On-Screen Text & Overlays
Seven designed text templates, twelve bundled fonts, and image or video overlays — placed, timed, and animated by asking in plain English.
Published 2026-07-24 · Updated 2026-07-24
Text Is Not Captions
Captions come from your transcript and follow the spoken words. On-screen text is authored: you write it, up to 200 characters per element, and it appears exactly where and when you say — any time window, any position in the frame, at any size on a continuous scale.
You never open a text panel. Say what you want on screen — "add a title that says WEEK ONE at the start" — and the agent picks a template, sets the font and colors, and times it. Every piece is refinable afterwards: bigger, higher, a different color, a different entrance.
The 7 Text Templates
TITLE
The big opening statement — names the video, a section, or a moment.
SUBTITLE
A quieter supporting line, usually paired under a title.
LOWER THIRD
A broadcast-style name and role strip near the bottom of the frame.
CALLOUT
A short label that points attention at something on screen.
BIG NUMBER
An oversized figure — a price, a stat, a countdown step.
QUOTE
A styled pull-quote treatment for lines worth lingering on.
CHAPTER
A section marker for chaptered videos — clean and consistent.
Fonts & Styling
Twelve bundled fonts are shared by captions and on-screen text: Inter Display in Black, ExtraBold, and Bold, plus Anton, Bebas Neue, Archivo Black, Poppins Black, Syne ExtraBold, Playfair Display Black, Instrument Serif, DM Serif Display, and Montserrat. That range covers heavy display type for hooks, editorial serifs for quotes, and clean sans-serifs for lower thirds.
Each text element takes a main color and an accent color, an optional backing box for legibility over busy footage, and uppercase styling on request. Size runs on a continuous scale, so "a touch bigger" is a real instruction. Custom font uploads are not supported — if your brand typeface is close to one of the twelve, say which look you are after and the agent picks the nearest.
Text Animations
Text can enter and exit with fade, pop, slide-up, blur-in, whip, rise, or drop — and there is a typewriter entrance that types the line out character by character. Pick one per element ("have the quote fade in and drop out") or let the agent choose something that fits the template. Animations are entrances and exits; the text holds still while it is on screen unless you ask for something else.
Overlays: Picture-in-Picture, Logos & Covers
An overlay is any image or clip from your project layered over the main footage — upload it or bring it in with a link (see Uploading Footage & Assets). Three shapes cover most jobs:
Picture-in-picture
An image or video framed over your footage — a reaction cam, a screenshot, B-roll in a corner. Scale from 5% to 100% of the frame.
Corner logo
A small persistent mark in any corner, with opacity control for a subtle presence.
Full-frame cover
An image that fills the whole frame — cover a section entirely while the audio continues.
Entrances & exits
Overlays can animate in and out rather than hard-cutting onto the screen.
Keyframed Drift & Slide
Overlays are not glued in place. Their x/y position can be keyframed, so an overlay can slide in from off-screen, drift slowly across the frame, or move from one corner to another over its time window. You describe the motion — "have the screenshot drift slowly to the right while it's on screen" — and the agent sets the keyframes. This is authored motion along a path you choose, not tracking: the overlay follows your instructions, never a subject in the footage.
Example Requests
"Add a title that says WEEK ONE at the start, big and uppercase"
A title template with uppercase styling — the agent sets a display font and times it over the opening.
"Put a lower third with my name, Sarah Chen, when I first appear on camera"
A broadcast-style name strip, timed to the moment you enter the frame.
"Overlay my logo in the top-right corner at about 10% size, slightly transparent"
A corner logo overlay — position, scale, and opacity in one sentence.
"Show the screen recording as a picture-in-picture bottom-left from 0:20 to 0:35"
A video overlay with an exact time window. Its picture plays; its audio stays silent.
"Make the quote card type itself out, then fade away"
Typewriter entrance plus a fade exit on the quote template.
Honest Limits
- No motion tracking. Overlays sit where you place them or move on keyframes you request — they cannot lock onto a moving face or object.
- Video-overlay audio is silent. A clip used as an overlay shows its picture only. Your soundtrack comes from the main footage, music, and voiceover layers.
- Captions render on top. Overlays and text sit below captions — if they collide, move one of them.
- No custom font uploads. The twelve bundled fonts are the full set, for captions and text alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between on-screen text and captions?
Captions are generated from your video's transcript and follow the spoken words automatically. On-screen text is anything you write yourself — a title, a lower third, a callout — up to 200 characters per element, shown at any time window and position you choose. Both use the same set of 12 bundled fonts.
Can I put my logo on a video?
Yes. Ask for a corner logo overlay and the agent places your uploaded image in any corner, scaled anywhere from 5% to 100% of the frame, with opacity control if you want it subtle. One honest note: assets live per-project — there is no stored brand kit yet, so upload the logo file into each project you want it in.
Which fonts can I use for text?
Twelve bundled fonts, shared by captions and on-screen text: Inter Display in Black, ExtraBold, and Bold, plus Anton, Bebas Neue, Archivo Black, Poppins Black, Syne ExtraBold, Playfair Display Black, Instrument Serif, DM Serif Display, and Montserrat. Custom font uploads are not supported.
Can an overlay follow a moving person or object?
No. Overlays do not motion-track. An overlay sits where you place it, or moves along a path you describe — a drift or slide animated with keyframes on its x/y position. If you need a moving subject covered, region censoring follows footage through cuts and reframes, but it does not track camera motion either.
Does a video overlay play its own audio?
No — a clip used as a picture-in-picture overlay is silent by design. Its picture plays; its soundtrack does not. The audio in your edit comes from the main footage, music, and voiceover layers, each with its own volume control.
Can text or overlays appear on top of captions?
No. Captions always render above text and overlays. If a caption collides with a lower third or a picture-in-picture, move the captions to the top or middle of the frame, or reposition the overlay — both are one-sentence requests.