CREATING A SUBTITLE TEMPLATE IN FINAL CUT PRO

Creating a Subtitle Template
By Andrew Balis

In this Quicktip, we’ll look at the process of creating a subtitle with a chosen font, size, color and screen position, then save it as a template you can apply to any sequence you happen to be working on. If you’ve ever had to create subtitles for a program you’ll quickly realize how beneficial a template can be.

1. In Final Cut, add a video clip from your show on to V1 in the Timeline as a sample of how the title will read when played over video.

2. Turn on Title Safe from the Canvas View button.

We'll be setting the title along the bottom of the frame, but inside the inner "Title Safe" green overlay lines.

The example video used here is chosen because it has some common challenges. There is a wide range of luminance, from bright, mid-range, to shadows. Also challenging is the fact this video has a lot of tight detail in the image, which can also make it difficult to read words on screen. If you set up a template with these challenges in mind, you may not need to make changes when applying the title over other video later.

3. Open the Outline Text by clicking on the Generator drop down menu in the lower right corner of the Viewer.

4. Add the title to the Timeline on V2 above your video, and give it a rough duration to match one line of spoken dialogue.

5. Re-open the Timeline text into the Viewer by double-clicking on it. Then click on the Controls tab. Set size, font, text color, tracking and all other elements you'd need for a one line title. Line color refers to the outline's color.

The default settings of the outline are a tad heavy with Outline Text. Equally dangerous though, is if the outline is too thin or sharp it will suffer a possible flickering effect on a TV or external NTSC monitor due to limitations in standard interlaced video.

To make the outline narrower, use the slider for Line Width. To soften the outline, and perhaps lessen any apparent flicking on external video, try changing the Line Softness parameter.

Creating Contrast with a Drop Shadow

6. Click on the Motion tab of the Viewer.

7. Click the checkbox for Drop Shadow and twirl down the little arrow and set the controls as needed.

Shown here is the title with the Line Width set at 0 but with the drop shadow added to create contrast.

8. To save the sub-title as a template, drag the text clip from the Timeline to the project tab of the Browser.. This action saves the generator as part of that project file.

Also saved is the duration of the title and its positioning on the screen. Anytime you need to access that title template, double-click on it from the Browser to load a new title into the Viewer.

9. Create templates for 2 or 3 lines of text and repeat steps 1 - 8 above.