Video & Scriptwriting / Short-Form Video
Design text overlay placement and timing for silent viewing — accessibility and retention optimization for sound-off scrolling.
Why This Prompt Exists
Up to 80% of short-form viewers watch without sound. Text overlays are essential for retention — but most creators add them as an afterthought, not a strategy.
You get:
- text too small to read on mobile (viewers scroll past)
- text that disappears too fast (viewers can’t finish reading)
- text placed behind the subject (unreadable, covered)
- no captions for spoken dialogue (silent viewers lost)
- text overlays that don’t match the visual pacing
But text overlays have proven patterns:
- hook text: large, bold, 2-4 words, appears in first second
- caption text: timed to speech, 1-2 lines, centered or left-aligned
- emphasis text: single word, pops with animation, highlights key point
- CTA text: end of video, contrasting color, 3-5 words
- safe zone: text within center 80% of frame (avoid camera cutouts)
Without strategy, text overlays hurt retention.
This prompt designs effective text overlay strategies.
The Prompt
Assume the role of a short-form video text overlay strategist. Your task is to design text overlay timing, placement, and styling for silent viewing. Generate: 1. TEXT OVERLAY TYPES | Type | Purpose | Size | Duration | Position | Example | |------|---------|------|----------|----------|---------| | Hook text | Stop scroll | Largest | 0.5-1s | Center or top | "WATCH THIS" | | Caption | Read dialogue | Medium | Matches speech | Center bottom | "Here's what happened" | | Emphasis | Highlight key word | Large | 0.3-0.5s | Center | "FREE" | | CTA | End action | Large | 1-2s | Center | "FOLLOW FOR MORE" | | Label | Identify subject | Small | 1-3s | Corner or near subject | "Day 1 vs Day 30" | | Countdown | Build anticipation | Large | 0.5-1s each | Center | "3...2...1..." | 2. READABILITY GUIDELINES | Factor | Minimum | Recommended | Maximum | |--------|---------|-------------|---------| | Font size (mobile) | 24pt | 36-48pt | N/A | | Characters per line | 10 | 15-20 | 25 | | Duration per word | 0.5s | 0.75-1s | 1.5s | | Contrast ratio | 4.5:1 | 7:1+ | N/A | | Safe zone margin | 10% | 15% | 20% | 3. TEXT OVERLAY TIMING BY SCRIPT PHASE | Phase | Text Type | Timing | Word Count | |-------|-----------|--------|------------| | Hook (0-3s) | Hook text | 0:00-0:02 | 2-4 words | | Value (3-15s) | Caption + Emphasis | Match speech | 5-10 words per caption | | Retention (15-25s) | Emphasis + Label | Quick pops | 1-3 words | | CTA (25-30s) | CTA text | 1-2s | 3-5 words | 4. TEXT OVERLAY PLACEMENT MAP | Screen Zone | Best For | Avoid | |-------------|----------|-------| | Top center | Hook text, labels | Long sentences | | Center | Emphasis words, countdowns | Blocking face | | Bottom center | Captions, subtitles | Important visual | | Bottom left | Branding, logo | Critical information | | Bottom right | CTA after content | Early CTA | 5. PLATFORM-SPECIFIC TEXT GUIDELINES | Platform | Safe Zone | Font Preference | Emoji Use | |----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------| | TikTok | 80% center | Bold, sans-serif | High | | Instagram Reels | 85% center | Any readable | Medium | | YouTube Shorts | 90% center | Clean sans-serif | Low | | Snapchat | 70% center | Bold only | Medium | 6. TEXT OVERLAY SCRIPT MARKUP **Original script line:** `"The secret to better sleep is actually pretty simple."` **With text overlay markup:** `"The secret to better sleep"` [caption, 1.5s] `[BEAT]` `"is actually pretty simple."` [caption, 1.5s] with emphasis on `"simple"` [emphasis pop] 7. COMMON TEXT OVERLAY MISTAKES | Mistake | Why It Fails | Correct Approach | |---------|--------------|------------------| | Text too small | Unreadable on mobile | Minimum 36pt | | Text too fast | Can't finish reading | 0.75-1s per word | | Text behind subject | Covered, unreadable | Safe zone placement | | No captions | Silent viewers lost | Caption all dialogue | | Too many words | Overwhelming | 1-2 lines max | | Poor contrast | Hard to read | High contrast (white on dark, black on light) | INPUTS: Script (full or key lines): [PASTE SCRIPT] Platform: [TIKTOK / REELS / SHORTS / SNAPCHAT] Sound status: [SOUND ON PRIMARY / SOUND OFF PRIMARY / BOTH] Key emphasis words: [E.G., "free," "new," "limited," "proven"] RULES: - Hook text appears in first second (large, bold, 2-4 words) - Captions must match spoken words (for accessibility) - Emphasis words get larger text or animation - CTA text appears at end (contrasting color, 3-5 words) - Safe zone: text within center 80% of frame - Minimum font size: 36pt for mobile viewing - Test without sound: video must be understandable - Duration rule: 0.75-1 second per word for captions
How To Use It
- Hook text appears in the first second — large, bold, 2-4 words.
- Captions must match spoken words — for accessibility and silent viewers.
- Emphasis words get larger text or animation — highlight key points.
- CTA text appears at the end — contrasting color, 3-5 words maximum.
- Safe zone: text within the center 80% of the frame — avoid camera cutouts.
- Minimum font size: 36pt for mobile viewing — larger is better.
- Test without sound — the video must be completely understandable.
- Duration rule: 0.75-1 second per word for captions — give viewers time to read.
Example Input
Script:
“You’re brushing your teeth wrong. Most people miss the gum line. Here’s the fix. Angle your brush 45 degrees. That’s it. Your dentist will thank you.”
Platform:
“TIKTOK”
Sound status:
“BOTH (sound on and off)”
Key emphasis words:
“wrong, fix, 45 degrees, thank you”
Why It Works
Most creators add text overlays as an afterthought — resulting in unreadable, poorly timed, or missing captions that lose silent viewers.
This framework improves outcomes by forcing:
- text overlay type classification (hook, caption, emphasis, CTA, label, countdown)
- readability guidelines (font size, characters per line, duration, contrast, safe zone)
- timing by script phase (what text appears when)
- placement mapping (which screen zone for which text type)
- platform-specific guidelines (TikTok vs. Reels vs. Shorts)
Failure modes this prevents:
- Text too small to read on mobile (viewers scroll past)
- Text that disappears too fast (viewers can’t finish reading)
- No captions for dialogue (silent viewers lost)
- Text placed behind the subject (unreadable, covered)
This improves on: Post-hoc text overlay placement. Strategic text overlay planning improves retention for silent viewers.
Related to: SF-02 (Hook) for opening text; SF-04 (Trend Sound) for audio-text coordination.
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