{
 "slug": "caption-safe-zones",
 "name": "Caption safe zones",
 "category": "effect",
 "group": "Captions",
 "media": [
  "video"
 ],
 "checked": "2026-11-13",
 "effect": "Text stays readable because the platform's buttons do not sit on it.",
 "use_when": "Every vertical video with text on it.",
 "phrase": "keep all text out of the top 160, the bottom 480 and the right 120 pixels of a 1080 by 1920 frame",
 "pitfalls": [
  {
   "text": "These are planning values from a 2026 research report, not figures published by the platforms, and the interfaces change. Check the preview in the app before posting.",
   "evidence": "unverified",
   "source": "Director Chair field notes on b-roll and the Director Chair hook framework (our 2026 synthesis of @marco.thecreative's TikTok series, OpusClip's hook formulas, a Brandefy article, Meta retention research and a Gemini research report)"
  },
  {
   "text": "Keep text off the area where the captions sit, and away from the frame edges; devices crop differently.",
   "evidence": "practitioner",
   "source": "The Director Chair hook framework (our 2026 synthesis of @marco.thecreative's TikTok series, OpusClip's hook formulas, a Brandefy article, Meta retention research and a Gemini research report)"
  }
 ],
 "per_model": [],
 "external_refs": [],
 "licensed": [],
 "site_names": [],
 "related": [
  "screen-zones",
  "ratio-9-16",
  "text-first-hook"
 ],
 "rights": "own-work",
 "evidence": "unverified",
 "source": {
  "url": null,
  "note": "Planning values our video QA checks, from Director Chair field notes on b-roll"
 },
 "body": "## Planning values on a 1080 by 1920 frame\n\n| Platform | Top | Bottom | Right |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| TikTok | 160 px | 480 px | 120 px |\n| Instagram Reels | 250 px | 320 px | 120 px |\n| YouTube Shorts | 380 px | 380 px | 120 px |\n\nNot published by the platforms. Treat them as a starting point and look at the in-app preview.",
 "shown_with": null,
 "url": "https://directorchair.ai/effect/caption-safe-zones",
 "markdown": "https://directorchair.ai/effect/caption-safe-zones.md",
 "prompts": {
  "chat": "Give me an edit brief: where it goes on the timeline, the exact settings, and what to check before export, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is caption safe zones: text stays readable because the platform's buttons do not sit on it. How it works: keep all text out of the top 160, the bottom 480 and the right 120 pixels of a 1080 by 1920 frame. It is right for: every vertical video with text on it. Keep text off the area where the captions sit, and away from the frame edges; devices crop differently. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing."
 },
 "licence": {
  "code": "MIT",
  "text": "CC BY 4.0",
  "third_party": "Clips and card texts inside a \"licensed\" block belong to their makers and are shown with permission and credit."
 }
}