What fonts do you think are great for movie subtitles?

orion44 · 16th February 2021, 01:01

Any fonts you could recommend that are clean, easy on the eyes, and that don't distract from the movie?

varekai · 16th February 2021, 11:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by orion44

Any fonts you could recommend that are clean, easy on the eyes, and that don't distract from the movie?

Depending on what kind of movie/film/doucumentary color etc. these are good for subtitles:

Helvetica
Arial
Verdana
Antique Olive
Univers 45
Tahoma
Myriad
Museo Sans
Tiresias
Times New Roman
ae_Electron
CinecavXUIRegular
Roboto
Typodermic
Segoe UI

My favourite is Clear Sans, I use it on most of my projects.
Sometimes colored and bold.
The difference in the uppercase I makes it easier distinguish I from lowercase l.
Test to write Illinois...
Look here:
https://imgur.com/a/IezwpRf
Clear Sans Free
https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/clear-sans
https://01.org/clear-SANS

orion44 · 16th February 2021, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by varekai

Depending on what kind of movie/film/doucumentary color etc. these are good for subtitles:

Helvetica
Arial
Verdana
Antique Olive
Univers 45
Tahoma
Myriad
Museo Sans
Tiresias
Times New Roman
ae_Electron
CinecavXUIRegular
Roboto
Typodermic
Segoe UI

My favourite is Clear Sans, I use it on most of my projects.
Sometimes colored and bold.
The difference in the uppercase I makes it easier distinguish I from lowercase l.
Test to write Illinois...
Look here:
https://imgur.com/a/IezwpRf
Clear Sans Free
https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/clear-sans
https://01.org/clear-SANS

Thanks, varekai.

I will try them out.

filler56789 · 16th February 2021, 15:29

I say NO! to any font that makes no distinction between the letter "I" and the letter "l".

Comic Sans is evil as well.

LowDead · 17th February 2021, 02:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by filler56789

I say NO! to any font that makes no distinction between the letter "I" and the letter "l".

Comic Sans is evil as well.

Why?

//LD

rjd0309 · 17th February 2021, 16:57

Tahoma would be my first choice, because it is a sans-serif font that distinguishes among lower-case L, capital I, and the numeral 1.

If your subtitles also must display unusual characters such as the eighth-note character (used to indicate music), then I would recommend the standard Arial font, as it has an extended set of Unicode characters (e.g. eighth-note character is Unicode 266A).

MatLz · 17th February 2021, 18:01

Helvetica and Comic sans

Emulgator · 18th February 2021, 01:53

If lower resolutions: (and if I may consider NTSC SD now as low):
Verdana 18

Proven here for 720x480 DVD 16:9 and 4:3 under MaestroSBT rendering (Latin character set).

All resizing is gracefully handled, no thinned-out lines, round stays round.
Gives very nice and harmonic 3-liners within 2.35:1,
top line within picture, 2 lower lines in lower black letterbox bar.

varekai · 18th February 2021, 10:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by filler56789

Comic Sans is evil as well.

Another viewpoint...
https://imgur.com/a/AUiDn

von Suppé · 18th February 2021, 10:49

I find varekai's list very useful.

For movies, ever considered using multiple fonts & (slightly) different colors? For non-spoken subs, voice-overs or other spoken languages, it can positively add to atmosphere/feel.
When applied subtly, it won't reduce easy reading.

Emulgator · 18th February 2021, 12:47

Clear Sans: good suggestion, varekai.
Just added it to my favourites.

16th February 2021, 01:01	#1 \| Link
orion44 None Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: The Background Posts: 307	What fonts do you think are great for movie subtitles? Any fonts you could recommend that are clean, easy on the eyes, and that don't distract from the movie?

17th February 2021, 18:01	#7 \| Link
MatLz I often say "maybe"... Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: France Posts: 583	Helvetica and Comic sans __________________ We are spitting food to these hungry eyes. You see they ask, we know they are greedy of our rot. Better than to give jam to pigs. x264 r2146 MOD

18th February 2021, 01:53	#8 \| Link
Emulgator Big Bit Savings Now ! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: close to the wall Posts: 1,545	If lower resolutions: (and if I may consider NTSC SD now as low): Verdana 18 Proven here for 720x480 DVD 16:9 and 4:3 under MaestroSBT rendering (Latin character set). All resizing is gracefully handled, no thinned-out lines, round stays round. Gives very nice and harmonic 3-liners within 2.35:1, top line within picture, 2 lower lines in lower black letterbox bar. __________________ "To bypass shortcuts and find suffering...is called QUALity" (Die toten Augen von Friedrichshain) "Data reduction ? Yep, Sir. We're that issue working on. Synce invntoin uf lingöage..."

18th February 2021, 12:47	#11 \| Link
Emulgator Big Bit Savings Now ! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: close to the wall Posts: 1,545	Clear Sans: good suggestion, varekai. Just added it to my favourites. __________________ "To bypass shortcuts and find suffering...is called QUALity" (Die toten Augen von Friedrichshain) "Data reduction ? Yep, Sir. We're that issue working on. Synce invntoin uf lingöage..."

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16th February 2021, 15:29	#4 \| Link
filler56789 SuperVirus Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Antarctic Japan Posts: 1,351	I say NO! to any font that makes no distinction between the letter "I" and the letter "l". Comic Sans is evil as well.

17th February 2021, 16:57	#6 \| Link
rjd0309 Wanted Dead or Dead Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 40	Tahoma would be my first choice, because it is a sans-serif font that distinguishes among lower-case L, capital I, and the numeral 1. If your subtitles also must display unusual characters such as the eighth-note character (used to indicate music), then I would recommend the standard Arial font, as it has an extended set of Unicode characters (e.g. eighth-note character is Unicode 266A).

18th February 2021, 10:49	#10 \| Link
von Suppé Registered User Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 631	I find varekai's list very useful. For movies, ever considered using multiple fonts & (slightly) different colors? For non-spoken subs, voice-overs or other spoken languages, it can positively add to atmosphere/feel. When applied subtly, it won't reduce easy reading.