<p>Thats rather simple if I understand correctly what you want to achieve. One way to do it is to right click your text layer and choose the "Create Masks from Text" option. Then pre-comp your video layer and copy the masks your just created (AE creates a new solid that contains the masks) onto the video comp layer. Now make the video comp layer 3D and you can animate your camera however you want in your master comp and also go into your video comp and animate the camera there as well for some parallax effect.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-28T00:49:10.803Z
Yes ok, but that would me give a 2D mask of the text letters. Can't I also get a 3D "mask" of the text letters (eg 3D extruded letters), and fill that mask (and all of it's 3d sides) with a footage clip? Because a plain 2D text will still look very plain if I animate the camera in my master comp.
membersound
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-28T03:19:27.297Z
Oh ok, not thats not possible with native AE effects. Thats actually something your would do in a 3D suite like Cinema 4D or 3Ds Max. After Effects now comes with a "lite" version of C4D, it integrates very nicely into AE, you might want to check that out.

The only thing you could do in terms of extruded text inside AE would be to use the RayTraced renderer or Element 3D from VC, make extruded text and use that as a layer mask but that would just be like a stencil shadow on the footage, just like a 2D text mask but with some 3D perspective inside the mask.
timonsku
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-27T18:14:10.673Z
2014-12-27T18:14:10.673Z
timonsku
<p>I want to make a footage video "shine" through a text, so that the letters serve as a mask and only what's inside from the footage will shine through. Also, 3D Camera movement should be possible afterwards.</p>

<p>How could I do this? I know I can create masks from text, and then copy that letter masks on my footage clip. But that will only work for 2D. How could I achieve the same for 3D?</p>

<after-effects>
How to mask footage video with text?
membersound
# How to mask footage video with text?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-27)

I want to make a footage video "shine" through a text, so that the letters serve as a mask and only what's inside from the footage will shine through. Also, 3D Camera movement should be possible afterwards.

How could I do this? I know I can create masks from text, and then copy that letter masks on my footage clip. But that will only work for 2D. How could I achieve the same for 3D?

**Tags:** after-effects


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-27. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Thats rather simple if I understand correctly what you want to achieve. One way to do it is to right click your text layer and choose the "Create Masks from Text" option. Then pre-comp your video layer and copy the masks your just created (AE creates a new solid that contains the masks) onto the video comp layer. Now make the video comp layer 3D and you can animate your camera however you want in your master comp and also go into your video comp and animate the camera there as well for some parallax effect.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Yes ok, but that would me give a 2D mask of the text letters. Can't I also get a 3D "mask" of the text letters (eg 3D extruded letters), and fill that mask (and all of it's 3d sides) with a footage clip? Because a plain 2D text will still look very plain if I animate the camera in my master comp.  
> **username_1**: Oh ok, not thats not possible with native AE effects. Thats actually something your would do in a 3D suite like Cinema 4D or 3Ds Max. After Effects now comes with a "lite" version of C4D, it integrates very nicely into AE, you might want to check that out.  The only thing you could do in terms of extruded text inside AE would be to use the RayTraced renderer or Element 3D from VC, make extruded text and use that as a layer mask but that would just be like a stencil shadow on the footage, just like a 2D text mask but with some 3D perspective inside the mask.  

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