What are Lower Thirds?
Lower thirds are the graphics shown on many shows or news shows that has a little bit of information for the audience.
This image shows what a lower third looks like. As you can see, lower thirds have been used in news stations for many years.
Image credit: “Jim Lehrer mentions @newshour & it is displayed on lower third for #Sotomayer” by Steve Rhodes is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
You can create your own lower thirds through Adobe Photoshop and then importing them into Adobe Premiere and overlaying text on top of it. Adobe Premiere also comes with its own animated lower thirds that you can search for in the essential graphics panel.
Consider This
When thinking about how you want your lower thirds to look, you never want them overshadowing the speaker. So make sure to make the graphic not too big but also not impossible to read.
Here is another example of a lower third being used. The text is not too dark and doesn’t overshadow the speaker. Typically, the lower third graphic is placed in the bottom left or right corners of the video – on the lower bottom third of the video.
Image credit: “Just Say Now lower third on The Good Wife” by Just Say Now is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Celebrate!
You just learned what a lower third graphic is! You are now one step closer to becoming a professional video editor.
