Text overlay refers to adding a text element over a video scene. The viewers will see your text elements appear on the screen while watching the video. Adding text overlay is quite common in videos and movies. Starting from showing credits in intro and outro of video to showing topics and important points to emphasize on them, text overlay is highly useful.
If you want to add text overlay video, you will need a video editor on your device. Every video editor has text overlay option, but you need to choose that video editor which offers a wide range of text overlay options. We will illustrate how to add text overlay to your video on your computer, smartphone, as well as online from your web browser.
In this article
Part 1. Add Text Overlay to Video on PC
If you are a Windows user and you are looking for an all-around video editor, we recommend Wondershare Filmora. It is a professional video editor, and it is quite popular among regular video creators. Filmora has a diverse collection of video, audio, and text effects. You can also use transitions and elements as per your requirements. Here are the steps to add video overlay video in Filmora.
Step1 Download and install Wondershare Filmora for Windows. Launch the application and click on New Project.
Step2 Import your video file into Project Media folder and drop it on Timeline.
Step3 Go to Titles option at the top and you will find different categories of text styles to apply to your video.
Step4 Select any category and any desired text style and drop it on Timeline. Place the text to that position on Timeline where you want the text to appear on the video.
Step5 Double-click on Text layer present on Timeline and customize the text label and other parameters as per your requirements.
Step6 Finally, play the video and click on Export button to save the video on your hard drive.
Part 2. Add Text Overlay to Video on Mac
When it comes to editing videos on Mac, iMovie is a popular choice. This is because iMovie is an Apple product and it comes pre-installed on Mac. Adding text to your video is super easy on iMovie. There are different types of text styles available and here are the steps to add video overlay using iMovie.
Step1 Open iMovie from Applications folder. Click on Create New button and thereafter, click on Import Media button to bring in your video clip.
Step2 Drag and drop the video file from Media folder to Timeline. Select Titles at the top and you will see different text styles. Place your mouse pointer over them to preview them. Drag and drop any desired text style on Timeline and place it where you want it to appear in the video.
Step3 Edit the text from Preview Screen instantly. You can also change font, size, and other text elements.
Step4 If you are satisfied with the text overlay, go to File> Share> File to export the video file.
Part 3. Add Text Overlay to Video on iPhone
If you have captured a video on your iPhone and you want to add some texts over the video, you can do it instantly with iMovie app. Yes, iMovie app from Apple is available for iPhone as well. There is no need to transfer the video file to your PC or Mac for text overlay video. Here are the steps to follow.
Step1 Open iMovie app and tap on Plus icon to import your video clip to iMovie.
Step2 Tap on the video clip and tap on “T” icon located at the bottom.
Step3 You need to choose the text style as per your preference from the bottom.
Step4 Tap on the Viewer to place the default text and tap on Edit option to change the text as per your requirements.
Step5 You can also reposition the text as well as adjust the size, font, as well as color. When you are satisfied, tap on Done.
Part 5. Add Text Overlay to Video Online
If you are not a regular video creator and you edit video rarely, installing an app on your phone or computer is going to be useless. You can use an online video editor to add text overlay to your video. This can be done on any device starting from smartphones to computers. Here are the steps to add overlay video online.
Step1 Open your web browser and visit “online-video-cutter.com/add-text-to-video”. Click on Open File button and select your video file from your storage device.
Step2 Wait for the video to get uploaded. Move the playhead on video navigation panel to where you want to add the text overlay. Click on Add Text button from the top.
Step3 Click on the video where you want to place the text and type in the required text.
Step4 Select the text and below the navigation panel, you will find all the tools to customize the text as per your preference.
Step5 Once done and you are satisfied, click on Save button.
Conclusion
Adding text overlay to video is a basic operation in video editing. We have illustrated how you can use iMovie for Mac as well as iPhone to add text overlay video. For Windows users, Filmora is the perfect video editor with different categories of tile and text styles to add text to any video. Furthermore, you can use the online video editor for text overlay video on the go.
