Animate Text+'s Write On End value from 0 to 1 to reveal text over time. The basic effect uses native Fusion controls and does not need a separate typewriter plugin.
Build the smallest useful setup
On the Edit page, place a Fusion Composition above your video and open it on the Fusion page. Add a Text+ node, enter your text, and connect its output to MediaOut. A Text+ image has transparency around the letters, allowing the lower video track to show through.
For a title built directly inside a video clip's Fusion composition, merge Text+ over MediaIn instead: MediaIn into the Merge's Background input, Text+ into Foreground, and Merge into MediaOut. The Merge input guide shows those connections.
You do not need to add an opaque Background just to make text appear. Doing so can cover the video you wanted behind the title.
Set the reveal keyframes
- Select Text+ and find the Write On range in its Inspector. It has Start and End values.
- Leave Start at 0. Move to the frame where typing should begin and set End to 0.
- Enable animation with the keyframe diamond beside the Write On control.
- Move forward by the desired reveal duration and set End to 1. Once animation is enabled, changing the value at another frame creates the next keyframe.
- Play through the result while viewing MediaOut.
For a one-second reveal, separate the keyframes by 24 frames in a 24 fps composition or 30 frames in a 30 fps composition. Use the composition's actual frame numbers: its first frame may not be numbered zero.
Set the title clip long enough to include both the reveal and the time needed to read the completed text. A reveal that finishes on the last visible frame gives the viewer almost no reading time.
Control the typing rhythm
For an even reveal, use linear interpolation between the End keyframes. Easing that curve changes the reveal's pace: it can begin slowly, accelerate and slow down again. Neither choice is automatically better; it depends on whether you want mechanical typing or a stylized title.
For a deliberate pause, add two keyframes with the same End value at different times. For example, reveal part of the text, hold that value briefly, then continue toward 1. This makes the pause explicit instead of adding random extra keyframes.
Write On reveals text, but it does not by itself create a blinking cursor, typing sounds or realistic per-letter timing. Treat those as additional design choices.
Common problems
- Everything is visible immediately: confirm the first End value is 0 and that you animated the Text+ node actually connected to the output.
- Text is missing from the start as well as the end: check that the Start value stayed at 0.
- The animation changes after replacing the sentence: the same reveal duration now covers a different amount of text. Adjust the timing and any partial-reveal holds.
- The effect appears in Fusion but not on the timeline: check MediaOut and the Fusion Composition's position and duration.
When a ready-made title is useful
Clipizo Typewriter is the ready-made DRFX option for a typewriter title with adjustable styling and cursor controls. Its product page includes the installation instructions. Use the native Write On setup when you want a small editable node graph, or a packaged title when you want convenient timeline controls.
Reference: Blackmagic Design's Beginner's Guide to DaVinci Resolve 20, Lesson 9, “Animating the Text,” printed page 519. This guide describes the underlying Write On workflow; the placement of controls can vary between Resolve versions.