• Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

  Ideal font sizes for 1280×720(HD)

  Posted by Jit Gohil on May 19, 2009 at 4:30 pm

  I’m wondering if there is a good rule-of-thumb for Font Sizes in various resolutions of HD video. I know Fonts are vector, so it’s not a question about resolution, rather, it’s a matter of what looks good in terms of legibility and symmetry.

  I’ve got a specific font picked out (Corbel) and I just want to nail down the sizes of:

  Headings (Titles)
  Main Text (Paragraphs)

  Also, is there a particular height that lower-thirds should be for 720p?

  Thanks!

  Arnie Schlissel replied 17 years, 3 months ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  David Bogie

  May 19, 2009 at 4:51 pm

  You know why there are ten million typefaces? No one can make up their mind.
  the olden days had a valid rule: Choose your type size based on good typography and to fit 12 (maybe 15 in a pinch) lines of text on the screen. That was back when legibility and communication were considered important. Ah, the good ol’ days, makes me pine for Nixon.

  Viewing distance with HD can be a factor.

  bogiesan
• 

  Jit Gohil

  May 19, 2009 at 5:54 pm

  Thanks for the input! I come from the Web Design world where we have well structured Typography, e.g. H1, H2, P

  I thought there might be something similar for video, but apparently not…
• 

  David Bogie

  May 19, 2009 at 8:47 pm

  [Jit Gohil] “I come from the Web Design world where we have well structured Typography, e.g. H1, H2, P “

  Generally accepted conventions are not the same as well structured rules. 15 lines of text on a screen, including leading and descenders, establishes the minimum pixel height for legibility. Ther are many more things to consider when crafting text for video including the hairlines and descender thicknesses.

  We have a large group of Web experts on our staff. Only one of them comprehends the art and craft of typography and she is rarely allowed to use that knowledge. Most of our Web content is designed by committee; “Heck, my 12-year old can create a Web site! How hard can it be?”

  Same with video these days.

  bogiesan
• 

  Arnie Schlissel

  May 21, 2009 at 4:32 am

  In the end, it doesn’t matter because the network will squeeze the end credits to put a promo on screen at the same time, and they’ll speed then up to get an extra commercial in.

  My only rule of thumb is to avoid thin fonts, script fonts, curly fonts calligraphy fonts- generally any font that doesn’t read easily or will cause moire or flicker or lend itself to aliasing.

  Arnie
  Post production is not an afterthought!
  https://www.arniepix.com/

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