film School]
