Rolling credits and news crawls in Video by Zaweba

Two kinds of moving text turn up again and again in finished videos: credits that roll up the screen at the end, and a crawl that runs sideways along the bottom like a news ticker. Video by Zaweba has both on its Graphics menu, so you don't have to animate a long title by hand with keyframes.

Rolling credits

Rolling credits are the classic ending: a column of names and roles that scrolls upwards from the bottom of the frame and off the top. Choose the rolling credits item from the Graphics menu and add the clip to your timeline, then type in your names and roles and set how long the clip lasts.

The length of the clip decides the speed. The same block of text over a longer clip moves more slowly, and over a shorter one it races past. A good rule of thumb is that a viewer should be able to read every line comfortably once. If you find yourself squinting at your own credits, stretch the clip.

Put the credits on a track above the picture if you want them over the closing shot, or on their own over black. Over footage, a busy background can make thin text hard to read, so pick a calm closing shot or darken it with an adjustment.

Keep the layout simple. A role on one side and a name on the other, or a role in small text above a name in larger text, reads well at speed. Long paragraphs don't: scrolling text should be scannable, not a block of prose.

News crawls

A crawl moves text horizontally across the screen in a strip, usually low down. Add one from the Graphics menu and type the line you want to run. It's ideal for a running message during a recorded event, a list of sponsors along the bottom of a charity video, or a mock news bulletin for a school project.

As with the credits, the clip's length sets the pace. Crawls that move too quickly are a classic mistake, because the eye has to chase each word. Slow it down until you can read it while also glancing at the picture above.

Separate the items in a crawl clearly, with spacing or a simple divider in the text, so the viewer can tell where one message ends and the next begins. And keep the crawl away from anything else in the lower part of the frame, such as a lower third or captions, so they don't fight for the same space.

Making both look right

Both graphics are titles, so the type controls you use elsewhere in the app apply. If you've built a text style for the rest of your film, apply it here too so the credits match your opening title and lower thirds. Titles in Video by Zaweba are redrawn sharply even when a clip is enlarged, which helps if you scale the crawl strip up.

Check the safe margins before you export. Some televisions and players crop the edges of the picture, and a crawl that touches the edge, or credits that run right up to the sides, can lose letters. The safe margin guides in the app make this easy to see.

Where they fit in a project

Credits usually come last in the job list, once the edit is locked and you know exactly how long the ending is. The crawl can go in at any point, but it's sensible to leave it until the edit underneath is settled, since moving clips around after the crawl is placed may mean adjusting its length.

Short videos rarely need full rolling credits. A single closing title or a lower third crediting the music may be enough. Save the full roll for films where there are real people to thank, and let it run at a pace that respects them.