Video Editing: Inserting Movie Credits

Keeping pace with computer technology is a major challenge. It seems that products get bumped into obsolescence every six months by the next big computer or multimedia "thing." Specs improve, clocks quicken and memory expands as the relentless pursuit of the fastest, most-powerful computer races on.

Video technology improves, too, but not quite as quickly. As the line that separates video and computer equipment continues to blur, however, you can count on desktop video improvements approaching the same pace.

One caveat in this race: it's not long before the price of new technology falls to where nearly everyone can afford to own it.

It happened back in the 1980s with S-VHS and Hi8 VCRs, which both grew out of advances that once cost a pretty penny in the pro video world. Now it seems to be happening with titlers, the devices that let you put text on your videos when you edit them.

For years, only the pros could add high-quality text to programs on videotape. Videomakers like us were stuck with clunky, ugly titlers that left too much to the viewers' imagination to be useful or respected.

Thankfully, those days are gone. Many titlers available today let videomakers on even the tightest budgets add great-looking text to their projects. Some titlers are stand-alone boxes that connect to your VCRs. Others are special hardware cards that plug into personal computers and turn them into part-time or full-time titlers.

Whatever version you choose, today's titlers are a great way to make your videos look better.

If you've got a titler in your editing system, we have some tips to make your titles look their best, and add that pro look to your videos.

Titlers are one of the simplest and cheapest ways to add a truly professional touch to your videos. On- screen text communicates a subtle sense of credibility and professionalism to your audience. It says that you're much more than a novice with a camcorder trying to make good videos.

With a titler, you're able to help the audience understand more of what you're trying to say by carefully using on-screen text to supplement the story.

If your project is an educational video that teaches people how to perform basic maintenance on a car engine, you can use text to reinforce key parts of the process. Doing so helps the audience remember those important steps when they're under the hood with tools in hand.

Perhaps your video is a documentary that takes the audience on a tour of different cities and countries. You can use titles to guide the audience from place to place and landmark to landmark. That will help them remember exactly where you went and what it looked like.

Computer-based titler systems may even let you digitize a map of the world and use it as a background for the text. Place the name of each city you visited on the map to make the trip even clearer to the audience.

Maybe you're taking a stand on a community issue, producing a short video with interviews to run on a local cable station. A titler can strengthen the impact of your show.

You can use text to identify each person you interview, and include a short description of what they do in the community. Text can help reinforce your concerns or visions about the issue for the viewers. They can also help acknowledge the people who contributed time or money to help produce the program.

While you can use titles to help an audience understand and enjoy your video, it's important to avoid overusing them.

The proper use of titles will make you look like a video pro. Audiences will come away from your shows remembering and respecting what you had to say.

However, if you overuse titles, they may not give you the same consideration. Putting too many titles in a show, or using too many special titling effects will make you look like the novice who just got a new titler and wants to use it as often as possible in every project.

Remember that the images and sounds are the most important part of the video. Be careful not to use too many titles, and don't let the ones you use overpower the video. Doing so takes away the impact of the pictures and makes your video too dependent on titles to tell the story. Let the pictures and sound tell most of the story, and use titles only when it's necessary to convey some important details.

Titles communicate much more to a viewer than just the meaning of the words they spell. The shape, color and position of on-screen text can often telegraph a vivid message about your skills as a videomaker. It's important to know these titling "rules" so you can use them to help and not hinder your videos.

Pick the fonts that match your video's message. Fonts are the various letter or character styles stored in your titler's memory. Most models come with a variety of shapes and sizes. It's important to choose fonts that support your video's message, and not ones that contradict it.

Some fonts look traditional and perhaps even conservative. While they may seem boring at first, they actually work best in most titling situations. For videos where you don't want the titles to draw unnecessary attention, use a traditional font. But if you're working on a fun project, like a family vacation or birthday video, choose fonts with a little more personality. They can add an extra sense of fun to the video.

For most projects, use only one or two different fonts in a video. Resist the temptation to use every font in your titler in a project. Artistic restraint will do more to please the audience than technical bells and whistles. Text that looks the same throughout a video sends a subtle message of reliability and consistency to your audience. It says they can trust what you're telling them. Choosing one font to use for all of the titles will work in almost every situation.

There are times, however, when two or more fonts may be a better choice than just one. If you're splitting your video into segments and plan to give each segment a title screen, choose a different font for each of those screens. Then choose a second complementary font for all the titles within the segments. This technique clearly communicates the segment change, and also keeps the titling within segments consistent and professional. Always remember that it's wiser to err on the side of too few fonts than too many.

Let the size of the text help convey your message. Large, bold-style letters work perfectly for creating main title screens. If you need to put a title at the beginning of a video, or between segments, use a large font. Use smaller, thin letters for titles in the body of the video, like the names of people you interview.

As with the number of fonts, try to keep title size consistent in your videos. If you use titles throughout a video, make sure they're the same size on every screen. Randomly sized text won't communicate the stability you want the audience to feel as they watch your video.

Choose fonts with basic shapes and bold features for the best readability. Some titlers include fonts with serifs, the small curls and lines that add extra flair to letters. Avoid using such fonts unless you want to strain the viewers' eyes. Script-style fonts also have poor legibility. If you want the people in the back of the room to see the titles as clearly as those in the front, choose a sans-serif or basic- style font for the titles. Anything else might leave viewers squinting.

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