Video: Trigger text to play over a video

In PowerPoint, you can mark points in a video by using bookmarks, and you can use these bookmarks to trigger animation effects—such as overlaid text. Watch this video to learn how.

Trigger text to appear as an overlay on a video

You can add text to fade in and out while your video plays. By adding animation effects to your text, it gives you more control over how and when your text appears.

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Trigger an animation effect to play

In PowerPoint, you can mark points in a video by using bookmarks, and then, use the bookmarks to trigger effects.

One effect is a text overlay that appears on the video. As the video plays, a line of text fades in, and then, fades out.

The text effect is triggered by two bookmarks I have set on the video: The first one triggers the text fading in, the second one triggers the text fading out.

I’ll recreate these effects, so you can see each step.

Here is the slide at an earlier point. I have inserted the video, and this is the text I want to play.

To add the bookmarks, I select the video, and click the PLAYBACK tab in VIDEO TOOLS, which is where I find the Add Bookmark command.

I’ll use this playbar to set the bookmarks.

I click the Play control, and Pause where I want the text to fade in...about here.

Then I click Add Bookmark. I click Play again to resume the action, and Pause where I want the text to fade out, about here.

I’ll add the second bookmark there.

So, the bookmarks are in place. Next, I’ll add the text animation effects. I’ll open the Animation Pane to help with that.

The effect here refers to the video, which sets up automatically as its own trigger when I insert it.

The animation effects that I need to add will go on this text box.

To apply the effects, first I’ll apply a Fade entrance, and then I’ll click Add Animation and add a second effect, a Fade exit.

I don’t want the fades to be too fast, so I’ll select them, and increase their Duration a little bit.

When I click Play All, you can see that the text fades in and out.

The last step is to make the bookmarks trigger the text effects.

I’ll select the first Fade effect, the entrance; then I’ll click Trigger, point to On Bookmark, and choose Bookmark 1.

Now I’ll select the Fade exit, click Trigger, On Bookmark, and choose Bookmark 2.

Each fade effect is now triggered by a bookmark. The final thing I’ll do is move the text up a bit on the slide, so it doesn’t crowd the video.

Let’s play the slide. I click the video to start it, and there is the text fading in and fading out.

Now that you know how to use PowerPoint triggers, you can find your own creative heights with animation.

For more information, see the course summary, and experiment on your own.