Adding and editing generators

While titles generally add text, Generators generally add background elements: images, generated graphics, patterns, or something else. Here, you’ll learn how to add and edit Generators, including some of the fancier controls accessible in the Inspector and the Viewer. Finally, you’ll find out about some of the best Generators included with the app, remembering of course that there are plenty of free and cheap third-party Generators out there too.

The most common uses for Generators are to stand in for other content (such as the Placeholder generator, which you learned about back in Chapter 6, Build the Spine of the Story: Quick Assembly) or to act as a background behind other elements such as titles or keyed green-screen shots. But some types of videos, such as slideshows, might be built entirely from Generators — they can do quite a bit.

IMPORTANT NOTE

An alternative to Generators is to use real still images or video instead...

Captioning and subtitles

In this section, you’ll learn how to put words at the bottom of the screen, for people who either can’t hear the audio, choose not to hear the audio, or don’t understand the audio. This isn’t a small audience either; a huge number (around 90%!) of social media viewers watch videos without sound, at least initially, and captions can fill the gap:

Figure 15.67: Automatically generated captions aren’t terribly accurate or pretty

Captioning is therefore incredibly important if you’re creating videos that people didn’t ask to see, and of course, captions are important for accessibility. Before we continue, it’s important to understand that captions aren’t quite the same as subtitles, though they do have a lot in common. Have a look at the following descriptions:

• Subtitles are usually intended for a hearing audience, to provide a translation from another language...

Summary

You’ve learned about a number of ways to augment your videos with words, and backgrounds behind or between those words. Any time there’s speech, there should be captions, not just because it’s a legal requirement in many countries, but because it’s the right thing to do. And besides captions, good titles can bring so much life to a video that it’s simply disappointing to see so many videos that don’t do titling well. This is largely because many other NLEs don’t have the controls or integration that you can enjoy here, and if a fancy title means outsourcing or juggling another application, many editors don’t bother.

Do bother! Clients will appreciate that extra effort, and, if used well, a few changes to the Custom title are enough to lift your lower thirds and bumpers way above the norm. Tracking can add a whole level of polish, too. Generators, especially if you explore the wild third-party world out there, allow...

Review questions

1. What’s the easiest way to stop editing a text element?
2. Which four principles are important in title design?
3. Which command lets you save text properties for reuse?
4. If you drag on the green circle on 3D text, which axis are you rotating around?
5. Which 2D title lets you apply your own blur, position, scaling, and opacity animations to text?
6. What happens when you add a transition to a connected title?
7. Which title extracts date information from the clip it’s connected to?
8. Which generator creates a black background by default?
9. Which closed caption format is popular online?
10. If the delivery destination doesn’t support closed captions, what can you do to include captions?

Review answers

1. Press Escape.
2. Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.
3. Save Format and/or Appearance Attributes.
4. The Y axis.
5. Custom.
6. It gets taller and is placed in a storyline.
7. Date/Time.
8. Custom.
9. SRT.
10. Burn in Closed Captions, converting them into Open Captions.

Summary

You’ve learned about a number of ways to augment your videos with words, and backgrounds behind or between those words. Any time there’s speech, there should be captions, not just because it’s a legal requirement in many countries, but because it’s the right thing to do. And besides captions, good titles can bring so much life to a video that it’s simply disappointing to see so many videos that don’t do titling well. This is largely because many other NLEs don’t have the controls or integration that you can enjoy here, and if a fancy title means outsourcing or juggling another application, many editors don’t bother.

Do bother! Clients will appreciate that extra effort, and, if used well, a few changes to the Custom title are enough to lift your lower thirds and bumpers way above the norm. Tracking can add a whole level of polish, too. Generators, especially if you explore the wild third-party world out there, allow...

Review questions

1. What’s the easiest way to stop editing a text element?
2. Which four principles are important in title design?
3. Which command lets you save text properties for reuse?
4. If you drag on the green circle on 3D text, which axis are you rotating around?
5. Which 2D title lets you apply your own blur, position, scaling, and opacity animations to text?
6. What happens when you add a transition to a connected title?
7. Which title extracts date information from the clip it’s connected to?
8. Which generator creates a black background by default?
9. Which closed caption format is popular online?
10. If the delivery destination doesn’t support closed captions, what can you do to include captions?

Review answers

1. Press Escape.
2. Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.
3. Save Format and/or Appearance Attributes.
4. The Y axis.
5. Custom.
6. It gets taller and is placed in a storyline.
7. Date/Time.
8. Custom.
9. SRT.
10. Burn in Closed Captions, converting them into Open Captions.