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Intertitle



 
 
In motion pictures, an intertitle (also known as a title card) is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e. inter-) the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed. Intertitles were a mainstay of silent film
Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made possible in the late 1920s with the introduction of the Vitaphone system....
s once they became of sufficient length and detail to necessitate dialogue and/or narration to make sense of the enacted or documented events.






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In motion pictures, an intertitle (also known as a title card) is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e. inter-) the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed. Intertitles were a mainstay of silent film
Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made possible in the late 1920s with the introduction of the Vitaphone system....
s once they became of sufficient length and detail to necessitate dialogue and/or narration to make sense of the enacted or documented events. The development of the soundtrack
Soundtrack

The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
 largely eliminated their utility, except as an occasional artistic device (for instance, as a gimmick
Gimmick

In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use....
 in Frasier
Frasier

Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
, The BBC's Brechtian drama Threads
Threads

Threads is a 1984 BBC television play depicting the effects of a Nuclear warfare on the United Kingdom and its aftermath. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson , Threads was filmed in late 1983 and early 1984....
 to give location, date and information on distant events beyond Sheffield
Sheffield

Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. It is so named because of its origins in a field on the River Sheaf that runs through the city....
, or to describe a location in Law & Order
Law & Order

Law & Order is an United States police procedural and legal drama Television program created by Dick Wolf. It has been broadcast on NBC since its debut on September 13, 1990....
, or in the films of Guy Maddin
Guy Maddin

Guy Maddin is a Canada screenwriter and film director of both film and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His most distinctive quality is his penchant for recreating the look and style of silent film or talkies films which has solidified his popularity and acclaim in alternative film circles....
).

Some locally produced shows, notably quiz bowl game shows, use animated variations of intertitles to introduce the next round. Examples of this include QuizBusters, Hometown High-Q
Hometown High-Q

Hometown High-Q is a high school quiz bowl game show that tapes and broadcasts on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by Westfield Insurance and has been hosted by KDKA news anchor Ken Rice since its inception in 2000....
, and the WPSU-TV version of Scholastic Scrimmage
Scholastic Scrimmage

Scholastic Scrimmage is a high school quiz bowl game show airing on WLVT-TV and WPSU-TV , and is hosted by Karen Walton and David Price respectively....
.

"Intertitle" is an academic term invented long after the advent of sound film
Sound film

A sound film is a film with synchronization, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before reliable synchronization was made commercially practical....
 (see also subtitle (captioning)
Subtitle (captioning)

Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-o...
 and supertitle). These "titles" should not be confused about with the modern-day definition of subtitle (titling)
Subtitle (titling)

In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein , an alternate title to give a hint of the theme....
 or main title.

Notably, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, Order of the British Empire was a British filmmaker and film producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres....
 began his career as an illustrator of intertitles for silent films. He resumed this work for his television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured both mystery fiction and melodramas....
.