DaVinci Resolve Simple Text Animation Tutorial

⏱️ Time to Complete

About 10-15 minutes.

🎯 What You’ll Achieve / Learn

By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to:

• Use the Follower modifier in DaVinci Resolve Fusion to create dynamic character-by-character text animations.
• Work with Path and Offset modifiers to drive text motion.
• Properly time delays to create that perfect "typing" or "flowing" text look.
• Use the Spline Tool to convert linear, rigid keyframes into smooth, professional-looking animations.
• Combine motion with Opacity changes for a polished, interesting reveal.

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Hey creators! 👋 If you're looking to level up your video editing game, text animation is one of the easiest ways to bring life to your projects. Instead of settling for boring, static titles, we're going to dive into the powerful Fusion page inside DaVinci Resolve by Blackmagic Design to create an engaging, character-by-character text animation using the incredible Follower Modifier.

Ready to craft some eye-catching typography? Let’s jump right in! 🚀

🛠️ Step 1: Add a Background and Text+ Node

First things first! Make sure you are on the Fusion page. Bring in a Text+ tool from your toolbar.

🎨 Step 2: Style Your Text & Apply the Follower Modifier

Type out your desired text and give it a fresh look. Choose a clear, modern font, adjust the size, and tweak the styling to your liking.

Here’s where the magic begins:

1. Right-click directly inside the Styled Text field.
2. From the context menu, select Follower.

⚙️ Step 3: Meet the Modifiers Section

Once you've done that, it populates a new modifier over in the Modifiers tab inside the Inspector panel, appropriately named Follower. This little beast lets us control text transformations on a per-character basis. 🪄

🛤️ Step 4: Activating Position Parameters

Now, navigate over to the Shading Page inside your newly created Follower modifier. Scroll down to the Position properties and try to add a keyframe to the Offset parameter.

Notice what happens? DaVinci Resolve automatically generates another modifier for us, called Path. You can now use these two modifiers in tandem to animate your Text+ node along dynamic paths!

🎬 Step 5: Adding Your First Offset Keyframe

Let's get this text moving! Head over to the 0 frame of your composition. Drop an Offset keyframe right there.

⏭️ Step 6: Completing the Motion Path

Move your playhead down the timeline to the 20th frame. Change the value to add another Offset keyframe. This dictates the text's final resting place for this segment of the motion!

⏱️ Step 7: Configuring Character Delays

Right now, the text likely moves as one big block. We want that sweet character-by-character flow.

1. Navigate back to the Timing Page of the Follower Modifier.
2. Change the Order to Left to Right.
3. Set the Delay Type to Between Each Character.
4. Finally, set the Delay value to 3.

Now, hit play! You should see an awesome cascading text animation unfolding right before your eyes. 🤩

🌊 Step 8: Smoothing the Animation in the Spline Tool

Linear keyframes feel a bit robotic, don't they? 🤖 Let's make it buttery smooth.

1. Open the Spline window at the top of the Fusion page.
2. Check all the animated properties in the list to reveal their curves.
3. Box-select all the keyframes.
4. Press S on your keyboard. This converts your stiff linear keys into Smooth Keyframes (or bezier curves).

After doing this, watch your animation again—it will feel organic, professional, and visually satisfying. 🧈

👻 Step 9: The Final Touch (Opacity Animation)

To make the reveal truly pop, let’s combine our movement with a smooth fade-in!

1. Add a keyframe on the 4th frame of your sequence and set the Opacity to 0.
2. Move to the 25th frame, and set the Opacity back up to 100.

🎉 Wrapping Up

And there you have it! In just a few easy steps, you've completely customized a professional text reveal using DaVinci Resolve Fusion's Follower modifier. Keep experimenting with different paths, delays, and modifiers to see what kinds of wild motion typography you can create!

Happy editing! 📽️✨