[Leonore Verster]

One of the FCP X templates for subtitles – Lower Third Information Bar – does build from the bottom up. If I only use line two, and press Enter, the first line moves up, and the second line remains at the bottom. It is possible to center both lines. I would’ve used this if I’d know how to get rid of the gradient shadow that’s still on the left-hand side of the screen. We use borders and drop shadows, so they do not want that “shadow” or black bar behind the subtitles (though I think it makes it easier to read).
I tried various settings, but I cannot find a way to get rid of that bar.

[Leonore Verster]

Thanks again!

[Leonore Verster]

Thank you – this sounds promising. Can I use this to export from EZ Titles into FCP X as well as from FCP 7 to FCP X?
I will look into this suggestion too – thank you for your response.

[Leonore Verster]

Thank you for this suggestion too. I will spend this weekend trying the various options – those that have demo versions. We need to test the software before the producers will buy it.

We had a special plugin that was created by a colleague, and it was done according to the way subtitles starting with dashes are automatically left-aligned (while the rest are centered) in programs like EZ Titles. The producers wanted it to be very clear that two people are talking, as opposed to one person talking over two lines. But if it’s not possible anymore, we’d simply have to go with centered titles.

Thank you for your help.

[Leonore Verster]

Thank you – this is looking promising. We will try this over the next couple of days.
Much appreciated!

Leonore

[Leonore Verster]

I will try that. Our main problem is that we’re working on a daily TV series, doing 6 episodes per week, with approx. 2700 words per episode. The producers want the subtitles centered, but when two people are speaking, they want the format as per the screen grab. We simply don’t have the time to manually left-align those titles (aligned according to the longest line, which should be centered, meaning the short line must align with the longer line on the left, but this position is not fixed – it all depends on the longest line’s length).
Unfortunately, EZ Titles (which does all this formatting and alignment automatically) does not export to FCP X successfully. Their more expensive versions might work (greater compatibility), but these dongles (unlocking the programs) are much too expensive, and each subtitler needs one. I am also not sure whether FCP X will read the formatting either.

[Leonore Verster]

I suppose we’d need to find dedicated subtitling software that reads fine in FCP X, then. The options in FCP X are too limited, and none seem to allow for left-alignment of titles starting with dashes (2 people speaking). Our older iMacs cannot handle FCP X.

[Leonore Verster]

Thank you for the response. We’re doing that at the moment, and the editor is overlaying the subtitles on the movie files, but for some reason, the titles are not as clear as those generated within FCP.
I was hoping there was a way to make FCP X read the XML files (of the subtitles created on FCP 7) that we’re exporting.