How to put big text behind your head in a video

What is the text-behind-head effect?

It is a layered look: your background at the back, a large word or phrase in the middle, and you on top. The word appears to sit behind your head and shoulders. It works because the software separates you from the background, a cutout, so graphics can slot in between.

Creators use it to put the key word of a sentence on screen at the moment they say it, which helps people follow the video with the sound off.

Which SkilledCut skill does it, and how?

Layers puts a big word behind your head, adds plates that light up on spoken words, then layers on charts and cards. It is the broader motion-graphics skill and supports vertical 9:16 and widescreen 16:9.

Bold is the punchier version: a giant blue word slams in behind your head on each key word and keeps drifting, with neon glow only on the blue elements. It makes a 10-second vertical reel, with camera push, sway and a shake on every slam.

How do you film for a clean cutout?

The quality of any cutout depends on your footage, so give the software an easy job. Layers shows stills before it renders, which lets you spot a bad edge before you wait for the full video.

• Stand a little way from the background so you aren't blending into it.
• Light your face evenly. A strong light behind you can blur your outline.
• Avoid backgrounds the same colour as your clothes or hair.
• Keep your hands inside the frame and steady, because fast movement is harder to cut out.
• Frame yourself large enough that the word has room behind your head.

What does it take to make one?

Buy the skill, install it into Claude Code with the install prompt, and give Claude your clip. A first-video prompt for Layers is built in. For example: take the words from the clip, put a word behind the head on the key words, add plates on spoken words, and show stills before rendering.

1. Buy Layers or Bold and download the zip.
2. Ask Claude Code to install it. Follow the setup guide.
3. Restart Claude Code, name the skill and give it the path to your clip.
4. Review the stills Claude shows you and ask for changes.
5. Render, then post or finish the video in another editor.

Layers and Explainer use Xcode Command Line Tools on a Mac to cut you out of the frame. The setup guide has the full requirements.