In a previous life, I created animations for broadcast commercials. One technique that really intrigued me, and by the looks of its popularity many others, is known as kinetic typography. This is precisely what it sounds like, i.e. moving type.

KT is not any one specific process. It’s more of a collection of practices that are used in tandem to create something bigger than the sum of its parts. When I first started playing around with it, I noticed a lack of good tutorials that explain the basic techniques at work and how they interact with each other. So I wrote one.

A design studio in Lake Elisnore, CA, wrote me to ask if I could create a KT animation for them. Here’s the result.

Josh Tolbert, the man in charge over at LS, sent me a script and an illustrator file with all the necessary components. I recorded the audio, like I do for all my KT videos, with a Samsung C03U USB microphone.

All told, this process took about 5 and half hours for a 45 second animation. I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to finish it that quickly, especially since its been a long time since I’ve done anything in After Effects.