Method

The following is a breakdown of most of the different factors considered when producing Immersive Subtitles.

Font

Subtitles are still generally one readable font for all dialogue. Multiple fonts will be chosen only if they remain readable and are necessary to help with the viewer's understanding of a given scene.

Color

Subtitle color is no longer a simple white or yellow. Color is dictated by the lightest hue in each scene, with a dark drop shadow to help maintain readability, providing for a more integrated visual experience.

Placement

All subtitle placement is chosen to facilitate the best spacial relationship with the speaker while remaining as unobtrusive as possible. Artistic placement also avoids the occasional problem that bottom placement subtitles have of accidentally covering up an actor's face or an important visual element.

Timing

As often as possible subtitles are timed with frame-level precision. The better the fidelity, the better the comprehension. Longer lines of dialogue that were normally displayed all at once are often separated into shorter bits to better maintain the original impact of an actor's timing.

Chunks

Lines are displayed as 'chunks' - two or three lines of only three or four words if possible. Chunks can be read more quickly and easily at a glance, and less eye travel is needed from subtitle to actor and back, which means less chance of the viewer losing their place.

Offscreen

When the speaker is off-screen subtitles preserve the geography of the scene by implying their off-screen location.

Editing

When a mid-line edit exists, subtitles are placed on screen where their location best serves the geography of both shots.

Overlap

In a two(or more) shot, subtitles can overlap more organically than the traditional stacked lines to help viewers better follow the dialogue and differentiate between speakers.

Depth

In shots with a lot of people or depth, subtitles are sized differently to imply a z-axis within the scene, further helping maintain geographic integrity and speaker differentiation.

Effects

Extra fade, wipe, or rotoscope effects on subtitles help strengthen their ties to character, tone, or scene geography.

Non-Diegetic

More stylistic liberties can be taken with non-diegetic (most commonly voice-over) dialogue as dictated by the tone and purpose of the dialogue.