Put a title behind the person in your shot

A big word sitting behind a person, with their head and shoulders crossing the letters, makes a flat shot look layered. In DepCut the Behind tab does this with one switch. The result depends on the shot and on the way you set the type, so this post covers both.

Pick the shot

DepCut finds the person in each frame and draws them back over the title. The info tooltip beside the Behind speaker switch says it needs a clearly separated subject. Look for a clip where:

• one person fills a good part of the frame,
• the background stays plain or at a different distance,
• the person keeps roughly the same place while the title is on screen.

When no person is found, the title shows as a normal title in front of the picture. A clip with the person stepping out of frame therefore shows the full word once they are gone.

Set the type first

1. Move the playhead onto the clip and press T.
2. In the Text tab, type one short word. Long phrases hide too many letters.
3. In the Font tab, choose a heavy face. Impact, Anton and Archivo Black are in the menu.
4. In the Size tab, raise the size until the word runs wider than the person.
5. Drag the title in the preview until the center of the word sits behind their head and shoulders.

Do this before the switch goes on. You see the whole word and can judge how much of it the person will cover.

Turn on Behind speaker

1. Open the Behind tab.
2. Switch on Behind speaker. Hover the small info icon next to the label to read the tooltip.
3. Scrub across the title's length and watch the person pass in front of the letters.

Once the switch is on, the word is drawn into the picture itself. Its selection outline stays where the word sits, so you can still drag it to a new position.

Make the word readable

Some letters have to stay uncovered or the word reads as a broken shape. Check these:

• The person should cover the middle of the word at most, leaving the first and last letters clear.
• Raise Size or move the title higher if the head hides a key letter.
• Choose a Color that contrasts with the background. Strong color against a muted shot gives the layered look.
• Check the shot at several points of the title's span. A person who leans or turns covers different letters from one second to the next.

Match the timing

The word should arrive with a reason. Place the bar on the moment the speaker starts the line, and trim its end when they finish. An Animate style such as Fade or Zoom on In makes the entrance feel intentional. The exported video draws the title behind the person in the same way as the preview.

Try one shot

Choose your cleanest talking-head clip, add a single heavy word, and turn on Behind speaker. Open DepCut and compare the shot with and without it.