intertitle
Film text card
An intertitle is a text card inserted between scenes in a film, displaying dialogue, narration, or explanatory information.
The term belongs primarily to silent cinema, when intertitles conveyed what sound could not: The intertitle read "Meanwhile, back at the ranch".
Modern films occasionally use them for stylistic effect or to establish time and place.
Post-WWI American decade
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
- nickelodeonCoin-fed entertainment machine
- kinetoscopeEarly motion picture viewer
- expressionismDistorting reality for emotion
celluloid · flicker · projector · slapstick · pantomime · metropolis
Dramatic unit or locale
- actDeed or performance
- sequenceOrdered succession of elements
- segmentDistinct part of whole
- chapterDivision of a book
exposition · flashback · reveal · setup · pacing
Projected translation at performances
- supertitleProjected translated dialogue
- translationConverting between languages
- operaTheatrical art combining song
- theaterVenue for live drama
1920s
Post-WWI American decade
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
- nickelodeonCoin-fed entertainment machine
- kinetoscopeEarly motion picture viewer
expressionism · celluloid · flicker · projector · slapstick · pantomime · metropolis
scene
Dramatic unit or locale
surtitle
Projected translation at performances
- supertitleProjected translated dialogue
- translationConverting between languages
- operaTheatrical art combining song
theater · dialogue · localization · accessibility · libretto
caption
Text accompanying an image
lettering · font · typeface · ornament · border · vignette · calligraphy · gothic · serif · hand-drawn
intertitlespoken dialogue
Voiced character conversation
dialogue · voiceover · narration · talkie · audio narration