Need some help with closed captions in MS Pro 6.0 please.

[Hulk]

I am trying to put the words of what is being spoken at the bottom of a video clip.

The titling Video Editor is not useful for this because it always puts the titles centered in the screen, I need them at the bottom.

I created a title in CG Infinity but I can't seem to get a clean overlay around the letters. I turned off the shadow function and am using "color" in the type dialog in the video overlay options dialog box. Is there a way to just get the text letters while allowing everything else to show through? For example, the inside of a white "o" is filled with black.

A black rectangular background (like tv closed captioning) would be okay but if possible I'd like to learn how to do it without any background box.

[Dr Mordrid]

You overlooked the obvious my friend

First and most important DO NOT enable rolling in the editors titler. If the box is checked, uncheck it before doing anything else.

Now click the centered text icon, type in your subtitle text and then press enter a few times to insert some blank lines. This will place the text lower down the screen, but centered and stationary.

How many blank lines are needed and how much text you can enter depends on the font, size and style. Place the title clip on V1 and adjust the duration as required.

With Ariel Western 20 point bold you'll need 10-12 blank lines to put a single line near the bottom of the screen. Smaller fonts will need more blank lines but would allow for more than one line and more characters on each line.

A brute force way is to create each subtitle as a *.tga with transparancy turned on. Draw the text, save it and then import it as an overlay. Now apply the alpha channel in the overlay options and adjust its duration to whatever is required.

Works great, but tedious to set up in a long project.

With either technique don't forget to take into account the title safe margin. This means any text or graphics have to be 10-15% in from the bottom/top or left/right edge of the frame or it won't show on a TV when the video is played back.

This is because when editing you can see the overscan area that won't show up on a TV when the video is played to it. Anything placed in this overscan area will be cut off during playback.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 18 January 2001).]

[Hulk]

Thanks a lot. Okay. I understand everything except:

A brute force way is to create each subtitle as a *.tga with transparancy turned on. Draw the text, save it and then import it as an overlay. Now apply the alpha channel in the overlay options and adjust its duration to whatever is required.

What is a tga file? What app do I use to create the file?

[Dr Mordrid]

*.tga is a Targa graphics file. It's a form of bitmap that can have transparancy applied to its background. Handy for overlays.

These can be created in many apps including Photoshop, PaintShop Pro, PhotoImpact etc. etc. Just draw your pic as usual using a size the same as the video frame in the editor (704x480 etc.). Now, when you save the file just choose *.tga as the filetype and select to have transparancy turned on. Some apps do this by having you select to save it as a 32 bit graphic.

I really suggest you do it with the Editors titler though. It's much easier.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 18 January 2001).]

[Hulk]

One again you have saved me hours!

Yes, I am going to use the titler. I just wanted to experiment with the other method. I'm trying to build up my toolbox of know-how. I am deep into my first paying project and I am learning that it's a struggle to stay one step ahead of the client. So far he is very pleased with the result. Little does he know that some of credit goes to you and the many people on this forum who have been so generous with their time.

Thanks again.

[johnpr98]

Remember to check out the Ulead MSP6 tutorials
http://www.ulead.com/learning/msp.htm

Some Mike Velte MSP6 QT tutorials are also at
http://www.wwug.com/articles/categor...studio_pro.htm

IHTH

johnpr98

http://www.johnpr98.com

[Fred H]

...and inserting blank lines BELOW the text you can move the text to the top.
Inserting blank lines OVER the text it moves down.