# Lower third > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lower_third > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lower_third.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_third > Source revision: 1352564146 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Graphic overlay in lower area of TV screen}} {{For-multi|the band|the Lower Third|the music venue now known as the Lower Third|12 Bar Club}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} [[File:Syria's foreign minister Walid al-Moualem - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|A screenshot of an [Al Jazeera English](/source/Al_Jazeera_English) news programme showing Syrian Foreign Minister [Walid Muallem](/source/Walid_Muallem) in 2011. A lower third at the bottom of the screen identifies him and explains the context of the broadcast.]] In the [television industry](/source/Broadcast_television_systems), a '''lower third''' (alternatively known as a '''chyron''') is a graphic overlay placed in the [title-safe](/source/title_safe) lower area of the [screen](/source/Display_device), though not necessarily the entire lower third of it, as the name suggests.{{cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Claire |title=The battle for the lower third |website=Broadcasting & Cable |date=11 August 2008 |publisher=New Bay Media |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/battle-lower-third/85019 |access-date=7 August 2016}} In its simplest form, a lower third can just be text overlaying the video. Frequently this text is white with a [drop shadow](/source/drop_shadow) to make the words easier to read. A lower third can also contain graphical elements such as boxes, images or shading. Some lower thirds have [animated](/source/Animation) backgrounds and text. Lower thirds can be created using basic home-[video editing software](/source/video_editing_software) or professional-level equipment. This equipment makes use of video's [alpha channel](/source/alpha_channel) to determine what parts of the graphic or text should be [transparent](/source/Transparency_(graphic)), allowing the video in the background to show through. == Terminology == Lower thirds are also often known as "CG" (from [character generator](/source/character_generator)) or '''captions''', and sometimes '''chyrons''' in North America, due to the popularity of [Chyron Corporation](/source/Chyron_Corporation)'s Chiron I character generator, an early digital solution developed in the 1970s for rendering lower thirds.See this usage in ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' [blog](/source/blog)s; for instance: {{Cite news |last=Tozzi |first=Lisa |date=28 January 2008 |title=Giuliani's New Ad: 'Not Endorsed' |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/giulianis-new-ad-not-endorsed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129113002/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/giulianis-new-ad-not-endorsed/ |archive-date=29 January 2008 |department=''The Caucus'' |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |access-date=4 August 2024}} Other common terms include '''superbars''' (or simply '''supers''') (US){{cn|date=July 2024}} and '''name straps''' and '''astons''' (after [Aston Electronic Designs](/source/Aston_Electronic_Designs)) (UK).{{cn|date=July 2024}} Video with lower thirds is known as a ''program as broadcast'' or ''dirty''. Video without lower thirds is known as a ''[clean feed](/source/Clean_feed_(television))'' or ''textless''.{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Jonathon |date=2 October 2013 |title=Dictionary of Jargon |series=Routledge Revivals |publisher=Routledge |page=632 |isbn=978-1-317-90818-0 |oclc=864414293}} For international distribution programs often include ''textless elements'' on the master tape: these are all the shots that lower thirds and [digital on-screen graphic](/source/digital_on-screen_graphic)s have been applied to, placed end-to-end so engineers can make a clean master if necessary. == Tiers == right|thumb|An example of a scrolling news ticker at the bottom of a lower third Lower thirds are usually arranged in tiers, or lines: * '''One-tier lower thirds''': Usually used to identify a story that is being shown, or to show a presenter's name. * '''Two-tier lower thirds''': Used most often to identify a person on screen. Often, the person's name appears on the first line, with their place of residence or a description below that. Two-tier lower thirds may also be used as "locators" to identify where a story is taking place. * '''Three-tier lower thirds''': These lower thirds add more information. Commonly, the first tier is used to tell when the video was shot, if it was not shot the day the [newscast](/source/newscast) is airing.{{cite web |title=Best Banner & Lower Third Competition |website=color tape international |url=http://www.colortapeinternational.com/bestbanner.php |access-date=7 August 2016}} === Further elements === Lower thirds increasingly include elements such as [news ticker](/source/news_ticker)s, time and date, weather information, [stock quote](/source/stock_quote)s, or sports scores.{{cite journal |last=Montgomery |first=Mark |date=April 2010 |title=Tips for Lower Third Titles |journal=Videomaker}} == See also == {{Portal|Television}} * [Intertitle](/source/Intertitle) * [Television news screen layout](/source/Television_news_screen_layout) * [Telop](/source/Telop) == References == {{Reflist}} {{Broadcasting}} Category:Film and video technology Category:Television news Category:Television terminology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lower third](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_third) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_third?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.