Apply the Sequence Text behavior in Motion

You can build custom text sequence animations using the Sequence Text behavior (in the Text Animation category of behaviors in the Library). The Sequence Text behavior (not to be confused with the Text Sequence category of preset behaviors in the Library) lets you animate text attributes—scale, position, color, opacity, glow, and so on—in sequence, character by character. For example, you can create a sequence in which text characters fall vertically into place as they scale down, fade in, and rotate.

Because the Sequence Text behavior is not a preset, applying and activating it is a two-step process:

Step 1: Apply the Sequence Text behavior to a text layer in your project.
Step 2: In the Behaviors Inspector, assign the parameters you want to animate, then adjust controls to set the animation’s direction, speed, number of loops, and other qualities. (Optionally, you can assign the Position, Rotation, and Scale parameters by dragging onscreen controls in the canvas. See Assign and activate Sequence Text parameters in the canvas below.)

Tip: Using the Transform Glyph tool, you can modify individual text characters independently of the influence of the applied Sequence Text behavior. See Intro to text glyphs in Motion.

Apply the Sequence Text behavior

In Motion, select a text layer in your project, then click Behaviors in the toolbar and choose Text Animation > Sequence Text.
The behavior is applied, and the first character of text is selected with the Adjust Item tool.
Important: You must add at least one parameter to the behavior before animation can occur. For details, see the next task.

Assign and activate Sequence Text parameters in the Inspector

After you apply the Sequence Text behavior to a text layer in your project (as described in the previous task), you must assign the parameters you want to animate.

In the Layers list or Timeline in Motion, select an applied Sequence Text behavior.
The Behaviors Inspector opens.
In the upper area of the Sequence Text controls are Add and Remove pop-up menus, used to select text parameters to be sequenced, or to remove parameters after they’re added. Under the pop-up menus are sequence controls, which include options for setting the direction and speed of the animation, whether the animation is applied per character, per word, per text object, and so on.
In this simple example, assign the Opacity, Scale, and Glow Scale parameters to the behavior.
In the Parameter row, click the Add pop-up menu, then choose Format > Opacity.
An Opacity slider is added in the Behaviors Inspector, in the Format area above the Add and Remove pop-up menus.
Set the Opacity slider to 0.
When you play the project (press the Space Bar), the opacity sequences from the value set in the behavior (0%) to the original value of the text (100%). You can change this sequencing order in the Sequencing pop-up menu.
Click the Sequencing pop-up menu, then choose To.
Now, when you play the project from the beginning, the opacity fades to the value set in the behavior (0%) from the original value of the text (100%).
Click the Add pop-up menu, then choose Format > Scale.
The Scale slider is added to the Behaviors Inspector.
Set the Scale slider to 250%, then set the Spread slider (in the Controls section of the Behaviors Inspector) to 4.
The scale and opacity sequences to the values defined in the behavior from the original values. The increased spread value softens the sequence between the characters.

The above example covers only a portion of the options in the Sequence Text behavior. Using the behavior’s parameters, you can create a nearly endless variety of sequences. You can define the speed in which the sequence moves through the text, as well as whether the sequence moves through the text per character, word, or line. You can also change the direction of the sequence and define the number of times the sequence loops over its duration. Variance and randomization can also be added to values defined in the behavior. For more information on these controls, see Sequence Text behavior controls in Motion.

Note: Although the style effects created in the Sequence Text behavior (Face, Outline, Glow, and Drop Shadow) are independent of parameters in the Appearance pane of the Text Inspector (Face, Outline, Glow, and Drop Shadow), changes made in the Appearance pane affect the sequenced text.

Assign and activate Sequence Text parameters in the canvas

As an alternative to assigning parameters to the Sequence Text behavior in the Behaviors Inspector, you can assign three basic parameters (Position, Rotation, and Scale) by dragging onscreen controls in the canvas.

In Motion, with the Sequence Text behavior applied and the first character (glyph) selected (using the Adjust Item tool in the canvas toolbar), do any of the following:
- Sequence the position of the text: Drag the character in the canvas to a new position.
  In the Behaviors Inspector, the Position parameter is added to the Format category (above the Add and Remove pop-up menus). The values in the Position parameter can be modified in the Behaviors Inspector (using the Position value sliders) as well as in the canvas (by dragging the glyphs of the text object).
- Sequence the rotation of the text: Drag a rotation handle of a selected glyph in the canvas. To display the rotation handles, click in the canvas, then press and hold the Command key. For more information on using onscreen transform controls, see Transform layers in 3D space in Motion.
  In this example, the text is rotated on its Y axis. In the Behaviors Inspector, the Rotation parameter is added to the Format category (above the Add and Remove pop-up menus).
- Sequence the scale of the text: Drag a scale handle of a selected glyph in the canvas. (To scale the text uniformly, press Shift while dragging.)
  In the Behaviors Inspector, the Scale parameter is added to the Format category (above the Add and Remove pop-up menus).
Press the Space bar to play the project.
Note that in the Controls section of the Behaviors Inspector, the Sequencing pop-up menu is set to From, the default setting. As a result, upon playback, the text in your project moves from the value in the Position parameter to the original value (the position of the text before you dragged it in the canvas).
For more information on Sequence Text parameters, see Sequence Text behavior controls in Motion.
Note: When using the Sequence Text behavior, glyphs are selected with the Adjust Item tool rather than the Transform Glyph tool. For more information on the Transform Glyph tool, see Intro to text glyphs in Motion.
When you select a glyph with the Adjust Item tool, a section of the Timeline is highlighted, indicating when the selected glyph is affected by the sequence behavior.