Uploaded November 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This shows a proof-of-concept build for dissolving text to particles using the Particle Simulator in Hitfilm Pro 3. This technique will not work in Hitfilm 2 Ultimate. Hitfilm 3 Express users will require the Particle Simulator add on pack available at hitfilm.com.
This template is annotated with a "NOTES" composite inside the project file that discusses the project setup as I have below.
DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE: PARTICLE TEXT DISSOLVE
dropbox.com/s/x3n125757u3wti3/Text%20Dissolve%20Template_HF3%20Pro_Particle%20Sim.hfp?dl=0
There's still a little bit of work to do to finish this off, but let's talk about what's been done so far.
First, once you add an animated layer as a particle emitter source, Hitfilm will slow down a lot. It's advised that one proxy the Wipe Mask and Particle Emitter Source.
There are four Composite Shots: Text Holder, Wipe Mask, Particle Emitter Source and Final.
Text Holder is just a text object. This build is procedural, so, if you change the text in Text Holder, this will automatically update for you.
Wipe Mask is a black to white gradient. Right now it holds the screen at full white for three seconds, then wipes the screen to full black over five seconds. This comp shot is what's driving the opacity of the text in FINAL. If you want to change the timing of the dissolve, change the position keyframes for Black Point and White Point. These keyframes are in a LINEAR animation mode, and you should leave that alone because of...
Particle Emitter Source is a copy of Text Holder with a mask added to the layer. This mask is animated to move in synch with the gradient wipe (There's an embedded copy of Wipe Mask in here for reference--if you change the timing of Wipe Mask you can turn it on here in Particle Emitter so you can align the mask and gradient.). Mask paths only move via a LINEAR keyframe motion--this is why Wipe Mask is LINEAR keys...
Final Comp brings everything together: Text Holder has a Set Matte effect on it using Wipe Mask as the Matte Source. I used a Luma Matte set to subtract and inverted. Particle Emitter and Wipe Mask are hidden from view--we don't need to see them. Text Holder also has a Drop Shadow effect on it, because why not?
The Particle Sim in Final has been set to an Emitter type of LAYER and is using the Particle Emitter embedded comp as it's source. There are two Forces, Rise and Turbulence. Rise is a global force pushing everything up. Turbulence is there for some organic motion. The Alpha property of the particles is animated in the Lifetime graph.
To finish this off you'll probably want to change your particle color, and you might want to add some size and speed variation in the Movement Variation controls, but, for now, you're 90% of the way there.
This shows a proof-of-concept build for dissolving text to particles using the Particle Simulator in Hitfilm Pro 3. This technique will not work in Hitfilm 2 Ultimate. Hitfilm 3 Express users will require the Particle Simulator add on pack available at hitfilm.com.
This template is annotated with a "NOTES" composite inside the project file that discusses the project setup as I have below.
DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE: PARTICLE TEXT DISSOLVE
dropbox.com/s/x3n125757u3wti3/Text%20Dissolve%20Template_HF3%20Pro_Particle%20Sim.hfp?dl=0
There's still a little bit of work to do to finish this off, but let's talk about what's been done so far.
First, once you add an animated layer as a particle emitter source, Hitfilm will slow down a lot. It's advised that one proxy the Wipe Mask and Particle Emitter Source.
There are four Composite Shots: Text Holder, Wipe Mask, Particle Emitter Source and Final.
Text Holder is just a text object. This build is procedural, so, if you change the text in Text Holder, this will automatically update for you.
Wipe Mask is a black to white gradient. Right now it holds the screen at full white for three seconds, then wipes the screen to full black over five seconds. This comp shot is what's driving the opacity of the text in FINAL. If you want to change the timing of the dissolve, change the position keyframes for Black Point and White Point. These keyframes are in a LINEAR animation mode, and you should leave that alone because of...
Particle Emitter Source is a copy of Text Holder with a mask added to the layer. This mask is animated to move in synch with the gradient wipe (There's an embedded copy of Wipe Mask in here for reference--if you change the timing of Wipe Mask you can turn it on here in Particle Emitter so you can align the mask and gradient.). Mask paths only move via a LINEAR keyframe motion--this is why Wipe Mask is LINEAR keys...
Final Comp brings everything together: Text Holder has a Set Matte effect on it using Wipe Mask as the Matte Source. I used a Luma Matte set to subtract and inverted. Particle Emitter and Wipe Mask are hidden from view--we don't need to see them. Text Holder also has a Drop Shadow effect on it, because why not?
The Particle Sim in Final has been set to an Emitter type of LAYER and is using the Particle Emitter embedded comp as it's source. There are two Forces, Rise and Turbulence. Rise is a global force pushing everything up. Turbulence is there for some organic motion. The Alpha property of the particles is animated in the Lifetime graph.
To finish this off you'll probably want to change your particle color, and you might want to add some size and speed variation in the Movement Variation controls, but, for now, you're 90% of the way there.
