Give the performers and crew in your productions the credits they deserve. By using the tab stop and rolling title features in the Adobe Title Designer in Adobe Premiere Pro, you can easily create professional, rolling multicolumn titles.

1. Set the title to roll.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, choose File > New > Title to open the Adobe Title Designer. From the Title Type menu, choose Roll. If you intend to create rolling or crawling titles, make the appropriate choice before creating the title.

2. Set the title boundaries.

Select the horizontal type tool, and drag in the drawing area to create a text box. If you intend to create a long list of credits, you can drag the box so that it extends outside the visible area. If you do drag the box outside of the visible area, use the scroll bar to return to the top of the boundary.

3. Display the tab markers.

Choose Title > View > Tab Markers. No tab markers appear yet--you won't see them until you create tab stops.

4. Create tab stops.

Click the Tab Stops button . You create all tabs in this dialog box, using the ruler (which is marked in increments of points) and the tab markers for placement. To create a tab, click one of the three buttons in the Tab Stops window. The icons represent, from left to right, left-justified text, centered text, and right-justified text. Then click in the area above the ruler numbers. Note the stop that appears where you click, and note the tab marker that appears in the Adobe Title Designer drawing area. Adjust the location of the tab stop by dragging it along the ruler while following the location of the tab markers. Delete the stop by dragging it off the ruler. (We created one left-justified stop in the center of the text box.) After you create the tab stops, click OK.

You can open this dialog box to adjust the tab stops at any time during the process of creating your title.

5. Select a font and font size.

Click the Font Browse button . In the Font Browser dialog box, scroll to find a font you want to use and select it. Click OK. Then, in the Object Styles panel of the Adobe Title Designer window, expand the Properties category. Set a font size by dragging. (To ensure readability, use a font size higher than 14 points.)

The Font Browser is also a great tool for experimenting with fonts: Click a new font in the list, and the font in the drawing area changes accordingly. Use the Font Browser to sample a variety of fonts instantly.

6. Type your text.

Select the horizontal type tool, click where you want to type the first line of text, and begin typing. After you type the first set of characters, press Tab and type the next set. Keep all the characters on the same line. Usually, text in credits should not wrap; to prevent this, decrease the Font Size value or increase the size of the text box. After you type all the characters for that line, press Enter and repeat for the next line of text.

To view text that you type outside the visible area, use the scroll bars to the right of the drawing area. If text extends past the bottom boundary of the text box, you can no longer see it or scroll to see it. To view this hidden text, enlarge the text box by clicking the selection tool and dragging any control point on the text box. Then select the horizontal type tool before continuing to type text.

7. Set Roll/Crawl options.

Click the Roll/Crawl Options button . Make the appropriate selections, or enter the appropriate numbers in this dialog box to regulate the timing of the roll. Select Start Off Screen, End Off Screen, or both, to set the place where the roll begins and ends. Enter a number in the text boxes to set how many frames pass before the roll begins (Pre-Roll), how many frames it takes the roll to progressively ramp up to the project frame rate (Ease-In), how many frames the roll progressively slows down (Ease-Out), or how many frames the title track plays after the title rolls off-screen (Post-Roll). After you specify settings, click OK.

The Crawl Direction choices in the Roll/Crawl Options dialog box pertain to text you typed in a text box that is longer horizontally than it is vertically. In this instance, text would move left or right across the image, or crawl. If you choose to create a crawling title (not represented here), select one of these options.

8. Preview the roll.

Close the title window and save the title when prompted. The title clip appears in the Project window. Drag the clip to a superimpose track in the Timeline window (Video 2 and higher). Place the current-time indicator at the beginning of the clip, and press Enter to preview the roll.

By default, rolls begin from the bottom and move up through the visible area. To reverse the direction so that the roll begins from the top and moves down, select the clip, choose Clip > Speed/Duration, and then enter a value that is the negative of the displayed value. For example, if the speed value is 100%, enter -100%.

9. Experiment with the settings.

Double-click the title clip to return to the Adobe Title Designer. Use the Font Browser or the Font Size Object Style to adjust the characters. You may need to resize the text box to accommodate the changes. You can also change the Roll/Crawl options to tweak the roll timing.You can also create other object styles for the fonts, such as shadows, textures, and sheens. Each of these adjustments may require additional resizing of the text box.