There are a lot of different ways to show text message in films. Some great examples are from the TV series House of Cards and Sherlock, in which onscreen texting is adds to scenes without interrupting our view of the actor's performance. In this tutorial we will show you how to create such text effects in PowerDirector.

Step 1: Use Motion Tracker

When you open the Motion Tracker dialogue, you’ll first need to drag the selection box to mark the object you want to track. In this footage we will be tracking the side of the phone. This area is small and has a higher contrast making it easier to track. Once you mark the object, click

During motion tracking, if the selection box accidentally tracks to the wrong location as the object moves, you can simply stop the clip and reposition the selection box to the correct place in the scene, then click Track again to resume tracking.

Next we can use the Add Title Text tool and type in the text we want to show on screen. In this example we’ll type BAKER ST. NOW. Click play button to ensure the text tracks correctly with the object. You can also attach an image or an effect to the motion tracking section box. When finished click OK.

Step 2: Add a fade transition to the text

The last step is to apply a fade effect to the text to make it smoothly appear on screen. You can also use Color Adjustment to create a cinematic look for your clip, or if you have ColorDirector you can select the footage and click Fix/Enhance to choose a Color Presets such as 70s Flick.