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Activity Forums Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy create readable titles

  • create readable titles

    Posted by Eric Holzapfel on April 6, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    Hello FCP forum,

    I am trying to create readable titles in FCP using the Boris 3D
    title crawl plug-in that ships with FCP.

    I have a long list of credits for the end of my project, I want to keep the text
    in the “title” safe area more or less. The final output is destined for DVD via DVD Studio Pro.

    The end credits are much like what we see at the end of a film, with lots of info.

    My problem is that the titles are not really readable! I am using a 4:3 aspect ratio,
    and a font that is risky to use, I have two font sizes for the text, one size is 16 point bold,
    with the Plantagenet Cherokee font, and the other font, more title friendly, Hypatia Sans Pro, at 12 point.

    I really do not want to use a font that is 24 point, etc. But I would like the text to be somewhat readable. Is this something that FCP cannot really do? I have about 25 lines of text that fills the title safe area at the current font sizes.

    Any suggestions here? I would like the rolling titles to look like they do in a real (reel?) movie.

    Thanks for a great forum resource,

    eric

    Mark Suszko replied 16 years, 1 month ago 6 Members · 6 Replies
  • 6 Replies
  • Tom Wolsky

    April 6, 2010 at 10:42 pm

    What format are you working in? 24 point is really the minimum for video.

    All the best,

    Tom

    Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP7,” “Basic Training for FCS” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
    Author: “Final Cut Pro 5 Editing Essentials” and “Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop”

  • Walter Biscardi

    April 7, 2010 at 10:12 am

    Smaller than 20 point and you run thie risk of the fonts falling apart. Also most credits are very basic fonts like helvectica and arial because they hold up the best. I use helvectica for most of my credits.

    Walter Biscardi, Jr.
    Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
    HD Post and Production
    Biscardi Creative Media

    “Foul Water, Fiery Serpent” featuring Sigourney Weaver coming soon.

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  • Chris Poisson

    April 7, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    I agree with Walter, 20 point Helvetica would be the smallest I would use. Arial is okay too.

  • Eric Holzapfel

    April 7, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    Hello,
    the dvd will be run in a dvd player connected to television.
    Since most people have hd tvs these days, I am not sure
    about the NTSC side of things. Currently the sequence is
    set for DV NTSC 4:3.

    What format is used for actual films that are put on a standard
    dvd (not blueray).

    Thanks for the help,

    eric

  • Eric Holzapfel

    April 7, 2010 at 5:14 pm

    Hello Guys,

    Well, I will go in and revise the font sizes, and font face.
    Thanks for the tips.

    eric

  • Mark Suszko

    April 7, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    I find that adding a little bit of dark edge and drop shadow to smaller text helps it hold together and read better. I always ask folks not to use seriffed fonts below a set size for screen work, screens are not a printed page and what works on paper and ink doesn’t always work as well using photons.

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