Easy: Add a Cast Shadow to Text

Posted on by Jeff Riegel, Producer/Editor

by Larry Jordan

All it takes is changing one setting…

cast shadow. : a shadow cast by an object or figure in a painting or other picture.

Text, filled with a gradient, with a cast shadow effect applied.

You can add a cast shadow to any clip, however it is most effective with text. Here’s how to create it.

In my example, I created a text clip and filled it with a gradient. (The color settings are in the Text Inspector > Face.)

  • Select the text clip.
  • Go to the Effects browser > Stylize and apply the Drop Shadoweffect.
  • In the Video Inspector, change the drop shadow settings from Classic Drop Shadow to Perspective Back.
  • Finally, using the onscreen controls, tweak the shadow position and settings so it best matches your scene.

Voila!

Top 10 After Effects Shadows Effects You Must Know

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As a Senior Producer/Editor for a government contractor in Northern Virginia, Jeff assisted in the creation of their media department from the ground up. Prior to that, he was a Senior Video Production Specialist and Team Lead for the Department of Defense with more than ten years of consistent production, editing, video and audio recording experience. Jeff specializes in identifying, developing and supporting new trends in visual media technology and other solutions. Outside of the workplace, Jeff created a long-form documentary about the rise of a local boxer, Tori Nelson, to 13-time world champion status across 4 weight classes. It aired nationally via the Sports Channel For Women and screened at The Alexandria Film Festival and Texas Black Film Festival. Jeff is co-producing "The Lost Clipper," a two-decades documentary about the first hijacking in U.S. history and the search for those 15 lost souls taken in 1938. Filming takes him to Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Canada, and locations across the U.S. He enjoys creating a media-marketing social networking campaign for entities such as CapitalTristate Electrical Distributors and "The Lost Clipper" and personalities such as world boxing champion Tori Nelson, Netflix's "Narcos" personalities Steve Murphy and Javier Pena, and renowned landscape photographer Frank Lee Ruggles. Solving complex technical problems by utilizing a myriad of advanced audio-video hardware and software applications along with initiative and ingenuity, Jeff is eager to attack any project head-on. Jeff's Motto: think beyond convention...and consider it done!