HELP WITH AFTER EFFECTS!!PLEASE!!

[Guest_imported]

Ok.. i need some help. Our school is doing a video yearbook and in this we do short humorous segment and such. One segement were "spoofing" is Saturday Night LIves' "Deep Thoughts". Everything is perfect except for one thing. I need to know how to the handwritten text. is there any easy way to do this, or even any hard way? It needs to be written, not just letters popping up. I know it can be done and im sure somone here can help. so please please help, im approaching a deadline fast and my teacher is buggin me for it. thanks for your help everyone.

-CASTOR TROY

 

[ellipsis]

Two suggestions.
1. First create your finished text, then, when it's a layer in AE, create a new mask (from the Layer menu) - or several if it's easier - and animate it to reveal the text. This can be a bit fiddly, but once the animation is done, you can slide the keyframes around to get the timing right.
2. Again, start with the finished text, then use Photoshop (or something) to make a series of junk mattes which progressively cover the artwork (from beginning to end). Save these mattes as a sequence of files, then import them into AE and use them as a Track Matte above the text layer. Less fiddly, and probably the quickest way, but you're kind of stuck with the timing and the animation isn't as smooth.
Anyway, hope this helps, and good luck.