In films, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialogue intertitles", those used to provide related descriptive/narrative material are referred to as "expository intertitles". In modern usage, the terms refer to similar text and logo material inserted at or near the start of films and television shows. In this era intertitles were always called "subtitles" and had Art Deco motifs, they were a mainstay of silent films once the films became of sufficient length and detail to necessitate dialogue or narration to make sense of the enacted or documented events. The British Film Catalogue credits the 1898 film Our New General Servant by Robert W. Paul as the first British film to use intertitles. Film scholar Kamilla Elliott identifies another early use of intertitles in the 1901 British film Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost; the first Academy Awards presentation in 1929 included an award for "Best Writing - Title Cards" that went to Joseph W. Farnham for the films Fair Co-Ed, Clown and Telling the World.
The award was never given again, as intertitles went out of common use due to the introduction of "talkies". In modern use, intertitles are used to supply an epigraph, such as a poem, or to distinguish various "acts" of a film or multimedia production by use as a title card. However, they are most used as part of a historical drama's epilogue to explain what happened to the depicted characters and events after the conclusion of the story proper; the development of the soundtrack eliminated their utility as a narrative device, but they are still used as an artistic device. For instance, intertitles were used as a gimmick in Frasier; the BBC's drama Threads uses them to give location and information on distant events beyond Sheffield. Law & Order and its related spinoffs used them to give not only the location, but the date of the upcoming scene. Guy Maddin is a modern filmmaker known for recreating the style of older films, uses intertitles appropriately; some locally produced shows, such as quiz bowl game shows, use animated variations of intertitles to introduce the next round.
Intertitles have had a long history in the area of amateur film as well. The efforts of home movie aficionados to intertitle their works post-production have led to the development of a number of innovative approaches to the challenge. Lacking access to high-quality film dubbing and splicing equipment, amateur film makers must plan ahead when making a film to allow space for filming an intertitle over the existing film. Intertitles may be printed neatly on a piece of paper, a card, or a piece of cardboard and filmed, or they may be formed from adhesive strips and affixed to glass. In the early 1980s, digital recording technology improved to the point where intertitles could be created in born-digital format and recorded directly onto the film. Several specialty accessories from this period such as Sony's HVT-2100 Titler and cameras such as Matsushita's Quasar VK-743 and Zenith VC-1800 could be used to generate intertitles for home movies. Early 1980s video game consoles and applications catering to the demo scene were adapted for the generation and recording of intertitles for home films.
Among these were included the ColecoVision, the Magnavox Odyssey², the Bally Astrocade, the intertitle-specialized Famicom Titler
Eat a Bowl of Tea is a 1989 film directed by Wayne Wang based on the novel of the same name by Louis Chu. It is a Chinese romantic film starring Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong, Siu-Ming Lau and Eric Tsang; the story begins with exposition of the difficult lives of the first generation of male Chinese-American immigrants who were not allowed to bring their wives and families with them into the United States due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. For decades, these immigrant men have not seen their families. Ben is the son of one these immigrants and has just finished serving in the U. S. Army during World War II. Due to the G. I. Bill, he is allowed to bring a bride back from China. Mei Oi, the bride, besides being attracted to Ben wants to see her father in the U. S. who emigrated to the States before she was born. As one of the first couples of child-bearing age within Chinatown and Mei Oi have to deal with the expectations of the entire Chinatown community as well as his father, but the pressures on Ben render him impotent, in her confusion over his seeming lack of interest, Mei Oi succumbs to the attentions of Ah Song.
Their affair creates complications not only for their own marriage, but for the reputations of their fathers in the close-knit "bachelor society" of New York's Chinatown. The staff at Variety magazine said of the film, "Wayne Wang returns to Chinatown with Eat a Bowl of Tea, recaptures the relaxed humor and deep emotions of his earlier Dim Sum in the process." Eat a Bowl of Tea on IMDb
Wilstedt is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Wilstedt belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown – interrupted by a Danish occupation – and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1807 the ephemeral Kingdom of Westphalia annexed the Duchy, before France annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy was restored to the Electorate of Hanover, which – after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 – incorporated the Duchy in a real union and the Ducal territory, including Wilstedt, became part of the new Stade Region, established in 1823. Official website