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Subtitle issues
I am currently subtitling an 83 minute film shot in 720HD/24p.
The way I am doing this is I am using the Title generator and then positioning the yellow colored words at the bottom of the screen.
I am using a slight drop shadow and a slight outline on the yellow letters.
I remember in Final Cut Express the documentation suggested you should use 90% opacity when subtitling, and this had never been an issue with me before because on my previous projects I shot 4:3 then put a wide screen effect over the film so the subtitles wound up in the back area.
Now I am shooting 16:9 so the subtitles are flowing across the images on the screen. Because of the 90% opacity, if I hit some images that are tan or yellow, the yellow letters of my subtitles are blending into the image making them hard to read. Any suggestions here?
Why is 90% opacity recommended? Why not a 100%? Would this help if I did this, or shouldn’t it be done?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.
Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource. -
4 Replies
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If you change to 100% opacity, is the text legible?
If so, 100% should be totally fine. I can’t recall seeing 90% opaque subtitles anywhere, but what do I know?
Jeremy
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I’d second the 100%
If you use anything less, then X will have to calculate the composite values of every single pixel that your titles cross over.
So I’d use the standard light type with a dark outline or vice versa, to give you the best separation out of a range of underlying scene tonal values.
My 2 cents.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Maybe they meant 90% IRE? I’ve seen some delivery req’s ask for subs IRE less than 100%. But I third the above messages – 100% opacity is the way to go.
Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company -
I started out using bright yellow lettering for the subtitles, but I hated the way it overwhelmed the film. I wound up going with white lettering, using the basic title generator, the Helvetica Neue font (60 pt, though I may reduce this), with a black outline and a slight black drop shadow. Very readable, not overwhelming, works well. All 100% opacity as recommended.
Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.
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