I'm sure that I have seen this stated here somewhere.. just can't find it anywhere. Could anybody please help me what the standard is? (Font and size I mean..)

What do you use in in FCP?? "Lower text" or something different?

Thank you.

I prefer outline text myself. It's much easier to read over a variety of backgrounds. A line width of 20 with a softness of 5 seems to work well.

Franklin Gothic Demi (http://www.itcfonts.com/fonts/detail.asp?sku=ITC8073&AID=5671238&PID=675205) is the font of choice for subtitles in some big movies.

Thank you Rob and Robert. I don't seem to have the Franklin font.. Could buy it I guess but isn't there another one that could be used? I don't want to seem ungrateful here but the job isn't paid so I'll (only..) invest my time in it.

Outline seems like a good idea.

Thanks.

Arial or Arial black can also give pretty good results.

There is no 'standard' font and font size for lower thirds. Font type depends on the cliet....font size depends on the font.

For The History Channel, I use Interstate Bold Condensed for the font, size 30 for the persons name (3 pt dropshadow at 75% opacity) and size 20 for their title..

For three different Discovery Channel series, the all had differenct fonts. ANd the size depends on the font. One font at 30pt can be larger than another at size 30.

Test your letterspacing and sizing on different sized monitors. Make sure it is legible in different situations, different distances. If your audience is over 40 be aware that eyesite drops significantly, expecially if you will be in low light situations.

Especially with subtitles, where someone needs to read the words in order to know what is going on, making them strain to read really degrades the experience of what they are watching because they have to not only focus their eyes, but also their attention on "seeing" the letters clearly and then "reading" them.

Thanks all.

Iwas under the false impression that there was a standard font when using subtitles.
Thanks to your good advice I'm sure that I'll reach a satisfactory result!

Subtitles...I was thinking lower thirds. How did I confuse that?

Anyway...I have used differend fonts there too...