# lower thirds In video and animation, a Lower Third is the additional visual elements that are added to give extra information. They want to be seen as a supplement but not take focus away from the main content. These are things like the **Breaking News!** graphic at the bottom of a newscast or the infographic scoreboard during a sporting game. They can be the name and title of someone being interviewed or the stock scroll on a financial report or important weather alerts. You sometimes see them splashed at the bottom of a TV show with info about what show is coming up next. ![[lowerthirds.jpg]] _[from adobe makeitcenter](https://makeitcenter.adobe.com/en/blog/how-to-make-animated-lower-thirds.html)_ Like most other graphic design objects, Lower thirds are usually stylized to capture a tone or represent a specific brand. Broadcast newscasts will include the TV station logo and maybe a special graphic for the type of package being presented, such as **Election Coverage!** or **Special Report!** (they like to use exclamation points!). Weathercasts will probably have a logo for the cool weather prediction technology they are using, such as **Storm Tracker Radar!!** or have a weather icon giving a quick visual of what weather to expect. ![[weather-icons.png]] _[from metgraphics](https://www.metgraphics.net/weather-icons-2/)_ Graphics can include logos, fonts, outlined elements, colored boxes for backgrounds. They can be opaque or a faded overlay that shows some of the image underneath. They can be static or include side-scrolling information or be highly animated splashes to catch your attention. Even though they are called Lower Thirds, they can also appear at the top of the screen and they don’t necessarily need to take up a full third of the image. --- ## make your own It isn’t overly difficult to make a basic Lower Third in programs like Adobe After Effects. They are usually just made up of text and shapes after all. You can also make your elements in Adobe Photoshop and place them as a graphic in After Effects. Here are a few online demos to show you how to do make your own basic Lower Third graphics… - [Animate a Lower Third from Adobe](https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/how-to/animate-lower-third.html) - [How to make a lower third graphic for your video from Adobe](https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/lower-third-graphics.html) - [Learn how to make lower thirds for your videos from Adobe MakeItCenter](https://makeitcenter.adobe.com/en/blog/how-to-make-animated-lower-thirds.html) --- ## download a template Since Lower Thirds are so ubiquitous in the video world, it should be no surprise that there are plenty of premade templates available to use in your work. Here are a few places to get free templates. Or you can take a look at what is possible and craft your own unique version. - [Filmora](https://filmora.wondershare.com/video-editing-tips/free-lower-thirds.html) - [Mixkit](https://mixkit.co/free-after-effects-templates/lower-thirds/) - [MotionArray](https://motionarray.com/learn/after-effects/after-effects-lower-thirds/) - [RocketStock](https://www.rocketstock.com/free-after-effects-templates/free-4k-lower-thirds-effects/) - [SpeckyBoy](https://speckyboy.com/free-lower-thirds-after-effects-templates/) - [ThemeJunkie](https://www.theme-junkie.com/free-after-effects-lower-thirds-templates/) - [or search for yourself](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=after+effects+lower+thirds+templates+free&atb=v274-1&ia=web) --- Learn more… - [What is a Lower Third? Definition and Design Strategies from Studio Binder?](https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-lower-third/) --- tags: #animation #resources home: [[! animation]]