Turn a title into a pill label with the Backdrop tab

A name tag, a step number or a "New" flag reads best on a solid shape of its own. A title can carry that shape with it. The Backdrop tab draws a plate behind the words, and the Radius control rounds the plate into a pill.

Write the label

1. Move the playhead to where the label should appear and press T.
2. In the right panel, open the Text tab and replace "Your text" with the label words.
3. Open the Size tab and set the type size.

Keep the label to a few words. The plate is drawn from the width of the text plus padding, and the padding scales with the type size. Change Size later and the plate resizes with the words.

Turn on the Backdrop

1. Open the Backdrop tab and switch on Backdrop. A dark, see-through plate appears behind the text.
2. Choose a plate Color from the swatches, or use the custom color picker for a brand color.
3. Raise Opacity to the top for a solid label. Lower it to let the footage show through.
4. Raise Radius until the ends turn fully round.

On a single line of text, a high Radius gives the pill shape. A low Radius gives a tag with soft corners. Each of the number fields can be dragged sideways to scrub, or clicked to type an exact value.

Match the text to the plate

The plate and the text belong to one title, so both change from the same selection. Open the Color tab and set the text color so it contrasts with the plate.

• Light text on a dark plate suits most footage.
• Dark text on a yellow or white plate gives a bright, bold tag.
• A plate at partial opacity needs stronger text contrast, because the footage shifts under it.

If the label sits on a busy shot, switch off Shadow in the Shadow tab. A solid plate already separates the text from the picture.

Place the label

Drag the label in the preview to a corner or an edge. Red guide lines appear when its edges or center line up with the frame, a margin line or another element on screen. Releasing on a guide keeps the label tidy.

Add a label for each point you want to mark, and keep the same plate color on all of them. Two plate colors in one video read as two kinds of label.

Reuse the look

New titles start with the look of the last title you styled, so the next label arrives with its plate already on. You only change the words and the position.

To keep the look for another day, open the Text tab, choose Save style, give it a name and press Save. The style appears as a chip under Styles in that tab. Clicking the chip applies the whole look to the selected title.

A bubble set in the Bubble tab draws in place of the plate, so choose one or the other for a given title.

Label the next shot

Pick one moment in your current edit that needs a name or a number, add a title there and give it a plate. Open DepCut and check it at full speed.