Where Should Subtitles Be Placed?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Position on the screen: Subtitles should be positioned

at the lower part of the screen

, so that they cover an area usually occupied by image action which is of lesser importance to the general aesthetic appreciation of the target film.

Where do you put subtitles?

FOR TELEVISION BROADCAST:

– Subtitles should be centered-justified and centered on-screen at all times. – 2 subtitle lines maximum, if you can’t fit it in, make a new title!

What are the rules for subtitles?


All subtitles must stay within text safe areas

. Subtitles should not appear on screen at the same time as captions, which should be cleared before subtitling starts. Maximum two lines of text per subtitle. Where two lines are used, both should be of roughly equal length with the top line the longer.

How much space do you leave for subtitles?

Subtitles should appear and disappear exactly when the words are spoken. However, ensure captions appear on-screen long enough to be read. There should be two lines of text on-screen, at most. Set the

minimum time of display to 1.5 seconds

for very short dialogue (such as an answer to a question, “Okay”).

Should subtitles be exact?

Sometimes subtitles need to be shortened, but still convey the exact same meaning as the words that are spoken. … Subtitles should generally adhere to a rule of

12-15 characters per second of video

.

How do I get good subtitles?

  1. High contrast between text and background. …
  2. Avoid presenting too much text onscreen at one time. …
  3. Use a large enough text size. …
  4. Ensure accuracy, especially for subtitles that are produced before voice acting is recorded. …
  5. Ensure subtitles cover all important dialogue, and can be turned on before any need to be displayed.

Do you put periods in subtitles?


Subtitling rarely uses periods

. However, exclamation points and question marks are important if you want to keep the context clear. Commas, colons, semicolons, or apostrophes, makes phrases intelligible and emphasize ideas in the script. … It’s the same with subtitles.

Should you put full stops in subtitles?

Subtitles and lines

should be broken at logical points

. The ideal line-break will be at a piece of punctuation like a full stop, comma or dash. If the break has to be elsewhere in the sentence, avoid splitting the following parts of speech: article and noun (e.g. the + table; a + book)

What do hashtags mean in subtitles?

Twitter hashtags, which in on-screen graphics are rendered with the

“#” (pound) symbol

, are rendered fully as letters in captioning (for instance, “hashtag TV Tropes”) since the pound symbol is in use for some delineation between characters and those with hearing issues might not understand as to what a hashtag is by …

When should a subtitle start?

Timing and line Breaks:

Subtitles should ideally start in

sync with the start of dialogue and never before

. Where reading speed is not an issue, subtitles should be removed from the screen immediately as speech finishes. Subtitles should be kept within shot changes parameters by 2 frames either side.

Are subtitles the same as Closed Captioning?


Captions can either be open or closed

. Closed captions can be turned on or off with the click of a button. Open captions are different from closed captions in that they are part of the video itself and cannot be turned off. Subtitles are translations for people who don’t speak the language of the medium.

What font is best for subtitles?

  1. Arial. We start off with the most widespread font in the world. …
  2. Roboto. Roboto is the official subtitle font for Google. …
  3. Times New Roman. This is another font that promises excellent readability. …
  4. Verdana. …
  5. Tiresias. …
  6. Antique Olive. …
  7. Futura. …
  8. Helvetica.

How long does it take to subtitle an episode?

Adding Subtitles On Your Own Can Take About 5 -10 Times The Duration of The Video. How long will it really take you to add subtitles to video? Typically, to caption a 2 minute video, it will take a

DIYer about 10 minutes

.

Are subtitles important?

Subtitles are

used to translate speech on a video

, and they’re generally intended for people who don’t understand the language of the video. Therefore, all speech is translated into another language. … In this case, they’re intended for someone who either can’t hear the video or doesn’t want to hear the video.

Are subtitles taken from the script?

Subtitles are

text derived from either a transcript or screenplay

of the dialogue or commentary in films, television programs, video games, and the like, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen, but can also be at the top of the screen if there is already text at the bottom of the screen.

What color should subtitles be?

3. Change the color of your subtitles. White is a fairly common color in video and in life so it’s not surprising that light colored backgrounds often make white subtitles hard to read. Often changing your subtitle color to

yellow

(another common sub color) is enough to do the trick.

Jasmine Sibley
Author
Jasmine Sibley
Jasmine is a DIY enthusiast with a passion for crafting and design. She has written several blog posts on crafting and has been featured in various DIY websites. Jasmine's expertise in sewing, knitting, and woodworking will help you create beautiful and unique projects.