# Text & titles (https://getreely.co/docs/directing/text)

> Add kinetic type and title cards: animated headlines, emphasized words, and the wording that reaches each style.

Type is how a video says the thing the UI cannot. It appears two ways: **title cards** between beats, and **copy beats** inside a teaser scene.

**Prompt:** `Open with a title card that says “Checkout, rebuilt.”`

## How text animates

Text does not just fade in. It animates by a named style — words popping in sequence, lines rising, characters cascading, a headline resolving out of blur. Every style has speed, intensity, and weight you can push on. The full list is in [Text animations](https://getreely.co/docs/presets/text-animations).

| You want | Say |
| --- | --- |
| Words landing one by one | “Animate the headline word by word.” |
| A calm editorial rise | “Let the lines rise in softly.” |
| Something loud | “Slam the headline in.” |
| Lyric-style fill | “Fill the words in like karaoke, on the beat.” |
| No animation at all | “Just cut the text in — no animation.” |

## Emphasis

Single words can carry their own color or weight, so the line has a point rather than a uniform shout.

**Prompt:** `Headline “Checkout in one tap” — put the accent color on “one tap”.`

## Text inside an app video

A recorded feature video can carry kinetic type too — title cards between beats, and animated lines over the footage. It is off unless you ask, and it is a different intent from [captions](https://getreely.co/docs/directing/captions): captions narrate, kinetic type sells.

**Prompt:** `Add kinetic titles between the sections, medium intensity.`

## Keeping it readable

- One idea per beat. If a line needs a second read, it needs to be two beats.
- Hold long enough to read — roughly a third of a second plus a beat per word.
- Text over footage needs separation: a scrim, a darker grade, or a park to one side.
- One loud thing per scene. A slam headline over a spinning phone is two.