How to Create Text Shine in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2017)

Adding a shine to text is one of those small details that makes a title look polished and professional. If you look at almost any well-designed logo, app icon, or movie title card, there is some sort of light reflection or glint moving across it. It adds life to flat, 2D text and makes it feel like a real, physical object catching the light.

In this tutorial, we are going to create an animated shine that sweeps across text in Adobe Premiere Pro CC using the Lighting Effects tool and mask animation.

How to Create a Text Shine in Premiere Pro

Setting Up the Text

1. Create a new sequence.
2. Select the Type Tool (T) and click on the Program Monitor to create your text. Type whatever you want the shine to appear on.
3. Style the text with your chosen font and color. Darker colors tend to show the shine more dramatically.
4. Right click on the text graphics layer in the timeline and select Nest. Give the nested sequence a recognizable name. Nesting is necessary because Lighting Effects works better on a nested clip than directly on a graphics layer.

Applying the Lighting Effect

5. Double click the nested sequence to open it. You should see your text layer inside.
6. Go to the Effects panel and navigate to Video Effects > Adjust > Lighting Effects. Drag it onto the text layer.
7. In Effect Controls, find the Lighting Effects section. Click the small rectangle mask icon just below the effect name to create a new mask.

Shaping the Shine

8. In the Program Monitor, adjust the mask points to create a thin, narrow rectangle at about a 45-degree angle. This diagonal strip is the shape of the shine that will sweep across the text.
9. Position this mask strip all the way to the left of the text, off-screen if possible.
10. Back in Effect Controls, find the Ambient Intensity property under Lighting Effects. Increase this value until the area inside the mask is noticeably brighter than the surrounding text. This is the “shine” itself.

Animating the Sweep

11. Make sure your playhead is at the point where you want the shine animation to begin.
12. In the Lighting Effects section, find the Mask Path property. Click the stopwatch to create a keyframe at the current position (mask on the left).
13. Move the playhead to where you want the animation to end (about 20-30 frames later for a smooth sweep).
14. Drag the mask to the right side of the text, past the last character. Hold Shift while dragging to keep the movement on a straight horizontal line.
15. Navigate back out of the nested sequence to the main timeline. Play it back and you will see the shine sweep across the text.

Tips

• Adjust the mask width for different looks. A very thin strip creates a sharp glint. A wider strip creates a broader, softer glow.
• Adjust the speed by changing the distance between keyframes. Closer keyframes create a faster sweep. Further apart creates a slow, elegant shine.
• Ease the keyframes for a more natural feel. Right click the first keyframe and set Ease Out, the second set Ease In.
• Loop the shine by copying and pasting the nested sequence multiple times on the timeline with gaps between them.
• Combine with a neon text effect for an even more stylized look.
• Works on logos too. Import a logo as an image, nest it, and apply the same technique.

That is how you create a text shine in Premiere Pro. It is a simple but effective animation that adds a professional touch to any title or logo.