Placeholders

Navigating the Essentials of Logo, Text, Image, Media, and Audio Integration.
HELP
Text
Image
Media
Audio
Text
Ensure optimal user experience when customizing text in templates.
Fit and Align Text
Fit and Align Text is a helpful script in Author Tools designed to make text dynamic and responsive, ensuring it always fits within the parent composition. If a user enters text that exceeds the width or height of the composition, this script automatically adjusts the text scale to make it fit properly. For your template to function correctly in the online editor, every text layer should use either the 'Fit and Align Text' or 'Sticky Text' feature to maintain text alignment and size consistency.
    How to use
  • Select text layer in the active comp
  • Open Author Tools
  • Go to Videobolt Text tab
  • Select Fit and Align Text
  • Click the Run button in the Action Bar to execute the script
  • In the ensuing dialog, choose the Anchor Align, which should correspond to the placement of your text in the comp
  • Click Apply
  • Screenshots:
    More details
    VB Text Fit and Align - Poster image
    Sticky Text
    Sticky Text in Author Tools is a script that allows you to create a text layer that attaches, or sticks, to another text layer already using the Fit and Align Text script. This feature ensures that your text elements are consistently aligned and maintain their relative positioning, enhancing the design and layout coherence in your template.
      How to use
  • Select text layer in the active comp
  • Open Author Tools
  • Go to Videobolt Text tab
  • Select Sticky Text
  • Click the Run button in the Action Bar to execute the script. After Effects will report an expression error until you complete the next step.
  • Go to the Effects panel for the selected text layer, look under the VB Text Stick effect and change the Parent to the text layer that you wish the current layer to stick to. Remember the parent layer must have Text Fit and Align applied
  • In order to choose the placement of sticky text, choose a position from the Stick dropdown (found in the same panel as the Parent setting)
  • Screenshots:
    More details
    VB Text Stick - Poster image
    Point Text vs Paragraph Text
    In After Effects, you can work with two different text types. Point text is generated by double-clicking the text tool or clicking inside the composition with the text tool. Paragraph text, on the other hand, is created by dragging a text box within your composition. This type of text automatically moves words to new lines and limits line visibility, which is not ideal for use with Author Tools. Author Tools scripts are designed to work with point text, and do not support paragraph text. To convert paragraph text into point text, simply right-click on your text layer within the composition and choose to Convert to Point Text.
    Screenshots:
    More details
    Point vs Paragraph Text - Poster image
    Max Width and Max Height
    Max Width & Max Height are properties in both the Text Fit and Align and Sticky Text effects, designed to ensure text always stays within the screen's boundaries. The default setting for these is Automatic, where expressions automatically adjust the text size to prevent it from going off-screen. However, this Automatic setting does not consider overlapping with other text layers and is based solely on the composition size.
    If Automatic is disabled, you gain control over the text boundaries by setting your own Max Width and Height values. This is particularly useful when dealing with multiple text layers in a single composition or when a Sticky Text layer is linked to a Fit and Align layer, helping to prevent text overlap. Manually adjusting these values ensures that all text layers stay within the composition's limits.
    The default values for Max Width and Height are set to 90%, meaning text will automatically resize to fit within 90% of the composition's size. This feature is key for maintaining the visibility and integrity of the text in your composition.
    Screenshots:
    More details
    Max Width and Max Height - Poster image
    Anchor Align
    The anchor alignment in your composition determines where the text is placed and how it expands based on user input. For effective use, choose an anchor point that aligns with the text layer's position within the composition. For instance, if your text is positioned on the left, use the center-left as your anchor point. This makes sure the text expands to the right as needed. Similarly, if your text is located in the bottom left of the composition, set your anchor alignment to the bottom left. And if the text is in the top right, then the top right should be your anchor point. This ensures that text grows in the correct direction relative to its initial placement.
    Screenshots:
    More details
    Anchor Align - Poster image
    Paragraph Justification
    Text justification, located in the Paragraph panel, plays a key role in ensuring text is displayed correctly, both in terms of placement and purpose. The justification settings include left, center, or right, each aligning the text accordingly.
      Justifications:
  • Left Justification: The text forms a straight vertical line on the left side of the text box, with the right side appearing jagged.
  • Center Justification: The text is jagged on both sides and aligned down the middle of the text box.
  • Right Justification: The text forms a straight vertical line on the right side of the text box, with the left side appearing jagged.
    1. Basic rules:
  • Text in the Middle of the Composition: For text elements like taglines that are centrally placed, use center alignment.
  • Text on the Left Side of the Composition: If the text is positioned on the left, choose left alignment.
  • Text on the Right Side of the Composition: For text positioned on the right, select right alignment.
  • These guidelines help ensure that the text aligns with its intended design and purpose within the composition.
    Screenshots:
    More details
    Text Paragraph - Poster image
    Leading
    Text Leading, the vertical space between lines of text, needs careful attention. If it's set too narrowly or too widely, the Templater tool will alert you about the issue. Usually, it's best to keep this setting on Auto, as it automatically adjusts the spacing for optimal readability. However, if you decide to manually set the leading, make sure it's adjusted correctly to ensure clarity and ease of reading.
    Screenshots:
    More details
    Text Leading - Poster image
    Font Size vs Text Layer Scale
    It's important to set the scale property of text layers to 100%. This is necessary because some of the scripts used in these templates rely on expressions which utilize the Scale Transform property of the layers. Modifying the scale property away from 100% could interfere with the correct functioning of these scripts​​.
    Screenshots:
    More details
    Text Scale - Poster image
    Image
    Ensure optimal user experience when customizing images in templates.
    Size
    Ensure the layer for your image placeholder is exactly the same size as your composition. If it isn't, images uploaded by users will appear cropped, as they are instructed to upload images matching the size of the template's image, not the composition size. If your image exceeds the size of the composition, the Image Placeholderize script available in Author Tools can correct this issue. This script renders out a frame at the midpoint of your composition's duration, imports this image, and deactivates other layers in the composition. As a result, your image is cropped to match the composition size, guiding users to upload images of the correct dimensions for optimal display.
    Screenshots:
    Effects
    When adding effects such as Tint or Triton to your image placeholder, it's important to provide users with the option to disable these effects. This flexibility allows users to choose whether they want their images to have the added effects like black & white or others that you've applied. Adding these control options ensures a more customizable and user-friendly experience in your template.
    Fit & Zoom
    Most of the time, set your Image Placeholder to Zoom. This is ideal for ensuring that the main elements of the uploaded image are focused and visible. However, switch to Fit if your template is specifically designed for images to be fully displayed, like logos. You can adjust this scaling setting either using the Templater tool or in Author Mode. When in Author Mode, simply select the Image, choose Zoom for the Media Type, and ensure the Type is set to Media.
    Media
    Ensure optimal user experience when customizing media in templates.
    Audio
    Keep your Media Placeholder (the area where a user's video will go) without sound. This is important unless your template is designed for the user's video audio to be a key part. When you're setting up a Media Placeholder in the Templater tool, ensure it's on mute. You can do this by checking that the speaker icon has a diagonal line through it, indicating it's muted.
    Fit & Zoom
    When working with a Media Placeholder (where a user's video is inserted), it should usually be set to Zoom. This means the video will fill the space effectively, focusing on the main content. Only change this setting to Fit if your template requires the entire video to be displayed without zooming in. You can adjust this setting either in the Templater tool or in Author Mode. In Author Mode, select your Media Placeholder, choose 'Media Type' as 'Zoom,' and ensure the 'Type' is set to 'Media' for the correct scaling effect.
    Duration
    Ensure that the duration of your Media Placeholder Layer, also known as FootageItem, matches the exact time it appears in the video. This helps inform users about the appropriate length for their video content to fit in the placeholder. For instance, if the media placeholder is visible from the 5th to the 13th second in your video, the duration of your FootageItem should be 8 seconds. If your composition is 8 seconds but the FootageItem is longer, you need to edit or re-render the video so that the FootageItem precisely matches the 8-second length. The Video Placeholderize script in Author Tools is a handy tool for making these adjustments.
    In/Out Points
    For Media In/Out Points, the length of your footageItem in the Media Placeholder composition should match the composition's duration. It's essential that the in and out points of the footageItem align with the start and end of the composition. To achieve this, the Video Placeholderize script from Author Tools is very useful. This script will re-render the entire composition and then automatically import the newly rendered video back into the composition, ensuring the duration and in/out points are correctly aligned.
    Video Format
    If you choose to render the video yourself instead of using the Video Placeholderize feature from Author Tools, make sure to render it in the mp4 format using the h264 codec. This ensures your video is in the right format and compression for optimal use in your Videobolt projects.
    Audio
    Our amazing Audio Engineer created a huge library of premade Sound FX and Music for your templates. If you cannot find something you like you can request a custom song in the #audio-info channel on Discord.
    Library
    In order to access the library you’ll need to log-in to your Google account and request access to the google drive folder.
    Start Time and Duration
    Make sure your audio track matches the entire length of your main video composition, known as the Render Comp. The audio should begin playing right from the start of the video, which is at the timecode 00:00:00. This ensures audio and video are perfectly synchronized from beginning to end.