by 
Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Create your text layer
Use the Type Tool (T) to click in the Program Monitor and type your title. The video keeps the default white text on a black background, which is perfect for judging the motion. Make sure the text clip sits on V1 and is long enough to show the animation in, a pause and the animation out.
Step 2: Add the Text Animator to the start of the clip
Open the Effects panel and search for Text Animator. You will find FI: Text Animator under Video Transitions. Drag it to the very start of your text clip, just like a normal transition. You can drag its edge to make it shorter or longer. A longer transition gives you a slower, more elegant letter-by-letter reveal.
Faster with BetterFX: skip the Effects panel. Press your BetterFX shortcut, type the first letters of Text Animator and press Enter to apply it to the selected clip. Get BetterFX
Step 3: Set Push Position and the curve
Click the transition on the timeline and open Effect Controls. Scroll down to Animation Controls. This is where you decide how each character moves while it animates in. In the video, the first value of Push Position is set to 80, so every letter slides in from the side as it appears.
Above it, the Visual Curve Editor shows the easing of the move. The video uses the Bezier type with Ease Out at 80, so the letters start fast and slow down gently as they land. Set Fade to around 75% to let the letters fade in while they move, and keep Distribution around 32% so the characters arrive one after another instead of all at once.
Smoother with EaseFlow: for the other keyframed parts of your edit, select the keyframes and apply a real easing curve in one click instead of dragging Bezier handles. See EaseFlow
Step 4: Preview the animation
Move the playhead over the start of the clip and play it back. You should see the letters slide in one by one, fading as they go. If the text arrives too fast, make the transition longer. If the letters feel too separate, raise Distribution. If they feel too together, lower it.
Step 5: Animate the text out
A good title leaves as nicely as it arrives. Drag a second FI: Text Animator to the end of the text clip. Open its settings and use the same setup, with Push Position around 80 and Fade set to 100% so the letters fully disappear as they move away. Play the whole clip and check that the in and out animations feel like a pair.
Tips
- Try different Push Position values. Changing the second number moves letters up or down instead of sideways.
- Keep the text short. Character animation reads best on titles of a few words.
- Press Surprise Me! The button in the controls randomizes the settings and can spark new ideas.
- More text ideas. Also see how to make a typewriter text effect.
FAQ
How do I animate text letter by letter in Premiere Pro?
Add a text animator transition to your text clip and raise Distribution so each character starts a little after the one before it. Then set a Push Position or other animation control to decide how each letter moves.
Can I animate the text out as well?
Yes. Add another Text Animator transition to the end of the clip and give it matching settings.
How do I make the animation slower?
Drag the edge of the transition on the timeline to make it longer, or lower the Ease Out value for a softer landing.
Want text animations that are ready to use? Try the Ultimate Text Preset Pack.
