General Guidelines 

• For lower thirds background: Use either a black or white background banner with square corners. 
• Use the lower third of a slide only to identify the subject. 
• Identify the subject on their first speaking appearance. The name and title can appear on the left or right side, depending on the subject’s location. 
• Identify each subject only once. 
• If a subhead—such as a title or department name—is too long to fit on one line, reduce the point size and run it over two lines. 
• Never let text extend beyond the right or left margin. 

Lower Thirds Content

• Use the subject’s full first and last name. 
• Add the subject’s middle name or initial upon the subject’s request. 
• Use the subject’s full, formal title. If the full title is long, use your judgment to shorten or abbreviate it. 
• If a faculty member or staff person has more than one title, choose the title that’s most pertinent to the story. 
• For subjects who are alumni, add an apostrophe and the last two digits of their year of graduation next to their name.

Text Font and Color

• Color:
  • All text is white or black, depending on the banner color. 
    • Northeastern red: Hex=CC0000; RGB=R204, G0, B0; CMYK=C 0%, M 100%, Y 90%, K 5%
• Font:
  • Use a brand font. Another readable sans serif font, such as Helvetica, is an alternative. 
    • Avid/Premiere Pro: size 38 
    • After Effects: size 75 
    • Subject title: Helvetica Neue 
    • Avid/Premiere Pro: size 26 
    • After Effects: size 47 

Duration of Lower Third

• Start lower third 0.5 to 1 second after cut, though this timing depends on the tone of the video. 
• We recommend that lower thirds not be extended across multiple shots. However, clip length may dictate an extension. Please ensure the lower third remains on screen long enough to read the name and title. 

Cross-Dissolve Diagrams

• Ideal layout cross-dissolving in and cross-dissolving out over one video clip: 
• When a title is up for less than 6 seconds and touches a video edit, cut the title at the edit point with no cross-dissolve.