# Titles: free text over the video

> How to add a title in the Slicer editor: up to three lines of text, font, size, colour, background, outline and shadow, place in frame, animations and timing.

Source: https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/editor/titles/

A title is free text over the video: a chapter name, a caption for a shot, a list of steps, a call to follow. Unlike captions, it isn't tied to speech: write anything, put it anywhere in the frame and for any length of time. Titles are free and available in any project — both with the AI director and [Edit it myself](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/projects/manual/).

**Demo (Web):**

1. Put the playhead at 0:02 and press “Elements” — the “Add at the playhead” block
2. Press “Title” — the “New title” sheet: text field, fonts, size, colours, background, animations
3. Type “Chapter 1. A slow morning”, pick the “Rounded” background and the “Typewriter” entrance
4. Press “Add title” — the title in the preview and in the top row of the elements track
5. Drag the title frame lower on the preview and pull its corner — the title gets bigger
6. Drag the title's right edge on the track — it stays on screen longer

## Add a title

### 1. Place the playhead

The title goes in where the playhead is now — for 3 seconds to start with.

### 2. Open the New title sheet

There are two ways:

-   **Text** → **New title** (**Free text: font, colour, background, animation.**);
-   **Elements** → **Title** in the **Add at the playhead** block.

### 3. Type the text

Up to 200 characters and up to three lines: start a new line right in the field. A counter of characters and lines is under the field.

### 4. Style it and add it

Pick the font, size, colour and animations (see below) and press **Add title**. The hint under the button: **Goes in at the playhead for 3 s; move and stretch it on the track later.**

## Style

| Setting | What you can pick |
| --- | --- |
| **Font** | Slicer fonts — the same as for captions |
| **Size** | A slider from 24 to 200; a new title has 96 |
| **Text colour** | Slicer palette colours, white and black; a new title is white |
| **Background** | **None**, **Box** or **Rounded**. Once a background is picked, a second row of colours appears below — for the background |
| **Outline** | A black outline around the letters so the text reads on any shot. On for a new title; picking a background turns it off — you can turn it back on |
| **Shadow** | A semi-transparent shadow under the text |
| **Alignment** | **Left**, **Centre** or **Right**: the lines align, and the title moves to that edge of the frame |

## Animations

Animations are set separately for the start and the end of a title. A new title has **Pop** and **Fade out**.

| **Entrance** | What it looks like |
| --- | --- |
| **None** | The title appears at once |
| **Fade in** | Gradually shows up from transparent |
| **Slide in** | Slides up into place from below |
| **Pop** | Grows in with a light springy overshoot |
| **Typewriter** | Letters appear one by one, as on a typewriter. The longer the text, the longer it takes — up to a second and a half |

| **Exit** | What it looks like |
| --- | --- |
| **None** | The title disappears at once |
| **Fade out** | Gradually fades away |
| **Slide out** | Slides up and fades |
| **Shrink** | Shrinks and fades |

## Place and size in the frame

A new title goes in the centre, in the upper third of the frame. To move it, select the title on the elements track (or open the **Elements** mode) and pause the preview.

**Web**

**Drag the title right on the preview; resize it by the frame corner.** Drag the frame with the mouse to where you want it; pull a corner of the frame to make the text bigger or smaller.

**iPhone and iPad**

**Drag the title right on the preview; resize it with a pinch or by the frame corner.** Move the frame with your finger; change the size with a two-finger pinch or by a corner of the frame.

## A title on the timeline

Titles sit in the top row of the elements track, next to the hook and plaques; a title shows the first line of its text.

-   **Edit.** Tap a title and choose **Edit** — the **Title** sheet opens. Changes show in the preview right away; everything you change in the sheet is undone in one step. Close it with **Done**.
-   **Delete** — **Delete** in the title's tools.
-   **Stretch or shrink** — drag the edge handle of the selected title. The edge snaps to words and markers.
-   **Move** — drag the title with the mouse; on iPhone and iPad, long-press and drag.

If speech is heard under a title, it holds on to the words; if not, to the time of the clip. Either way the title travels with its clip: move the clip and the title moves too; delete the clip and the title is deleted as well, and **Undo** brings both back. More — [Time anchoring](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/editor/elements/#timing). A title can last longer than its clip and run into the next ones.

In the **Elements** mode titles have their own **Titles** group: the time (click to seek the preview), the text, and edit and delete buttons. While there are none — **No titles yet — “Title” above adds one at the playhead.**

## Good to know

-   A reel can have up to 30 titles.
-   Titles are translated along with captions, keeping the line breaks ([Caption translation](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/editor/translate/)).
-   The [AI assistant](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/ai/assistant/) can add a title too: “Add a title ‘Three simple steps’ at the start of the reel”.

## What's next

-   [Elements: hook, plaques, cards, emoji, zooms](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/editor/elements/)
-   [Captions: text, accents, style](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/editor/captions/)
-   [Aspect ratio and cover](https://docs.slicer.media/en/guide/editor/format-cover/)