Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #26
If there is one piece of textual graphic in every project you do, it will be the end credits, with the rolling text the most popular kind. While most people are satisfied with left justified or centered text, some will want the classic center gutter. In this Final Cut Pro Quick Tip, we’ll show you how to create that center gutter.
Until recently I didn’t have much of a reason to set up a center gutter end credit, but finishing up a project late one night I found that a center gutter would be much better than the boring left and centered text. There are two ways we will approach the center gutter in Final Cut Pro – using the FCP built in text generator, and Boris Calligraphy. And since the basic text generator and Calligraphy haven’t had a significant upgrade in Final Cut Pro 4.0, this Quick Tip will work for both FCP 3 and FCP 4.[an error occurred while processing this directive]Doing it the FCP way
Even though the FCP built in text generator is the weakest portion of Final Cut Pro, it can still generate a pretty decent title roll.
Begin by creating your credits in a text creation program like Word and make sure you run a spell check. There is nothing worse than having credits with someone’s name misspelled. If you are getting this from the client, have them send it to you in a plain text format.
For example, we might have an end credit that looks something like this
Executive Producer John Worfin
Producer John Bigboote
Director John O’Conner
Writer John Gomez
Director of Photography John Smallberries
Sound John Ganty
Grip John Ya Ya
Best Boy John Smallberries
Editor John Parker
Special Effects John Emdall
Stunts John Manyjohns
In Final Cut Pro, select Scrolling Text from the Text Generator. Click on the Controls Tab in the Viewer Window so you can see the Text entry window.
Copy and Paste the credits from the text document and place it in the Text entry area.
To get the center gutter, replace the space between the title and name with an asterisk. For example, Executive Producer*John Worfin. The asterisk tells Final Cut Pro that a center gutter is needed.
You can adjust the width of the gutter by adjusting the Gutter Width parameter .
When you have finished adjusting the effect controls, set the duration for your roll and enjoy the professional looking results.
Source: Digital Media Online, Inc.
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