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How can I tell if my font and outline selection is the right size?
I’m working on subtitles for a film, and the broadcaster has specific specs for subtitles. Namely, the letters should be 34 pixels high and the outline should be 3 pixels in size. The problem, of course, is that FCP doesnt give pixel size when doing font or outline size.
I’m using Helvetica Bold. Is there any way I can try to calculate what font size I need to be 34 pixels high and what value I should give for the outline size so it is 3 pixels?
(Below I’ve attached exported still frames who’s name indicates the font size value. In all of them, the outline is set to 1 although I’ve also added two with larger outline. I don’t know if someone can figure it out just from this image)
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2 Replies
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Hey Noam,
Has the Broadcaster given you any other specs, such as iTT, CEA, SRT or similar?
Often when delivering, you have to give both a dirty master, and a clean one with a separate subtitle file.
Because of the history of subtitles, the format used to be very rigid for the standard to carry across different broadcast channels – it is less so now. But as your client is a broadcaster, I would ask more questions of them if it is not already in your delivery specs.The other thing to watch out for is screen-safe-margins for subtitles.
Although, if really stuck and want complete accuracy, pop into photoshop, or similar, and knock out your template, or all of your subtitles to a format that works for your FCPX master.
Atb
Mads -
When you say FCP won’t show pixel size, you’re using the closed captioning function, which is not the same as sub-titles. So, as a former broadcaster, do they want “sub-titles” which are burned in, or “closed captioning” which is coded, thus you don’t have control over things like font size, because it is a strict technical standard that the FCC will not let you deviate from. But for regular text, yes, you can specify font size.
If you need “sub-titles”, there are templates available for that for FCPX, plus making a sub-title template yourself in Motion would be super easy.
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