I am creating a photomontage using AE 7 and have applied the year to each picture. As the pictures slowly reduces in size the numbers tend to wave. I know why this happens. What I need to know is how can I work around this in such a way that the numbers remain firm. The numbers (year 1957, for example) was applied in AE.

This is probably a simple answer, but it is one I do not know....

Thanks,

Is there a distortion effect applied? If so, remove it.
If you don't mean that kind of wave, can you clarify what you mean exactly?

No effect has been applied. The problem is that the numbers are not sharp and crisp as the numbers shrink with the picture.

Okay, next question - how did you apply the text to the picture? And, what are your composition settings?

The text was applied in Photoshop CS2. I believe the problem is interlaced video. When I deinterlaced the video problem was reduced. I also enlarged the numbers and which reduced the problem further. There is still a slight oscillation of sorts, but it is workable now.

The orginal problem was the alternating fields of TV. As I said before, the numbers were slowly shrinking and slowing moving up the screen.

Thanks for you interest !!!!!

Try removing the photoshop text and replace with text made using the text tool in AE (or select the photoshop text and "convert to editable text" through the layer menu).

Progressive settings help, but so does the vector nature of AE text.