Intertitle

All you want to know about Intertitle

This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

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 films 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 largely eliminated their utility, except as an occasional artistic device (for instance, as a gimmick in Frasier or to describe a location in Law & Order, or in the films of Guy Maddin).

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, and the WPSU-TV version of Scholastic Scrimmage.

"Intertitle" is an academic term invented long after the advent of sound film (see also subtitle (captioning) and supertitle). These "titles" should not be confused about with the modern-day definition of subtitle (titling) or main title.

Notably, Alfred Hitchcock began his career as an illustrator of intertitles for silent films. He resumed this work for his television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents.