A title slate is simply text on-screen and nothing else. Slates are using to introduce scenes into your video should they be necessary.
Sometimes the only slates you need is at the beginning (such as stating the title of the video) and at the end (for credits). At other times you may need slates during the video to separate different chapters. For example, if you were producing an instructional video that showed a 5-step process on how to do something, each one of those 5 steps would most likely need a title slate to introduce each step.
[hidepost=1]
Proper Look Of Title Slates
The proper look for a title slate is (and always has been/will be) white text on a black background. This is the easiest to read and does not annoy the viewer. Were you to put black text on a white background you run the risk of the text “fuzzing” and the screen has the effect of a bright light bulb (and that’s bad).
White text on a black background also gives the appearance of looking cinematic, and that’s a good thing.
The font you choose for your title slate text should be easily readable. If you’re stuck for ideas on what to use, sans-serif fonts are usually easier to read on-screen compared to serif fonts. A sans-serif font is more “round” and non-decorative. Examples of sans-serif are Arial and Helvetica. Serif fonts are sometimes called “roman” fonts, such as Times New Roman, Georgia and Garamond. The reason sans-serif non-decorative fonts look better on screen is because the decorations on serif fonts tend to “fuzz” at times, even as white text on a black background.
The size of your font is also important. You want your text to be readable but at the same time not too large. The way to tell if your font is too large is if it “touches” any edge of the frame while editing. If that’s the case, you need to size the font down. As a general rule of thumb, you should keep the font about 5% to 15% away from any edge of the frame.
On-screen Time for Title Slates
Beginning video editors always make the classic mistake of having their title slates stay on screen for far too long. For example, most title slates only require a maximum on-screen time of five seconds. Anything longer will appear to “drag” for too long on-screen.
[/hidepost]
Like what you read?
If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below:
