The Text Zoom Effect
A text zoom effect is an animation where text appears to move toward or away from you. The effect is used in the opening sequences of many films. You can create the effect using Paint and a free Web-based service. This approach lets you create zooming text without having to install any new software.
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Text
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The main element of the text zoom effect is text in an image format, which you can create in a simple imaging program like Windows Paint. To create text with this program after opening it, first click the "A" icon from the toolbar. This action runs the Text tool. Type a large point size, such as 72 or higher, into the Font size text box above the canvas. Click on the canvas where you want your text to appear, then type the text you want to zoom. Click outside the text box to release the Text tool.
Frame One
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The text zoom animation requires at least 10 images for the animation's individual frames. Create these images by saving them with Paint's "Save as" command. After creating a large text image to zoom out from, click the "File" menu, then click the "Save as" command just mentioned. Type a filename in the "File name" text box, then click "Save" to save the first animation frame.
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Remaining Frames
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Create the remaining nine or so frames of the animation as you did the first. However, shrink the text's point size slightly with each successive frame. Also, save each frame with a unique filename, such as "frame1.jpg," or "frame2.jpg." By making the text appear progressively smaller with each new image, you will enable the final animation to show text moving away from you.
Assembling
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Once you've created all the frames for the text zoom effect, you can assemble those frames into an animation using a free online service that converts still images to animated GIFs. Such services include Picasion, Make a GIF and GIF Ninja. To create your text zoom effect using one of these services, open your Web browser on a service's home page. Follow the site's instructions to upload your effect's frames and download the completed GIF animation.
Viewing
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You can use your Web browser to view the animated GIF file containing your text zoom effect. Click your Web browser's "File" menu, then click that menu's "Open" command. Navigate to and double click the GIF file you created with a Web service to display the GIF's zooming text animation in the browser.
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