Text on Video: Overlay Design That Stays Readable on a Phone

Most property reels are watched with the sound off, which makes on-screen text the primary channel. It is also where most agent videos fall apart: text that is too thin, too small, badly placed, or gone before it can be read.

Weight over size

A heavy font at moderate size beats a light font at large size. Thin and elegant typefaces vanish against a photograph, particularly in daylight on a phone at half brightness.

Use a bold or extra-bold weight for anything that matters — price, configuration, the hook.

Contrast is non-negotiable

White text on a bright kitchen photo is unreadable. Three fixes, in order of quality:

1. A subtle dark gradient behind the text area. Least intrusive, most professional.
2. A solid or semi-transparent block behind the text.
3. A text outline or drop shadow. Effective, but can look cheap if heavy-handed.

Never rely on the photo happening to be dark where the text sits. It will not be on the next listing.

The safe zone

Vertical video is covered by interface elements:

• Top ~15%: account name, sometimes a progress bar
• Bottom ~20%: caption, music info, buttons
• Right edge: the action buttons column

Everything important belongs in the middle band, away from the right edge. Agents routinely place their phone number in the bottom third, where it is covered on every platform.

Timing

Text needs to be on screen long enough to read at a glance while distracted. One second per four words is a workable rule, with a 1.5 second floor.

Text that appears and disappears with each cut is exhausting. Better to hold one line across two frames than to flash a new line on every cut.

Hierarchy per frame

One dominant line, one supporting line, maximum. If a frame needs three lines, it needs to be two frames.

₹78 LAKH 3 BHK · Sector 70 · 7th floor

That is the whole pattern. Price large, detail small, nothing else.

Animation

Keep it minimal. A simple fade or a short slide is fine. Bouncing, spinning or typewriter effects draw attention to the effect rather than the message, and they age badly.

Consistency across posts

Same font, same colour, same position, every time. This is the cheapest branding available — a viewer who sees three of your reels starts recognising the format before they consciously recognise you.

The test

Export the video, put the phone at arm's length in daylight, and play it once. Anything you cannot read first time is too small, too thin, too fast or badly placed. That test catches almost every problem in about twenty seconds.