Also known as SUPER · super
Text or graphics laid over the picture -- titles, dates, locations, captions. On the page, commonly written as SUPER: or SUPERIMPOSE: followed by the overlay copy.
On the page
Superimpose
SUPER: San Francisco — July 1998
Supers handle information the image alone will not carry in time: a date, a city, a chapter card, a translated caption. Write the exact words you want on screen after SUPER: or SUPERIMPOSE:. Keep them short; long paragraphs of on-screen text read like essays and fight the cut for attention.
Place the super near the moment it should appear -- often just before or after the scene heading it labels. If the overlay must hit a precise action beat, put it beside that action so editors and readers share the same timing. Avoid stacking three supers in a row unless the form itself is the joke or the style.
Specs should use supers for story-critical labels, not for directing fonts and animation. Production design and post will choose type treatment. Your job is clear wording and clear timing. If a character reads a sign that is already visible in action, you may not need a SUPER at all -- describe the sign in action instead.
Yes in practice. SUPER: is the common short form on contemporary scripts; both mean text or graphics over the picture.
No. Write the words and when they appear. Font, size, and motion belong to design and post unless the specific look is a story joke.
Usually next to the moment it labels -- often just above or below the heading or action it timestamps. Keep the timing obvious to the reader.
Yes, but keep both readable. If the overlay competes with a dense speech, trim one so the audience can track words in the ear and on the screen.
