How to Write On-Screen Text in a Screenplay

Dates, places, chapter titles, a sign on a door, a letter in a character's hand, subtitles under foreign dialogue: all of it is text the audience reads on screen, and each kind has its own convention on the page. This guide shows you when to use SUPER, TITLE and CHYRON, how to write time and place cards, how to handle signs, letters and screens inside the story, and how to format subtitled dialogue.

Updated September 2026 · 8 min read

1. Two kinds of on-screen text

Before you choose a format, ask one question: does this text exist inside the story, or is it laid over the picture for the audience only?

Mixing the two up is the most common source of confusion. A date typed over the opening shot is a SUPER. A date written on a calendar the hero is staring at is an object in the room, so it goes in the action.

2. SUPER, SUPERIMPOSE, TITLE and CHYRON

These labels all mean "put these words on the screen." They differ mainly in what sits behind the text.

The format itself is simple. Write the label in capitals at the left margin as an action line, then a colon, then the text. Most writers put the text in quotation marks; some leave them out. Both are accepted, so pick one and stay consistent.

You don't need to say when the text disappears. Readers assume it fades after a moment. Only mention it if the timing is part of the story, for example text that stays on screen while something happens behind it.

3. Time and place cards

Time and place cards are the everyday job of SUPER. Use one when the audience needs the information and the picture can't give it quickly: a historical date, a jump across the world, a countdown.

Keep a few rules in mind:

• The scene heading still comes first. A SUPER never replaces the scene heading. The heading is for the crew; the super is for the audience.
• Place it where it appears. Usually right after the heading or after the first action line, so the reader sees the image first and the words second.
• Relative time works too. SUPER: "Six months later." or SUPER: "Day 3." are common, especially in thrillers and survival stories.
• Don't overuse them. If every scene carries a date, ask whether the story really needs them or whether the picture already tells us.

4. Title cards and chapter titles

A title card is text that stands alone, typically over black. Scripts use it for opening quotes, epigraphs, chapter titles and closing text such as what happened to the real people after the events.

For a film divided into chapters, use the same form every time: TITLE CARD: "Part Two: The Border". Some writers write OVER BLACK: first and then the text on the next line. That works as well, and it is clear.

A note on the film's own title: in a spec script most writers don't mark where the title appears. If you have a specific, story-driven idea for it, such as the title landing on a key image, a short line like TITLE: "NORTHBOUND" is fine. Otherwise leave it to the director. The title on your cover page is covered in the title page guide.

5. Signs, letters and screens

Text inside the story is not a SUPER. It is part of the world, so you describe it in the action. How much space you give it depends on how important it is.

Short text: keep it in the action

For a sign, a label or a line on a whiteboard, quote the words in the action line. Many writers put them in capitals so they stand out.

Text the audience must read: INSERT

When the plot turns on the words, give them their own slot with INSERT, which tells the reader we see a close view of the object. Return with BACK TO SCENE. Quote only the lines that matter.

A long letter is often better heard than read. Many writers let the author's voice carry it in voice-over while we watch the reader's face.

Phones, laptops and text messages

Screens follow the same logic: short messages in the action, important ones with INSERT or ON SCREEN. Text conversations, emails and video calls have their own conventions, all covered in the phone calls and texts guide.

6. Subtitles for foreign-language dialogue

When a character speaks another language and the audience should understand it, you still write the dialogue in English (or the language of your script). The reader needs to follow the scene. You simply flag that it is spoken in another language and subtitled.

The parenthetical method

The most common approach is a parenthetical under the character name:

The one-time note

When a whole scene or a long stretch is in another language, repeating the parenthetical on every line gets heavy. Instead, write a single note in the action at the start, and make it clear where it ends:

Practice varies here. Some writers put the translated lines in italics or brackets instead, and others add a note near the start of the script explaining the convention. Any of these is accepted as long as the reader is never confused about which language is being spoken.

When the audience shouldn't understand

If the point is that we don't understand, as when your hero is lost in a foreign city, leave out the subtitles. Write (in Mandarin) and either give the line in that language, if you can write it correctly, or simply describe it: "She says something sharp in Mandarin." Never guess at a language you don't know; a wrong line looks worse than a described one.

7. Common mistakes

• Using SUPER for things in the room. A sign, a calendar or a text message is in the story world. Write it in the action or with INSERT.
• Replacing the scene heading with a super. SUPER: "Paris" does not tell the crew whether we're inside or outside, day or night. You need both.
• Supers that say what the image already shows. If we see the Eiffel Tower, "Paris" adds nothing unless the date matters too.
• Mixing labels. SUPER on page 2, CAPTION on page 30 and ON SCREEN on page 60 makes the reader wonder if they mean different things.
• Quoting whole documents. A full letter or email in an insert stops the read. Give us the one line that matters.
• Writing foreign dialogue the reader can't follow. If the audience gets subtitles, the reader gets English. Save untranslated lines for moments where confusion is the point.

For the wider rules on action lines, dialogue and margins, see the screenplay format guide.

8. Frequently asked questions