Text Overlays

Text overlays let you add on-screen text to your videos -- titles, labels, callouts, chapter markers, or any other text you want viewers to see. They appear directly on the video during playback at the times you choose.

What Are Text Overlays?

Text overlays are custom text elements that sit on top of your video. They're different from captions or subtitles -- instead of transcribing what's being said, text overlays are whatever you want them to be. A title card, a location label, a call to action, a chapter heading, a fun comment.

What You Can Control

Each text overlay has several settings you can adjust:

• Content -- The actual text that appears on screen.
• Timing -- When the text appears and when it disappears (start and end time).
• Position -- Where on screen it shows up (top, center, or bottom; left, center, or right).
• Size -- How big the text is, from extra-small to extra-extra-extra-large.
• Preset -- A visual style that controls the look (colors, background, outline). See Text Presets for the full list.
• Rotation -- An optional slight tilt for a more dynamic look.

Adding Text Is Easy

Just describe what you want in the chat:

"Add the text 'Introduction' from 0:00 to 0:04 at the top center."

"Put 'Subscribe!' at the bottom of the screen from 0:15 to 0:20, large size."

See Adding Text to Videos for detailed instructions and more examples.

Multiple Text Overlays

You can add as many text overlays as you need to a single project. Just be mindful of overlapping -- if two text elements appear at the same time in the same screen position, they may cover each other. StarZero Agents will warn you if this happens.

Browsing Text Presets Visually

When you ask to browse text styles, StarZero Agents opens a visual preset gallery with live animated previews — the same gallery used for caption presets. Select a preset, optionally describe customizations, and apply it in one click.

What Text Overlays Cannot Do

Text overlays use a preset-based system. Here's what's not available:

• Custom background shapes
• Animated text (text that moves, fades in/out, or types on)
• Per-character styling (different colors for different letters)

For advanced text effects, consider using the Premiere Pro Export to continue editing in a professional video editor.

Looking for image or graphic overlays?

For logos, badges, illustrations, and other visual overlays, see Overlays and SVG Graphics in the Visual Effects section.