And if you think of how titles are used in the movies/films - they are often the first thing that the audience sees and the last. That's why many feature films have a separate crew/group that produces just the titles for a film.
Here now are my five simple suggestions that will improve your video titles:
1. A common mistake by novice producers is to create the text/graphics that run all the way near the edge of the frame. With TV/video you should leave an imaginary border around the edge of the frame.
Put your graphics into what is known as the 'essential area' (also known as the Safe Title area) of the TV screen. If your titles run too far off any side of the screen they may be cut-off in others monitors (there is a variation between TVs)
Here is an example of what happens when the titles do not conform to the safe title are (titles are prepared too far near each side)2. A video screen is no the place to display significant amount of text. Keep it abbreviated, highlighting the important information. Remember - most folks are not watching television because they love to read lots of text.
3. As a rule of thumb, text should be kept on screen long enough so you can read through it 3 times fast. This gives the slow readers enough time to digest the material, but is still quick enough not to bore fast readers. A lot of beginners videos I see the sub-title (someone's name or place name - also called a 'lower-third') runs on for minutes. This distracts from the other elements taking place.
4. It is generally advised to avoid using the color red in text. This is especially true of consumer video formats (VHS, 8mm) as red tends to 'bleed' or run together and words in red will be difficult to read. Also, high contrast colors between your background and your text is generally recommended (if you have varying background where you titles are superimposed upon - it can be useful to use a contrasting color as the edge or outline of your title).
5. Use a print style or font that is clean and simple... the elaborate styles will become difficult to read, especially with generational signal loss. So avoid heavy serif-ed fonts and elaborate fonts like Old English or Germanic fonts. For fonts that really help embellish your topic/subject, check out the free font collections like the ones at www.DaFont.com (see related post below)
*Oh, yes let me add one other strong suggestion... before rendering/creating or finalizing your titles, it is a great idea to have another person in your office/family read through the credits while you play them in preview. This may prevent any glaring spelling or grammar errors.
Related Posts: Fonts for Better Video Titles
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