I'll be talking about three things today: Text effects, Fonts, and Backgrounds.
[WARNING: IN ORDER TO SEPERATE THE USERS BELOW I WILL BE USING GIFS OF EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN SINCE I USED ATTRACTIVE MEN LAST TIME. BEAUTIFUL WOMEN HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE DROOLING, CRYING, SWEATING, EXCESSIVE HEART BEATS, AND UNCONTROLLABLE FEELINGS OF LOVE. IF THIS OCCURS, YOU'RE SCREWED]
First off are the text effects.
To most, text is essential. But, to some, it's optional.
I personally think you need text. I like having text to tell the story because the story's message can get lost if you only use clips.
Now with text effects, depending on the software, you could have many options or just a few. On Sony Vegas Movie Studio I only have a couple of really good texts that I like and that work well with trailers.
So when choosing text read the summary and get a feel for the story. If it's dramatic use a text where it fly's in towards the screen. If it's romantic maybe just a plain text. In the video on the side I used 'Slide Up'
Just as its name says, the text slide moves up. Mostly I used to switch back and forth in between 'Move Left' and 'Move Right' Most of my trailers were like that.
Presently, I don't do a text effect anymore and, if I do, I've found a way to move the text without the plugin effects.
That decision is yours.
Font.
When choosing your font I would, just like above, chose a font that goes with the theme of the story.
If it's a romantic story maybe a cursive font? An action story maybe a bold font or a dramatic one?
Also with fonts make sure you can read it. Some fonts I chose are fonts that fit the story perfectly but they make some letters hard to read. Also with fonts you can use italics, underline or bold.
I would personally stay away from underlined text. I feel it takes away from what you're trying to say. But if you like using underline go for it.
Same thing goes for bold.
Also with how long you want to keep the text on just read it out loud to yourself, then add a couple more seconds because some people might miss a word when reading or just be a slower reader than others.
Background:
In some cases, backgrounds work well. In the trailer above, I used a smoky background for the story was a dark/action one.
Sometimes backgrounds don't work out and in that case a plain black background is best. If you want to use a background be my guest! Go right ahead!
Just make sure the text is readable and the background matches the feel of the story. For example if it's a horror story don't put a sparkly and happy text.
Tip: You can search 'Overlays' on YouTube and find some nice backgrounds. You can also look for different fonts to download on websites like dafont.com