3 Tips for better text in video

As online video becomes more and more popular, the gap between pro’s and amateurs keeps getting wider. And even when internet users are fairly used to the average low-quality of a YouTube video, they also know how to spot (and prefer) a good looking video when they see one.

The fact is that in video we DO “judge the book by its cover”. It happens because our eyes (and brains) have been trained well with all those years of watching TV. So even when most people are not experts at video creation, they are experts at judging the quality of the videos they watch.

One of the most obvious tell-tales of an amateur video is the way that text is handled on the screen. So today, I’ll be sharing with you 3 easy-to-follow tips to make your video productions stand out from the pack:

Tip #1: Mind the fonts.

By far, the most common error when adding text to video is choosing the wrong font. Most newbie video makers try to show off by using ornate fonts, slapping them on a busy background and using colors that make text hard to read. The rule to follow here is simplicity. Keep your fonts simple, your colors and backgrounds simple and focus on readability. If your message can’t be clearly read, then there’s no reason to add it to your video.

Tip #2: Keep it smooth and slow.

If you plan to move text on the screen, please do it smoothly and slowly. Nothing is more frustrating to the viewer than not being able to keep up to speed with what’s happening on the screen.

Jerky text movements and text that moves too fast to be read scream AMATEUR. The only exception to this rule is when your text is just a graphical design element in the video or when your video is targeting the Mtv crowd; then you can do pretty much whatever you want with it.

Tip #3: Timing is key!

Another very common error is text that disappears from the screen too soon for the viewer to finish reading it. This too is extremely frustrating for your viewers. This happens because the producer is too close to the project and knows exactly what the text says… so he can read it fast enough. The rule of thumb is to keep the text on-screen as long as you need to read it out loud 3 times.

Follow these tips and your productions will look more professional right off the bat. However, I’m just starting to scratch the surface… there are a lot of different tips and guidelines to know when it comes to text on video.

Do you have any particular pet-peeves about bad text on video? Share them with me by leaving a comment!