Text overlays are the single most controllable lever in video ad performance, yet most advertisers treat them as an afterthought. According to Meta's own creative best practices, 85% of Facebook video is watched without sound.
This guide covers font sizing, animation timing, safe zone positioning, accessible design, and the precise balance between too much and too little text for mobile video ads in 2026.
Prerequisites: You should have at least one active video ad campaign running on Meta, TikTok, or Google. Basic familiarity with video editing tools (CapCut, After Effects, or Figma for storyboarding) is helpful. Access to your ad account's creative-level performance data is essential for applying the optimization steps here.
Page Contents
Step 1: Why are text overlays so critical for mobile video ads in 2026?
Text overlays are your primary communication channel because the majority of mobile users never turn sound on. They function as both a hook mechanism and a narrative spine for the entire ad.
According to Insivia's video marketing research, viewers retain 95% of a message when watching it in video versus 10% when reading text alone. But that statistic assumes sound is on. When sound is off, text overlays become the sole carrier of your message.
In RocketShip HQ's 4-Layer Hook System, text overlay is one of four layers (Visual, Text, Verbal, Audio) that stack to create pattern breaks. Without the text layer, you lose orientation: the viewer scrolls past because they can't immediately tell what the ad is about.
This is where the 3C Principle applies directly. Your overlay must deliver Context ("Struggling to sleep?"), Clarity ("This app uses CBT-i science"), and Curiosity ("Here's what happened after 7 nights") in the first 3 seconds.
Per TikTok's creative best practices, ads with text overlays see a 56% higher conversion rate compared to those without. The platform's own data makes the case: overlays are not optional.
Key insight: Text overlays are your primary communication channel when 85% of viewers watch with sound off.
- 85% of Facebook video watched without sound
- TikTok reports 56% higher CVR with overlays
- Overlays deliver hook, narrative, and CTA simultaneously
- Without text, you lose the Clarity layer entirely
Pro tip: Test a version of your top ad with all audio removed. If the message is still clear from text overlays alone, you have a sound-off-ready creative. If not, your ad is leaving 85% of impressions on the table.
Step 2: What font size should you use for mobile video ads?
The minimum readable font size on mobile is 36px at 1080×1920 resolution, but high-performing ads typically use 48-72px for primary text and 32-40px for secondary text. Anything smaller becomes illegible on a 6-inch screen at arm's length.
This isn't guesswork. Apple's Human Interface Guidelines specify a minimum tappable text size of 11pt (approximately 44px at 3x Retina), and that's for static UI, not moving video. In video, text appears for limited durations while competing with background visuals, so you need to go larger.
Bold, sans-serif fonts (Montserrat Bold, Inter Bold, SF Pro Display) consistently outperform serif or script fonts in paid social. According to a HubSpot analysis of video typography, sans-serif fonts improve readability by 20-30% on small screens.
Weight matters as much as size. A 60px Regular weight font can be harder to read than a 48px Bold font because stroke width affects legibility at speed. Always default to Bold or Semibold for overlay text.
Key insight: Use 48-72px bold sans-serif fonts for primary text at 1080×1920 resolution.
- Minimum readable size: 36px at 1080×1920
- Primary text sweet spot: 48-72px Bold
- Secondary/subtitle text: 32-40px Semibold
- Sans-serif fonts outperform serif by 20-30%
- Always use Bold or Semibold weight
| Text Type | Recommended Size (1080×1920) | Weight | Example Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary hook text | 60-72px | Bold | "This changed my mornings" |
| Supporting text | 40-48px | Semibold | "3M+ users agree" |
| Subtitle/caption | 32-36px | Medium | Spoken dialogue transcription |
| CTA text | 48-60px | Bold | "Try free for 7 days" |
| Legal/disclaimer | 24-28px | Regular | "Subscription required" |
Pro tip: Preview every ad on an actual phone screen at arm's length before publishing. What looks readable on a desktop monitor at 100% zoom often disappears on a 6.1-inch iPhone 16 display.
Step 3: Where should you position text to stay inside safe zones?
Every major platform crops or overlays UI elements on portions of your video canvas. If your text sits in those areas, it gets hidden behind profile icons, captions, or CTA buttons. This is the most common and most avoidable text overlay mistake.
Meta Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts all have different safe zone requirements, but a universal rule applies: keep all text within the center 80% of the frame vertically and the center 90% horizontally. The bottom 20% of the frame is especially dangerous because platform CTAs and caption text live there.
According to Meta's ad specifications, Reels overlay a CTA button and ad description in the bottom 250 pixels of a 1920px-tall canvas. TikTok's safe zone documentation shows similar constraints, with username and caption text occupying the bottom-left quadrant.
The safest approach is to define a "text zone" in your editing template: a rectangle starting 150px from the top and ending 350px from the bottom, with 60px padding on each side. Anchor all overlay text within this zone.
Key insight: Keep all text in the center 80% vertically to avoid platform UI cropping.
- Bottom 250px hidden by Meta Reels CTA
- Top 150px can be clipped on some placements
- Left/right 60px padding prevents edge cropping
- Center-align text for cross-platform safety
- Template your safe zone in your editing tool
| Platform | Top Safe Margin | Bottom Safe Margin | Side Margins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Reels | 150px | 280px | 60px |
| TikTok | 150px | 350px | 60px (left: 100px) |
| YouTube Shorts | 120px | 300px | 60px |
| Instagram Stories | 200px | 250px | 60px |
| Snapchat | 180px | 300px | 80px |
Pro tip: Build a transparent PNG overlay with your safe zones marked and drop it onto every timeline before exporting. This 5-second step prevents the most common reason ads get rejected or underperform on vertical placements.
Step 4: How should you time and animate text overlays?
Text should appear 0.1-0.3 seconds before or simultaneously with the corresponding spoken word (if any), and remain on screen for a minimum of 1.5 seconds per line. Animation should serve readability, not decoration.
The most effective entrance animations are simple: fade-in (200ms), pop/scale-up (150-250ms), or slide-in from center (200ms). Per TikTok's Creative Center top ads analysis, the majority of top-performing ads in 2025 used either no animation or simple fade/pop entrances.
Elaborate kinetic typography (letters flying in individually, rotations, 3D effects) consistently underperforms because it slows comprehension.
Timing matters more than style. RocketShip HQ's 4-Layer Hook System specifies a 0.3-0.8 second visual zoom combined with a curiosity-gap text overlay in the opening. The text needs to land within that window. If it appears even one second late, the scroll-stopping moment has passed.
Hold each text card long enough for readers to process it. The average adult reads at roughly 250 words per minute, or about 4 words per second, according to research published in the Journal of Vision. A 10-word overlay needs at least 2.5 seconds on screen.
Key insight: Simple fade or pop animations outperform complex kinetic typography in conversion ads.
- Fade-in or pop-up: 150-250ms entrance
- Minimum on-screen duration: 1.5 seconds per line
- 10-word overlay needs 2.5 seconds on screen
- Text must land within first 0.3-0.8s for hooks
- Avoid letter-by-letter or 3D animation effects
How do you sync text overlays with voiceover?
Place the text on your timeline 0.1-0.3 seconds before the voiceover says the corresponding word. This priming effect means the viewer reads the text, hears confirmation, and encodes the message through two channels simultaneously.
Never let text and voiceover conflict. If the overlay says "Save 50%" while the voiceover says "Download free," you create cognitive dissonance. According to Mayer's Redundancy Principle in multimedia learning, matching text and audio improves retention, while mismatched text and audio decreases it.
How fast should text cards transition?
In a 15-second ad, you can fit 4-6 text cards comfortably. In a 30-second ad, 8-12. Each card should hold for 1.5-3 seconds. Transitions between cards should take no more than 200ms.
Avoid having two text cards visible simultaneously unless one is a persistent header. Overlapping text forces split attention and reduces comprehension. One message at a time is the rule.
Pro tip: Record yourself reading each overlay aloud at normal speaking pace. If you can't finish reading before the text disappears, it's on screen for too short a duration. Most ads have text that's 40-50% too fast for comfortable reading.
Step 5: How much text is too much (and too little)?
The sweet spot is 5-8 words per overlay card, with no more than 2 lines visible at once. This is the finding that separates high-CTR overlays from wallpaper.
Too much text turns your ad into a slideshow no one reads. According to Nielsen Norman Group research, users read only about 20% of the text on a page. In video ads, where text competes with motion, that percentage drops further.
Too little text, on the other hand, means you haven't given the viewer a reason to stop scrolling. A video with only a final CTA overlay and no opening hook text misses the critical orientation step.
Without the Clarity element from the 3C Principle, viewers don't know what they're watching and move on.
Need help scaling your mobile app growth? Talk to RocketShip HQ about how we apply these strategies for apps spending $50K+/month on UA.
The practical ceiling is around 40-60 total words of overlay text in a 15-second ad. For a 30-second ad, 80-100 words maximum. Beyond that, you're asking viewers to read a paragraph while watching a video, which is cognitively impossible at normal playback speed.
Key insight: Keep overlays to 5-8 words per card with a maximum of 2 visible lines.
- 5-8 words per text card is optimal
- Maximum 2 lines visible simultaneously
- 15-second ad: 40-60 total overlay words
- 30-second ad: 80-100 total overlay words
- Users read only 20% of visible text
| Ad Length | Text Cards | Words Per Card | Total Words | Words to Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 seconds | 2-3 | 4-6 | 15-20 | 20+ |
| 15 seconds | 4-6 | 5-8 | 40-60 | 80+ |
| 30 seconds | 8-12 | 5-8 | 80-100 | 150+ |
| 60 seconds | 12-18 | 5-10 | 120-160 | 200+ |
Pro tip: Count the words in your overlay text before exporting. If a 15-second ad has more than 60 words, start cutting. The overlays with the fewest words that still communicate the full message almost always win in A/B tests.
Step 6: How do you design text overlays for accessibility?
Accessible overlays aren't just ethical. They perform better because they're readable by everyone, including people with low vision, color blindness, or cognitive processing differences. According to the World Health Organization, at least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment.
The most important accessibility rule for overlays is contrast. WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines require a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
In video ads, where backgrounds constantly change, the only reliable way to maintain contrast is with a semi-transparent background panel or a consistent text stroke/shadow.
A 3-4px dark stroke around white text, or a rounded rectangle with 60-80% opacity black behind the text, ensures readability regardless of the video frame behind it. Never rely on white text alone over changing footage. At some point, the background will be light and the text will vanish.
Color-blind users (roughly 8% of men and 0.5% of women, per the National Eye Institute) cannot distinguish red/green contrast. Never use red text on green or green on red. Stick to high-value contrasts: white on dark, yellow on dark, or black on light.
Key insight: A 3-4px dark stroke or semi-transparent background panel guarantees contrast on every frame.
- WCAG minimum contrast: 4.5:1 for normal text
- Add 3-4px dark stroke or 70% opacity background
- 8% of men are red-green color blind
- Never rely on white text over changing footage
- Test overlays on the brightest frame in your video
How do you test overlay contrast quickly?
Use the free WebAIM Contrast Checker to verify your text and background color ratio. Grab a screenshot of your video's brightest frame, sample the background color, and input it alongside your text color. If the ratio falls below 4.5:1, add a darker background panel.
Alternatively, squint at your ad on your phone. If you can't read the text while squinting, your contrast is insufficient. This quick test catches 90% of contrast issues.
Pro tip: Use a consistent text treatment (stroke weight, shadow settings, background panel opacity) across all ads in a campaign. This builds visual brand consistency and eliminates the need to test contrast on every new creative individually.
Step 7: How do you structure overlay text to reinforce the hook?
Your first text overlay is the single most important element in the ad. It must appear within the first 0.5 seconds and deliver the hook that stops the scroll. This is where writing ad hooks that stop the scroll intersects directly with overlay design.
Applying the 3C Principle to overlay structure looks like this: Frame 1 delivers Context and Curiosity ("I deleted every other budgeting app after this"), Frame 2 delivers Clarity ("Here's the one feature that changed everything"), and Frame 3 begins the payoff.
Each overlay is a narrative beat, not a random caption.
The hook overlay should use your largest font size (60-72px), center positioning, and the boldest weight available. Subsequent overlays can step down to 48px. This visual hierarchy signals importance: the viewer's eye naturally gravitates to the biggest text first.
Per an analysis on how to analyze ad creative performance data, hook retention (the percentage of viewers still watching at 3 seconds) is the strongest predictor of downstream conversion. The first overlay is your primary lever for improving that metric.
Key insight: The first text overlay must appear within 0.5 seconds and deliver both Context and Curiosity.
- Hook overlay: largest font, center position, bold
- Frame 1: Context + Curiosity
- Frame 2: Clarity and promise
- Frame 3: Begin payoff or demonstration
- Hook retention at 3s predicts conversion
Pro tip: Write your hook overlay before you write the script. If the overlay alone doesn't make someone curious, adding voiceover won't save it. The strongest hooks work as standalone text. Aim for under 10 words in the opening overlay.
Step 8: What overlay strategies work differently across Meta, TikTok, and Google?
Each platform's algorithm, user behavior, and ad format create different overlay requirements. A text overlay strategy built for Meta Reels will underperform on TikTok if you don't adapt to platform norms.
On Meta (Reels and Feed), overlays are expected and conventional. Clean, branded text with consistent styling performs well.
According to Meta's performance creative guidelines, ads with text overlays covering more than 20% of any frame historically saw reduced delivery (this was a hard rule until 2020, and while the hard cap is gone, the algorithm still depresses overly text-heavy creatives).
TikTok's ecosystem favors overlays that mimic native content. The in-app caption font, hand-drawn arrows, and informal styling outperform polished branded text. Per TikTok's Creative Center, top-performing ads use native-style text in 68% of cases. This aligns with the creative-as-targeting strategy where the ad's visual language signals who it's for.
Google's Video Action Campaigns (VAC) on YouTube show overlays in a different context: horizontal video, often with sound on. Here, overlays serve as reinforcement rather than primary communication. Google's own research indicates that ads combining audio and matching text overlays see 25% higher ad recall than audio-only.
Key insight: TikTok rewards native-style text in 68% of top ads while Meta favors clean branded overlays.
- Meta: clean, branded text; avoid covering >20% of frame
- TikTok: native caption font, informal styling wins
- YouTube: overlays reinforce audio, less primary
- Adapt font and style to each platform's norms
- Cross-posting one style everywhere underperforms
| Platform | Preferred Font Style | Text Coverage Limit | Primary Role of Overlay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Reels/Stories | Clean sans-serif, branded colors | <20% of frame | Primary message carrier |
| TikTok | Native caption font, informal | No hard limit (native look) | Hook + narrative |
| YouTube Shorts | Bold, readable at smaller sizes | <15% recommended | Reinforcement of audio |
| Snapchat | Casual, large text, high contrast | Flexible | Hook and CTA |
| Google UAC (landscape) | Subtitle-style, lower third | <10% | Accessibility/recall boost |
Pro tip: Keep a "platform preset" template library. For each platform, save a text style preset with the correct font, size, animation, and positioning. This cuts production time by 30-40% per creative variant.
Step 9: How do you use text overlays to create variants without re-shooting video?
Text overlays are the fastest way to generate creative variants from a single base video. Changing the hook overlay alone can produce a meaningfully different ad that Meta or TikTok's algorithm treats as fresh creative.
This matters enormously for creative diversity and ad account health. According to AppsFlyer's creative optimization report, the average top-performing ad creative has a lifespan of only 2-3 weeks before fatigue sets in. You need a constant pipeline of variants.
The overlay variant playbook: take your winning video and create 3-5 versions with different hook text, different benefit callouts in the middle, or different CTA text at the end. Each variant tests a different angle (price, social proof, feature, emotion) while reusing the same footage.
This approach also works with AI-generated ad creative tools that can auto-generate text overlay variations. The base video stays constant; only the text layer changes. Production cost per variant drops to near zero.
Key insight: Changing only the hook overlay creates a new creative variant without re-shooting anything.
- Top creatives fatigue in 2-3 weeks per AppsFlyer
- 3-5 overlay variants from one base video
- Test different angles: price, proof, feature, emotion
- AI tools can auto-generate text variations
- Near-zero marginal cost per variant
What elements should you vary across overlay versions?
The highest-impact element to vary is the opening hook text. A finance app base video might test: "I paid off $12K in debt with this" versus "The budgeting trick banks don't tell you" versus "3 million people use this to save money." Same video, three different psychological angles.
Next, vary the CTA. "Start free" versus "See your savings in 60 seconds" versus "Join 3M+ users." According to common patterns across subscription app marketing, CTA overlays emphasizing a specific time-to-value ("See results in 60 seconds") outperform generic CTAs by 15-25% in install rate.
Pro tip: Label your variants systematically: [Base Video ID]_[Hook Angle]_[CTA Type]. Example: V012_SocialProof_TimeToValue. This naming convention makes performance analysis across 50+ variants manageable.
Step 10: How do you A/B test text overlay treatments?
Isolate one variable at a time. The most common mistake is changing the hook text, font, color, and animation simultaneously, which makes it impossible to attribute performance differences.
Start with hook text angle testing. Run 3-5 overlay variants against the same base video with identical targeting, budget, and placements. Let each variant accumulate at least 50 conversions before drawing conclusions. According to post-ATT best practices, you need campaigns consolidating enough conversion volume for algorithmic learning.
Once you identify the winning hook angle, move to treatment testing: font size, color, animation style, or background panel versus no panel. These are secondary levers, typically producing 5-15% performance swings compared to the 30-50% swings from hook copy changes.
Use dynamic creative optimization (DCO) on Meta to automatically test multiple text overlays if your budget supports it. Meta's DCO system needs roughly 128 installs per day per ad set to optimize effectively, per Meta's own machine learning documentation.
Key insight: Hook text angle changes produce 30-50% performance swings versus 5-15% from design tweaks.
- Isolate one variable per test
- Minimum 50 conversions per variant before judging
- Hook copy > font/color/animation in impact
- DCO needs ~128 installs/day per ad set to learn
- Test angles first, then treatments
Pro tip: Keep a "creative testing log" spreadsheet with columns for Variant ID, Variable Changed, Spend, CPI, CTR, and Hook Retention. After 20-30 tests, patterns emerge that inform your creative strategy better than any generic best practice guide.
Step 11: What are the most effective text overlay patterns for different ad structures?
Different ad structures (problem-solution, listicle, testimonial, demo) require different overlay approaches. Applying the wrong pattern to the wrong structure wastes the overlay's potential.
For problem-solution ads, which are the most common structure in subscription app advertising, the overlay sequence follows a clear arc: Problem statement (Frame 1: "Tired of waking up exhausted?"), Agitation (Frame 2: "I tried 6 sleep apps"), Solution (Frame 3: "Then I found [App]"), Proof (Frame 4: "7 hours of deep sleep in one week"), CTA (Frame 5: "Try it free").
For listicle/feature ads, use numbered overlays ("Reason #1," "Reason #2"). According to research patterns commonly seen in top mobile ad formats, numbered lists in overlay text increase watch-through rate because viewers anticipate the next number. This creates what psychologists call an "open loop."
For testimonial/UGC-style ads, overlays should be minimal and caption-like. The speaker's words carry the message; overlays provide subtitles and occasional emphasis callouts (bolding a key phrase like "lost 15 pounds" in the subtitle stream). Over-styling the text breaks the UGC authenticity that makes these ads work on platforms like TikTok.
Key insight: Match your overlay pattern to your ad structure: arc for problem-solution, numbered for listicles, minimal for UGC.
- Problem-solution: 5-frame narrative arc overlays
- Listicle: numbered text creates open loops
- UGC/testimonial: subtitle-style, minimal styling
- Demo ads: callout overlays pointing to features
- Carousel: one key text per card
| Ad Structure | Overlay Cards (15s) | Text Style | Primary Overlay Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Problem-Solution | 4-6 | Bold, branded | Narrative spine |
| Listicle/Feature | 5-7 | Numbered, consistent format | Structure and anticipation |
| UGC/Testimonial | 3-5 | Caption-style, minimal | Subtitle and emphasis |
| App Demo | 3-4 | Callout with arrows | Feature identification |
| Before/After | 2-3 | Split label + result stat | Contrast framing |
Pro tip: For health and fitness app ads, the before/after overlay structure with a single stat ("-22 lbs in 90 days") consistently outperforms narrative-heavy approaches. Let the visual transformation do the work; the overlay provides the data point.
Step 12: How do you handle text overlays for international and multilingual campaigns?
Text expansion is the silent killer of international overlay campaigns. German and French text is typically 30-40% longer than English for the same message, per W3C internationalization guidelines. An overlay that fits perfectly in English will overflow or become illegible in German.
Design your overlays with expansion room from the start. If your English overlay uses 8 words, plan for 11-12 words in the translated version. This means using slightly smaller font sizes in your base template (48-56px instead of 60-72px) or using shorter English copy that gives translators room.
Never use auto-translate for overlay text. The hook copy is the most performance-sensitive text in your entire ad. A clumsy translation destroys the Curiosity element from the 3C Principle. Invest in native copywriters for your top 3-5 markets.
Right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew) require mirror-flipped layouts. Text should align right, and reading flow reverses. Most editing tools handle this automatically, but always preview. CJK languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) use different character heights and may need adjusted line spacing.
Key insight: German and French overlay text runs 30-40% longer than English, so design with expansion room.
- Plan for 30-40% text expansion in European languages
- Use native copywriters for hook text translation
- RTL languages need mirrored text alignment
- CJK languages may need adjusted line spacing
- Template at 48-56px to allow expansion room
Pro tip: Build your master overlay template in English at 85% of maximum comfortable size. This gives you a built-in buffer for every language expansion, eliminating per-language resizing work.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Mistake 1: Placing text in the bottom 20% where platform CTAs hide it, wasting your key message.
- Mistake 2: Using more than 10 words per overlay card, causing viewers to skip reading entirely.
- Mistake 3: White text over bright footage without stroke or background panel. Invisible on 40%+ of frames.
- Mistake 4: Testing font changes before hook copy changes. Copy drives 30-50% swings; fonts drive 5-15%.
- Mistake 5: Identical overlay styling across TikTok and Meta. Native-style text lifts TikTok CVR by 56%.
- Mistake 6: Auto-translating hook overlays instead of using native copywriters. Kills the Curiosity loop.
- Mistake 7: Text appearing after the 1-second mark. By then, 50% of viewers have already scrolled past.
Start with the highest-impact change: audit your current ads for safe zone compliance and hook overlay timing. Fix those two issues this week. Next, build platform-specific text templates for Meta and TikTok. Within 30 days, implement a systematic overlay variant testing program.
The data will show you exactly which text angles drive conversions for your specific app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use text overlays on YouTube pre-roll ads too?
Yes, but their role shifts. YouTube pre-roll plays with sound on by default, so overlays reinforce rather than replace audio. Google's research shows matched audio-plus-text drives 25% higher ad recall. Use lower-third subtitle-style overlays rather than full-screen text.
Do text overlays affect ad delivery or CPM on Meta?
Meta removed the formal 20% text rule in 2020, but their algorithm still considers text density. According to Meta's ad guidelines, ads with excessive text may see reduced delivery. Keep overlay coverage below 20% of any individual frame to be safe.
What color text performs best in mobile video ads?
White text with a dark stroke or shadow is the universal default because it works on the widest range of backgrounds. Per industry testing patterns, white-on-dark-panel overlays maintain 4.5:1+ contrast ratios consistently. Avoid red and green together due to color blindness affecting 8% of men.
Can I use emojis in text overlays?
Yes, sparingly. Emojis can replace words to shorten overlay text (🔥 instead of "amazing") and add visual pop. Limit to 1-2 emojis per overlay card. Overuse makes the ad look spammy and can trigger lower quality scores on Meta, according to common practitioner observations.
How do text overlays interact with closed captions or subtitles?
They're different layers. Overlays are designed messaging (hooks, CTAs). Captions are speech transcription. If your ad has both, position captions at the bottom and overlays in the upper-center to prevent collision. According to 3Play Media's accessibility research, 80% of users who enable captions are not deaf or hard of hearing; they simply prefer text.
What tools are best for adding text overlays to video ads?
CapCut (free, excellent for TikTok-native styles), After Effects (precise animation control for agencies), and Figma (storyboarding overlays before production). For scale, tools like Sovereign or CreativeX can auto-generate overlay variants. CapCut handles 80% of use cases at zero cost.
Do text overlays work the same way for carousel ads?
Carousel cards are static or short-loop, so overlays function differently. Each card gets one text message, always visible, no animation needed. For detail on this format, see the guide on creating effective carousel ads for mobile apps. Focus on benefit-per-card structure with 4-6 words each.
How do I handle text overlays when repurposing landscape video to vertical?
Crop to 9:16 first, then add new overlays designed for vertical safe zones. Never scale existing horizontal overlays. Text sized for a 1920×1080 frame at 36px becomes unreadable when cropped and letterboxed into 1080×1920. Rebuilding overlays for vertical takes 10-15 minutes and is always worth it.
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