Published: November 25, 2024
Chyron Definition & Meaning
A chyron is text that appears on screen to provide information to viewers. It is commonly used to show location, time, or a person’s name/title. The term comes from the Chyron Corporation, which pioneered the technology for displaying text on television broadcasts.
When to use Chyrons
Chyrons are often used with an establishing shot to tell us where or when a scene occurs. You’ll often see these in movies when the story moves to a new location.
For example:
- “LONDON – 3 MONTHS LATER”
- “PENTAGON – 1983”
- “NEW YORK CITY”
Combining a wide establishing shot and a chyron gives viewers a visual and textual context for where the story has moved.
Chyron examples from movies and TV series
Chyrons are common in thrillers and spy movies. Think of movies like the Bourne series or Mission Impossible films that jump between different global locations—they often use chyrons in their establishing shots.
Chyrons are a common tool in any movie or show where we follow an investigation, and the detectives investigate many scenes for clues. Often, they appear several times in a single episode.
A great example is the classic sci-fi TV show The X-files. Have a look at this sequence, where chyrons are used multiple times to show both time and location:
The difference between chyrons and lower thirds
A lower third is a type of chyron. A chyron is any text superimposed on video/film content, regardless of where it appears on the screen. A lower third specifically refers to text and graphics that appear in the bottom third of the screen (hence the name)
Lower-thirds are most commonly seen in:
- News broadcasts (showing reporter names, headlines, locations)
- Documentary interviews (showing subject names and titles)
- Sports broadcasts (showing scores, player stats, game info)
- Reality TV (showing contestant names, locations, or commentary)
So, while many chyrons appear as lower-thirds (especially in news and documentaries), chyrons can also appear:
- Center screen (like “2 HOURS LATER”)
- Top of screen (often for live broadcast information)
- Any other part of the frame (like location identifiers in movies)
Summing Up
The chyron has become such a common filmmaking convention that the word “chyron” has become a generic term for any text superimposed on video, even though it originally referred expressly to text generated by Chyron Corporation’s equipment.
Today, chyron is commonly used as a lowercase noun to refer to any on-screen text on television or in film, regardless of the technology used to create it.
The word “Chyron” itself appears to be a made-up corporate name, similar to how “Kodak” or “Xerox” were invented names for companies.
