Embedded Files
This page illustrates how to produce lower thirds for projects destined for studio recordings. Many of the initial stages also apply to working on edited projects as well.
This page illustrates how to produce lower thirds for projects destined for studio recordings. Many of the initial stages also apply to working on edited projects as well.
Lower Thirds or Supers
Lower Thirds or Supers
Lower thirds or Supers are the text overlayed at the bottom of the screen usually to name presenters and guests.
They sit in the lower third of the screen and are superimposed on the picture.
They usually match the general design of the show used in the titles or on set.
Coloured backgrounds help the text stand out against almost any picture from the studio.
A second line of text may give a guest’s title, occupation or other reason for their inclusion in the show.
Creating in Premiere Pro
Creating in Premiere Pro
There are two or three different ways of making and using graphics within Premiere but for simple designs we can use the ‘Legacy Title’ tool.
First, make sure your Premiere project is creating files in the correct format.
Create a new project, name it, and save it.
In the menus, select File > New > Sequence
Select AVCHD > 1080i > AVCHD1080i25 (50i)
Name your sequence - e.g. GFX - and press OK
You will have a new, empty timeline and only your new sequence in the Project Window ( at bottom left).
Fit for Gallery Use
Fit for Gallery Use
If you want to make a colourful graphic - i.e. not just white text - you need to make the background chromakey green* so the vision mixer in the studio gallery can key (or layer) your graphic over studio pictures..
Click on the Rectangle tool (located under the Pen tool)
Place your cursor just outside the grey chequered ‘TV screen’ and draw a rectangle by dragging the cursor beyond the bottom right of the screen. You will see a rectangle covering the whole screen with ‘handles’, which show that it is the selected object.
The rectangle shape will appear in the list on the right Graphics panel
We need to change the colour to chromakey green.
Click on the ‘Color’ box to get the ‘colour picker’ panel.
Select the rectangle shape in the list
Click on Fill for the colour picker selection
You can choose almost any colour for your graphics - but we want a chromakey green…
Click in the green area on the spectrum column.
Click on the brightest green area of the shaded square on the left.
The colour you have chosen is shown in the top panel next to the ‘OK’ button.
Click OK.
Your graphic is now completely chromakey green and we can start to add the lower third design on top.
*If you want to make a lower third containing the colour green, you will need to use a different colour for the background. Otherwise your graphic won’t key over the pictures in the studio and some of it will disappear. An alternative colour for the background might be a pure blue...but then you can’t have any strong blue colours in your graphic!
Exporting your Lower Thirds as Stills
Exporting your Lower Thirds as Stills
You need to export your title frames individually.
Drag each title onto the sequence timeline.
Place the blue playhead on one of the titles so you see it in the upper viewing window.
Click on the camera-shaped ‘export frame’ icon under the window.
(If the icon is not there, click on the big + at the right and drag the camera icon down into the panel full of icons.)
In the Export Frame dialogue box...
Name the still
Choose ‘Targa’ for format
Choose where to save it
Click ‘Import into project’
Click OK
Your graphic will be saved. Repeat for all your lower thirds.
Put the stills on a USB stick and take them to the gallery to be loaded onto one of the Macs. The vision mixer can then be set up to ‘key’ your strap and text super over a camera shot.
This shows the very basic level of design that can be achieved using Premiere Pro as a basic title tool. Experimenting with different colours, shapes and text can deliver a huge variety of results.
Written by PS
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