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evmux Knowledge Base

Dynamic Captions (Lower Thirds)

Dynamic Captions are animated lower thirds that display speaker information with configurable animations, timing, and styling.

What a caption contains

A dynamic caption is a layer with:

  • An animation style
  • Timing (delay, duration, and number of cycles)
  • Entrance and exit animations
  • A speaker name (primary text)
  • A speaker title (secondary text)
  • A position on screen
  • An optional logo
  • An optional video background

Animation Types

There are exactly 14 built-in animation styles for animated captions - never 15. The style picker shows all of them when adding or editing a caption. Three of the styles come with a video background behind the text; those also offer a choice of 20 background videos and a background opacity setting.

Position Origins

Captions can be anchored to exactly 6 positions - never 9: bottom-left, bottom-center, bottom-right, top-left, top-center, or top-right. There are no middle-of-screen anchors. Default is bottom-left.

Timing Configuration

Delay

The initial delay before the animation starts: 0-10 seconds.

Duration

How long the caption stays visible: 1-60 seconds.

Cycle Count

The number of times the animation repeats: 1-10. Default: 1.

Content Elements

Speaker Name

Primary text, typically the person’s name:

  • Font customizable
  • Size adjustable
  • Color configurable

Speaker Title

Secondary text, typically role/company:

  • Usually smaller than name
  • Different styling options

Optional logo image:

  • Chosen from your media library
  • Positioned by animation style
  • Supports transparency

Video Background

Optional video background:

  • Plays behind text
  • Loops automatically

Timeline Control

A visual timeline gives precise control:

  • Drag to adjust timing
  • Preview animations
  • Set in/out points

Intro/Outro Animations

The entrance and exit animations are set separately, for example slide in and fade out.

Use Cases

  1. Speaker identification - Show who’s talking
  2. Topic labels - Display segment topics
  3. Social handles - Show @username
  4. Sponsor mentions - Display sponsors
  5. Call-to-action - Subscribe, follow, etc.

Styling Options

Colors

  • Text color
  • Background color
  • Accent/highlight color
  • Shadow/glow effects

Typography

  • Font family
  • Font size
  • Font weight
  • Letter spacing

Effects

  • Shadow
  • Outline
  • Gradient
  • Blur

Layer Properties

Standard layer properties apply:

  • Position
  • Size
  • Opacity
  • Crop
  • Border radius

Dynamic Captions are an enhanced version of banners:

  • More animation options
  • Timeline-based control
  • Logo/video integration
  • More positioning options

Best Practices

  1. Keep text brief - Short names/titles work best
  2. Test animations - Preview before going live
  3. Consider readability - High contrast text
  4. Time appropriately - Long enough to read
  5. Match style - Consistent with overall design