To add animated lower thirds, list each speaker's name and role with the moment they first speak, then design a simple bar or card in your brand colour with the name in bold and the role underneath. Animate it in over about half a second, hold it completely still for 3 to 5 seconds, and reverse the animation to exit.
Real outputs from the Videotto template gallery.
Lower third timing and sizing, by the numbers
A lower third looks simple, but a few numbers decide whether people can read it.
- Entrance and exit. 0.4 to 0.6 seconds each. Faster feels like a flash, slower feels sluggish.
- Hold. 3 to 5 seconds, enough to read a name and a two to four word role twice.
- Words. Name plus a role of four words or fewer. "Head of Product, Acme" fits. A biography does not.
- Frequency. Once per person, at their first line. Repeat only after a long gap, roughly every 10 to 15 minutes in a long episode.
- Size on 16:9 (1920x1080). Name text roughly 40 to 60 pixels tall, inside the title safe area, about 10% in from each edge.
- Size on 9:16 (1080x1920). Name text roughly 50 to 70 pixels tall, placed above the captions and the bottom 15 to 20% of the frame, where app controls and descriptions sit.
In a 45 minute podcast with two hosts and one guest, that works out at three lower thirds near the start and perhaps three more later, around 30 seconds of screen time in total. Small, but every new viewer gets the context.
The design elements of a good lower third
The best lower thirds are quiet, readable and the same every time. They inform, then get out of the way.
| Element | Good default | How to ask for it |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | A thin bar, a solid card, or text with a line | "a thin orange bar with the name beside it" |
| Text | Name bold, role lighter and smaller | "name in bold, role in light weight underneath" |
| Colour | Brand colour with white or dark text | "brand navy card, white text" |
| Motion | Slide or wipe in, hold, reverse out | "slides in from the left, holds, reverses out" |
| Timing | Appears as the person starts speaking | "show it when they first speak" |
| Extras | A logo, a social handle or a topic tag | "the company logo at the end of the bar" |
On vertical video, move the tag up. The bottom of a TikTok, Reel or Short is crowded with captions, the description and buttons on the right, so place the name just above your captions or near the top under the speaker's head. If your captions sit in the middle, use the top third.
Lower thirds prompt for Otto
Adapted from real requests Videotto users sent to Otto. Paste names exactly as each person wants them spelled.
Add animated lower thirds to my interview video. [Name 1], [role 1]: show when they first speak. [Name 2], [role 2]: show when they first speak. Design: a thin [brand colour] bar, name in bold white, role in light weight underneath, my logo at the end of the bar. The bar wipes in from the left, then the name and role slide out of it. Hold the completed lower third completely still for four seconds, then reverse the animation to exit. On vertical, place it just above the captions, clear of the app buttons.
Shorter lower third prompts
- "Animate this exact lower third design I uploaded, keep everything else unchanged."
- "Add a name lower third for the speaker at the start."
- "Add a topic tag in the top corner for each section."
- "Show the guest's name and social handle when they start talking."
How to add lower thirds in 6 steps
- Upload the video. An interview, podcast, talk or vlog, or paste a YouTube link to your own video.
- List the names. Each person's name and role, spelled exactly as they want it. Check accents and capitals.
- Say when. The first time each person speaks is the usual moment. Otto can find it if you name the speaker.
- Describe the design. Shape, colours and type. Or upload a lower third design you already have and ask for it to be animated as it is.
- Set the hold. Three to five seconds, completely still between the entrance and the exit.
- Check placement on every format. On 9:16, keep it clear of the captions and app buttons. On 16:9, keep it inside the safe area.
Worked example: lower thirds for a two guest podcast
An illustration for a fictional 40 minute podcast episode with a host and two guests, filmed in 16:9 and clipped to 9:16.
| When | Lower third | Placement |
|---|---|---|
| 0:12 | Maya Chen, Host | Left side, under the host |
| 1:05 | Daniel Ortiz, Founder, Ortiz Coffee | Right side, under the guest |
| 3:40 | Priya Nair, Food Scientist | Right side, under the second guest |
| 18:00 | Topic tag: "Why prices rose" | Top left corner, 4 s |
| In each 9:16 clip | The speaker's name, once, in the first 3 s | Just above the captions |
Five lower thirds in the main episode, each held for 4 seconds, and one per short clip. Each tag sits on the side of the frame where that person sits, so the eye connects name and face without thinking. Every clip gets its own tag, because a viewer who finds a clip has not seen the full episode.
Lower thirds in Premiere Pro, CapCut, Canva and Otto
Typical effort for adding five branded lower thirds to a 40 minute episode, once a design exists.
| Tool | How it works | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Premiere Pro | Essential Graphics templates (.mogrt) you drop in and retype | Roughly 20 to 40 minutes, plus finding each first line |
| After Effects | Design and animate a custom template from scratch | Roughly 2 to 4 hours for the template |
| CapCut | Built in text templates, adjusted per speaker | Roughly 20 to 30 minutes, styles are shared with many creators |
| Canva | Animated text and shapes, exported as overlays or edited in its video editor | Roughly 30 minutes |
| Otto | Names, roles and design in one prompt, timed to first lines | One prompt, then a few minutes of checks |
Most of the manual time is not design, it is scrubbing to find the exact moment each person first speaks. That is the part worth handing off.
FAQ
Why is it called a lower third?
It is called a lower third because the graphic sits in the lower third of the screen, the bottom band of the frame below the speaker's face. The term comes from television news and broadcast, where names, titles and locations were placed there so they did not cover anyone's face. Today it means any name tag or caption graphic of that kind.
What font size should a lower third be?
A lower third font size for 1080p video is usually around 40 to 60 pixels tall for the name and about two thirds of that for the role. The real test is a phone held at arm's length: if the role is hard to read there, increase it. Bold or semibold weights stay readable after platform compression.
How do I make a lower third template I can reuse?
To make a reusable lower third template, design it once with editable text fields, such as a Motion Graphics Template in Premiere Pro or After Effects, or a saved text style in CapCut or Canva. Fix the colours, fonts, animation and hold time, and leave only the name and role to change, so every episode matches.
Should I put a social handle in a lower third?
You can put a social handle in a lower third, usually on a second line or in place of the role, when the goal is for viewers to follow the guest. Keep it short and exact. In a professional interview, the role usually matters more for credibility, so many shows add the handle later in the video or in the description.
What is the difference between a lower third and a caption?
A lower third identifies who is speaking or what the section is about, and appears for a few seconds. A caption shows what is being said, word by word, for the whole video. They often share the bottom of the frame, so on vertical video the lower third usually moves above the captions to avoid overlapping.
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