Give your movie trailers the epic text they deserve with these inspiring and helpful resources from around the web.
Working on a movie trailer is the dream for most motion designers. However, designing the perfect movie trailer text takes time and practice. Let’s take a look at a few inspiring examples of movie trailer graphics from around the internet and look at a few handy tutorials and resources for making slick movie trailer text.
Movie Trailer Graphics
While not necessary for every trailer, giving your audience information via text has become synonymous with movie trailer production. While it’s hard to say that there’s a one-size-fits-all style of text for movie trailers, most trailer text features an easy-to-read sans-serif font.
The following video features 140 different examples of graphics found in modern movie trailers. One of the biggest takeaways is how minimal each design looks. While there are a few exceptions, most of the text animations look like they could have been easily created in After Effects.
Movie Trailer Title Animations
When it comes to movie trailer graphics, the most complicated shot is typically the closing title sequence. In Hollywood, most 3D titles sequences are created in a 3D graphics application like Maya, 3ds Max, or Cinema 4D, but using the Element 3D plugin in After Effects, you can create 3D text fairly easily.
Most end titles feature the following elements:
- 3D Text
- A Sky Background
- A Single Light Element
- A Fast Push In
If you really like studying end titles for film and TV projects, I recommend checking out Art of the Title, where you’ll find dozens of interviews with world-renowned title designers.
The following video features 158 movie trailer end title animations. Notice how most of the titles look alike, despite coming from different production studios.
Free Sound Effects for Movie Trailers
Even if a movie trailer has the best graphics in the world, it’s still only going to be as strong as the audio accompanying it. Luckily for us, our friends at PremiumBeat have created an awesome assortment of free sound effects for movie trailers that you can use on your next trailer project. I personally use this kit all the time for sprucing up my trailers. Here’s a cool demo of the sound effects kit in action.
https://vimeo.com/139589161
3D Action Trailer Titles in Final Cut Pro
If you’re a Final Cut Pro user, you’ve likely already found out that there is a 3D text feature built into Final Cut Pro X. However, you might be surprised to see how easily you can create 3D movie trailer text. By simply using a few of the presets included in Final Cut Pro, you can easily give your next movie trailer project an epic Hollywood look.
In the following tutorial from Michael James at PremiumBeat, we’ll learn how to create 3D action trailer titles in Final Cut Pro. The tutorial uses light elements to push the design over the top. If you want take your next project to the next level with organic lighting elements, check out our Illuminate pack here on RocketStock.
- Software Used: Final Cut Pro X
- Plugins Used: None
- Assets Used: Video Backgrounds and Illuminate Sample
https://vimeo.com/162886616
Movie Trailer Titles in After Effects
In a lot of ways, After Effects is the best software in the world for creating movie titles. Using the extensive effects library, users can very quickly create professional text. In this incredibly helpful tutorial from Mikey Borup, we’re shown how to use a bevel effect and a light to simulate 3D text in After Effects. While this tutorial would technically be considered a ‘hack,’ it’s nonetheless a great example of using the built-in effects in After Effects to create something amazing.
- Software Used: After Effects
- Plugins Used: None
- Assets Used: None
In this After Effects tutorial from Motion Mile, we are shown how to create 3D trailer text using Cineware, a free Cinema 4D software included with After Effects. Using Cineware, you can easily create simple 3D text and import the text into After Effects. The workflow is seamless at this point.
The tutorial also showcases how to use the turbulent displace effect to create simulated clouds, which is pretty mind-blowing. The color grading in this tutorial also really helps sell the effect; you’ll notice how Motion Mile uses transfer modes to blend
- Software Used: After Effects and Cinema 4D LITE
- Plugins Used: Optical Flares
- Assets Used: None
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpmFiC5JtG8
The fastest way to create 3D text in After Effects is to use Element 3D. Unfortunately, Element 3D isn’t included in After Effects, so you’ll have to purchase it separately — and it’s well worth it.
In this tutorial, Andrew Kramer shows us how to create a Lionsgate logo in After Effects using Element 3D (with a little help from Optical Flares). You can also download the free project files and assets over on the 3D bevel blog post on Video Copilot’s website.
- Software Used: After Effects
- Plugins Used: Optical Flares and Element 3D
- Assets Used: Cloud Assets
Movie Trailer After Effects Templates
If you’re not already familiar with the term, an After Effects template is simply a motion graphics template that can be easily customized for your video project. Even if you’re not an After Effects expert, you can quickly and painlessly edit an After Effects template in just a few minutes. Here on RocketStock, we pride ourselves in having the best After Effects templates on the internet. Below are a few of our favorite movie trailer templates for After Effects.
Forstine
Forstine is a fantastic After Effects template for giving your film an edgy look. The template is at once gritty and refined. Here’s a quick demo of Forstine in action.
Tempest
Tempest is the template to use if you’re going for more of a typical movie trailer text look. Tempest is easy to edit and the result is some beautiful simulated 3D text.
Optical
Optical is one of my favorite After Effects templates on RocketStock. The template features a highly kinetic design that’s perfect for creating a mysterious intro. You can even change the colors to reflect your film’s style.
Free Movie Marketing Kit
While not intrinsically movie trailer related, there is a really helpful movie marketing kit found on PremiumBeat. The kit comes complete with a 4K ratings screen template and movie poster template. Both of these free assets can be downloaded and edited in Photoshop. In particular, the movie rating screen is a quick way to give your project legitimacy.