Title Graphics: Slates, Lower Thirds, Popups, and Credits
Vlog It! comes with several types of title templates for displaying
text:
-
Opening and Closing Slates have two independent lines for text. They
are all full-frame and opaque, so you can pair them with any type of video effect. Their file names typically
start with OS (for Opening Slate), CS (Closing Slate), or Seg (Segment). While these designations indicate what
they were designed for, you can use them anywhere in a show that you want text.
Text
Slates allow text to wrap across multiple lines, so they're your best bet for displaying a larger volume
of text. They come with and without a separate header field. Like Title Slates, they are full-frame and opaque,
so you can pair them with any type of video effect. Some center the content both horizontally and vertically;
others align the content in the upper left corner. The icons indicate this positioning.
Lower Thirds appear along the bottom of the frame and are typically used for
identifying the person who's on screen. They have two independent lines of text. The person's name usually goes
in the first line, with his or her title, organization, etc. on the second line. Lower thirds are, of course,
fully transparent across most of the frame, which limits you to a subset of effects
that work with transparency.
Popups
come to us from the world of the comics. You have a choice of thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and scream bubbles
to show what a person is saying. In addition to the different styles, they also come with the balloon in a variety
of positions to accommodate the image behind.
You'll find the popups in a folder by that name within the Graphics Library, which also contains a selection
of effects specially designed for use with them.
Credits,
as their name implies, are intended for showing credits, but they can also be used to introduce text for other
purposes throughout a show. They come in a wide variety of templates ranging from three pairs of text lines to
a single text line to just one letter. Most are transparent around
the text, but a few are full-frame and opaque.
The Credit templates are in a folder named Text Effects within the Graphics Library, which also contains a variety
of effects that cause the captions to move across the frame. Those are the recommended effects for all transparent
Credit templates; they also work for the opaque one, but you can use any of the video effects for them, too.
Titles, Lower Thirds, and Text Slates come in thematic groups that are organized in folders within
the Styles Library. These are the same styles that you have to choose from when you create a show with the New
Show Wizard.
Templates with Transparency
All Lower Third, Popup, and Credit templates have transparency, which is represented by the checkerboard pattern
in the icon and "T" in the upper right corner of the action tray's media source bin. Some video effects
are not compatible with text templates (or any media inputs) that have transparency. To learn more, please consult
Text Effects.
A Little More about Lower Thirds
You will typically want to position a Lower Third right below the tray for the graphic source that it's associated
with. Run through the show in the Rehearse mode to check
the timing. To learn the finer points of positioning trays for the desired timing, please see Moving
Action Trays.
Most Over-the-Shoulder effects include a built-in caption below the inset that's closely akin to a Lower Third.
Editing the Text in a Title
Double-click
the title's icon in its action tray to select it. This will display the title in preview window and open the
Actions Tab for that template (unless it was already selected and you had opened a different tab, in which case
you'll have to click the Actions Tab).
- Click the Edit button at the bottom of the Actions Tab. This brings up a text
field. If the template has multiple independent fields, you start in the topmost of them.
- Type the desired content in the text field. The preview window will display
your changes in real time.
- If the template has another field that you want to edit, click the right arrow
button to advance to that field.
- Repeat steps 3-4 until you've edited the text in all of the the template's text fields.
- Click the Done button to accept your changes.

Want Control Over Fonts & Such? Covetous of More Styles? Then you might want consider moving
up to Visual Communicator, the bigger brother of Vlog
It! The built-in title editor provides advanced control over the color, size, and type face of text
in title graphics. VC's Styles Library is far more extensive. And with the Theme Pack add-on, you can introduce
animation into your lower-thirds as well as beefing up your library of themes further still.