Moving captions & subtitles to the upper third – what, why & how

Moving any captioning and subtitling to the upper thirds of the frame is a critical part of video translation, ensuring readability and accessibility. But what does that entail exactly? We get this question frequently, especially with the advent of text-based delivery formats, some of which may not support changes in text position, or which require player-specific code. Fortunately, there are a few things multimedia localization professionals can do to ensure proper subs positioning.

This post will explain what moving captions & subtitles to the upper third means, why you’d want to do it, and how to ensure it’s done well.

[Average read time: 4 minutes]

First, what is the upper third?

The term “upper third” refers to the one-third of a video frame at the top. It’s common to refer to video screens in terms of three vertical parts – the upper, middle and lower thirds of the frame, as in the following frame:

Caption and subtitle text generally goes in the lower third of the frame, #3 in the above frame. However, sometimes it’s necessary to move it out of that position. In the following screen shot, you can see video frames with subs in the lower and upper third.

So when do you move a subtitle up there?

There are four times when you definitely want to move them.

1. To keep them off chyrons or “lower-thirds.” Most titles that play while a person speaks on-camera appear in the lower third of the screen. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule – there are plenty of videos out there that don’t follow this convention – but it is standard practice in film and video production, especially broadcast news program and documentaries. In fact, it’s such a prevalent convention that these titles are commonly called “lower thirds.” When any lower thirds are present, any caption or subtitle text should move to the upper third.

More on lower-thirds in our previous post, What are lower thirds? What are chyrons?

2. When the subs translate on-screen titles. It’s common to add translations of on-screen titles to the subtitle track as a cost-effective localization method, especially when a video doesn’t have many of them, and they don’t appear at the same time as any voice-over or other element that needs to be subtitled. It’s also a good practice to distinguish them from subs that correspond to voice-over, and moving them to the upper third is one of the options (aside from writing them in all-caps, for example).
3. When there are forced subs already on the picture. Remember that just because the subs are on, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t speakers of the original content language watching the video. If your content has forced subs already, make sure to move any additional titles out of the way. For more information on forced subs, see our previous post, What are forced subtitles in video translation?
4. When there is any other critical piece of information in the lower third. This can be anything from signage, to a pattern, to anything else that cannot be obstructed by the subs. For example, if a film’s captions obstruct the countdown clock on a bomb, they really should be moved to the upper third to make that information available to the audience.

The last rule is good in general – remember that every frame of video has a focal point, or key information that is crucial to the audience understanding or engaging with what they’re watching. If the subs get in the way of that, move them.

Is it always possible, even with text formats?

Yes, in most instances it is, even with text formats. However, keep in mind the following:

• Moving subs to the upper third may have to be done manually when burning them to video, depending on the integration workflow. If this is your deliverable, make sure to understand at which stage this is done. This applies to Quicktime Alpha channel deliverables, since they burn the subs to video as well, albeit to a “blank” one.
• It may have to be done manually for text & graphics deliverables – however, in some workflows this is done during integration to picture, so be sure to specify whether you need the movement to the upper third done before graphics output.
• Not all players, and not all text subs formats, support subtitle positioning. SRT, for example, technically doesn’t support positioning, but WebVTT – which is effectively the same format with additional functionality – does.

Remember also that users may override subs position on players that allow customization – in those cases, there’s not much you can do to make sure subs are “out of the way” when necessary.

How to prepare for it in video translation

If a project requires hard-coded subtitling of any kind (burned-in, graphics or Quicktime Alpha channel video), make sure to request moving any obstructing subs to the upper third. If doing text-based deliverables, either make sure to use a format that supports text positioning, or check with your captioning & subtitling provider for the best options supported by your online video platform. JBI Studios includes both of these in its list of client queries when starting a project, of course. Finally, if you don’t have an established workflow, allow yourself time to do a workflow test, to ensure that your final product will work and look exactly how you want. As with all multimedia localization services, proper preparation in captioning & subtitling projects is the key to staying on timeline, and on budget.