How to Create Glitch Text in Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2021

Adding some personality to your text goes a long way in keeping an audience engaged. One of the most popular text effects right now is the glitch effect. It gives text a futuristic, digital-distortion look that works great for intros, lower thirds, and title cards. The best part is you can create it entirely within Premiere Pro using the VR Digital Glitch effect. No plugins needed.

Today I am going to show you how to create glitch text in Adobe Premiere Pro.

How to Create Glitch Text in Premiere Pro

Setting Up the Text

1. Create a new sequence and import your footage.
2. Select the Type Tool (T) and click on the Program Monitor to create some text. This will generate a graphics layer in your timeline.
3. Customize the text however you like. Choose a bold, clean font. Position it where you want it on screen. I centered mine for a title card look.

Applying the Glitch Effect

4. Go to the Effects panel and navigate to Effects > Immersive Video > VR Digital Glitch. Drag this effect onto your text graphics layer.
5. In Effect Controls, find the VR Digital Glitch settings. Under the Distortion section, play around with the sliders to find a distortion level that fits your style. You don’t need to worry about getting it perfect right now because we are going to animate it next.

Animating the Glitch

The key to a good glitch effect is randomness. You want the distortion to flicker on and off unpredictably.

6. Find the Master Amplitude property. Click the stopwatch to create your first keyframe.
7. Move forward about 3 to 7 frames and change the Master Amplitude value. Set it to 0 to turn the glitch off, or push it up to 100 for a strong distortion burst.
8. Keep moving forward by random amounts (sometimes 2 frames, sometimes 10) and alternate the Master Amplitude between high and low values. This randomness is what makes it feel organic instead of mechanical.

Adding Variation With Random Seed

9. Go back to your first keyframe.
10. Find the Random Seed property and click the stopwatch to create a keyframe.
11. Move to the last Master Amplitude keyframe you created.
12. Drag the Random Seed value up to something like 75. This changes the pattern of the distortion at each keyframe, so the glitch looks different every time it pulses instead of repeating the same pattern.

Tips

• Copy and paste the effect to other text layers to keep the glitch theme consistent across your project.
• Layer multiple effects. Try adding a color text transition underneath the glitch for an even more dynamic look.
• Use short bursts. Glitch effects work best when they are brief and punchy. Long, sustained glitches lose their impact quickly.
• Explore the other controls in VR Digital Glitch. There are settings for color separation, distortion direction, and more that can give you completely different looks.

That’s it. You now have a glitch text effect that you can apply to any text in your project. It is a fun effect with a lot of room for creative exploration.