All video editing packages have at least basic title creation as a feature. Bluff Titler DX9 takes it one step further with a rich feature set that is easy to use. David Hague gave the latest version a very quick road test.
Similar to most programs that allow changes such as size, position, font style and colour to objects and text over time, Bluff Titler DX9 relies heavily on keyframing techniques. For the uninitiated, a keyframe is a point in time that simply defines the properties of an object at that time.
| Say for example that you wish a piece of text to start w-a-y off in the distance as in Figure 1, zoom towards the camera and then rush off ?behind? out of sight. |  |
Keyframing
| Firstly, you would create the text required and then set the first keyframe (simply called a ?key? in Bluff Titler). Once set, you can modify any properties you like of selected objects. Next, you move the time slider to a new position in time (here it shows 1 second) and set another key. |  |
| Once again, the properties of selected objects can be modified ? in this case the position of the text has been zoomed in as shown previously in Figure 2. As many keys can be added as you wish and at each, whatever properties and parameters you want changed then modified and Bluff Titler will take care of all the intermediate frames between keys (called ?tweening? in the trade). |  |
This then is the basic tenet of Bluff Titler. Easy yes? Once this concept is mastered, then the creative juices can flow by accessing all of the complexity and flexibility of parameters that Bluff Titler allows.
Options
And there are some options! As well as the expected, there are many unexpected such as adding textures and ?plasma flows? to text that animate themselves over time. There is even a particle generator built in so all those Star Trekkies can even create their favourite ?racing through space and time? look.
Verdict
Truly, you can spend hours and hours simply exploring the possibilities of Bluff Titler (but also keep in the back of the mind the filmmaker?s maxim ? simple is best!) I?d recommend downloading first and having a play with it before you buy to explore all the possibilities.
