Looking for suggestions

[Aneino_Kaijin]

Or maybe opinions. Eh. The situation is this. The video I'm working on right now is supposed to be from the point of view of a computer, and as such, half the time the video is framed in the computer's screen. Occasionally, I wanted to have messages flashing up on screen as the computer loads, opens and closes files and camera feeds. I've seen such things done a number of ways, and was wondering what other creators think is the best way.

I've seen them done as text over a solid-color box, which can then be moved anywhere. I like the concept, but worry it might make the messages look like they're not part of the video, if that makes sense. The way cutouts sometimes look like they're floating above the video instead of being in it.

Similarly, I was considering just having a stationary box with a blinking cursor in one place the whole time, and running the text in when needed, but was worried it would have the same problem as above, with the added problem of possible obscuring an important part of the video itself.

Third was text on the screen without a backdrop, though that might look more like a subtitle than a computer message.

I'm sure stylistically, I'm missing at least six other good ways to do this, so I'm posting here to get others' thoughts. Thanks in advance, and if this doesn't belong here, I apologize.

[Zarxrax]

Hmmm, so you want your video to be taking place inside of a computer? Maybe you can do it sort of like this? http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... p?v=111563

[Keeper of Hellfire]

I don't understand what you mean with "from the point of view of a computer". Does it mean the computer itself watches through the screen the outside world, which is represented by the video? Or do you mean that someone watches the video at the screen and is working at the same time?

In first case you have to mirror the text and put some transparency on it. I think I would prefer some fast scrolling text without any background.

In the second case I would pop up a little window (like the one if you go "Start/Execute...") which disappears after the command/text is entered.

[Aneino_Kaijin]

Zarxrax, That's not what I'm looking for - the text is meant to be obtrusive there - but I thank you very much for pointing me to that video.

Keeper of Hellfire, its neither of those. It's a sentient computer, and it's looking through its files of one particular person, from saved videos dating back to her childhood up to live video surveilance footage. Sometimes the viewer is seeing what the computer itself is seeing - just the straight video - but sometimes the viewer is seeing what a passer-by might see if they glanced at the computer screen - the video, but distorted, tinted with the color of the screen, and occasionally displaying commands as the computer loads up another file or switches from saved to live feed.