What it does
Sends a line of text bouncing around the canvas, with optional trailing echoes that follow behind.
The look is pure nostalgia for idle screens: the DVD logo ricocheting around a black television, the bouncing text of a screensaver, the marquee scrolling across an old website. All of it is the same simple rule, an object moving in a straight line until it hits an edge and reverses, and the hypnotic appeal is watching for the rare perfect corner hit.
This effect generalises that into three motions. Ricochet is the classic wall bounce with hard turns at the edges. Drift floats the characters along smooth pseudo-random paths for an organic wander. Orbit sweeps them along looping Lissajous curves. Each character can move on its own timing, so a word can travel as a block or scatter and reassemble.
Because it is generated from time rather than baked in, the motion is fully controllable and loops cleanly for export. Layer on trailing echoes that lag behind the head and fade, blend those trails to glow, and set the type, weight, colour, and stroke. The result is a title card, a logo loop, or a background that never sits still.
Signature looks
DVD corner watch
A single word ricocheting off the edges on a dark field, no trails, all anticipation. The screensaver everyone remembers.
Echo trail
The text orbiting with a string of fading echoes behind it, blended to glow. A kinetic logo loop with motion built in.
Scatter and gather
Every character drifting on its own path so the word breaks apart and reforms, a restless typographic background.
Try it on your own footage
This effect runs live in the Modulate editor, with layers, effect chains, masks, and keyframes. Free, no signup, nothing to install.
Common questions
What is the bouncing text effect?
It animates a line of text so it moves around the frame, bouncing off the edges, drifting, or orbiting, optionally leaving trailing echoes. It is the effect behind the DVD-player screensaver and similar idle-screen animations, applied to any word or phrase you choose.
How do I make the DVD-screensaver bounce?
Use the ricochet motion, where the text travels in a straight line and reverses hard at each edge. Keep it to one word on a dark background and turn off the trails to match the classic bouncing DVD logo. In Modulate it runs live in your browser and exports as a clean loop.
Can each letter move separately?
Yes. Every character can run on its own timing and path, so a word can travel together as a block or scatter and reassemble. A stagger control sets how far apart in time the characters move.
What are the trailing echoes?
The echoes are time-lagged copies of the text that follow where it was a moment ago, fading as they recede. Blended to add or screen they read as a glowing motion trail rather than duplicate words.
Does it loop for export?
Yes. The motion is a pure function of time, so it can snap to a whole number of cycles per composition and loop seamlessly, which makes it suitable for a repeating background or a logo animation.
Related effects
Echo effect
Leaves a decaying trail of recent frames behind moving content.
Wave effect
Bends the image with moving distortion: swirling turbulence, rolling directional waves, or rings spreading from a point.
Glow effect
Makes bright areas bloom with soft halos, like lights glowing through a hazy lens.