This guide will provide the necessary information on subtitles in First Run Festival submissions.
Subtitle Information
How will my subtitles affect my film screening at First Run?
- Subtitles are not necessary to screen at First Run, although in certain cases, they are encouraged
- Incorrectly formatted subtitles will not affect your film screening at First Run, however, your film may screen without subtitles appearing as intended
When does my film need to have subtitles?
- If your film has dialogue in a language other than English, please consider including subtitles.
- Additionally, if you would like your film to be accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, please consider including subtitles.
How should my subtitles be formatted?
- Must be burnt-in, or permanently embedded on the frame
- Should not include more than two lines
- Must be center justified
- Must either be justified to either the top or bottom of the frame within the Title Safe Area
- Should not overlap with letterboxing
What is the Title Safe Area?
- The Title Safe Area is the area in your frame which guarantees your text will not be cut off
- The Title Safe Area dimensions change based on aspect ratio and resolution. First Run submissions must be in 2K or Full HD
- Title Safe area tools can be found in Avid Media Composer, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve
Are there best practices for creating subtitles?
- Should be in a San Serif font
- Should be white (hex #ffffff) or yellow (hex #fcbe11)
- Consider using different colors for different speakers