Results tagged “live type” from Final Cut Studio, Avid, Adobe, and Video Streaming

As you may have noticed, Apple has retired LiveType as of Final Cut Studio 3.  Fortunately for you LiveType folks, though, you can get to almost all of LiveType's functionality in Motion (plus a lot more).

Background

Our students really seem to like LiveType's LiveFonts -- sets of animated glyphs with which you could type as if they were a regular font.  In my grouchy opinion, the stock LiveFonts quickly grew stale as they began to appear all over the place, but even I have to acknowledge that there are some really nice third-party LiveFonts available, and many of my students have chosen to invest in those.

Motion can indeed use all of your LiveFonts, although it might not be immediately obvious.  If you're new from LiveType, you should first realize that the Inspector in Motion works very similarly to the Inspector in LiveType -- and all of the LiveFonts functionality is controlled there.  Motion's Library also contains thumbnail previews of all of the LiveFonts you have installed.

Read on for the Step by Step ...

Like in any application, from time to time LiveType will act irregular. A good maintenance practice in LiveType is to Clear your settings when experiencing irregularities. This will often fix whatever issue you are experiencing. To do this, go to the LiveType menu, and select Settings/Clear Settings. This will reset your LiveType preferences back to the defaults, and in the process likely correct any irregularities.

It's very easy to import a LiveType project file directly into Final Cut Pro. Simply drag a LiveType project file directly into the Final Cut Browser Window or Timeline from the LiveType interface. Bang! The LiveType project file will appear as a clip! No rendering required. Instant access! *Make sure you are using the RT unlimited option so Final Cut Pro will play the LiveType titles in 'real-time'. At some point, you'll still need to render the title, but you'll be able to preview everything in real-time until that point.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to animate a title using Apple's LiveType so it draws on with a cloud of fog.

It's been a few years since we covered Final Cut's text features, and -- while everything we said then is still true -- it's time to update our advice.  If you just want simple text for credits, burned-in subtitles, or simple credit rolls, the text generators we described in that article are your ticket. 

But now that Final Cut Studio ships with LiveType, you'd be foolish not to investigate LiveType's incredibly easy-to-use interface for creating visually stunning titles and supers.  We've got a tutorial on matteing video to your titles in LiveType, and working through that tutorial will give you a feel for how the LiveType interface works.  Once you've got your title the way you like it, simply save, and follow our quick tip to bring it back into Final Cut (or Avid, if you prefer).

If you're interested in further tutorials on LiveType, drop me an email, and we'll get some in the pipeline.  And of course, we offer full instruction on LiveType as part of our Final Cut training.

With the growing popularity of Final Cut Studio, some of us are forced to learn how to use multiple editing platforms. Sometimes, you may find a machine that has both Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Studio installed on it.

Using a graphic to indicate which button is highlighted creates a very professional looking menu.  It is also very professional to have the button text animate onto the menu. When creating the genealogical history video for the O'Toole job, it would be quite appropriate to have a shamrock appear next to the active button.

To do this you simply create an overlay with a shamrock in every position you will want it to appear on your menu. When creating your buttons, you make sure that each button range includes a shamrock. Only the shamrock associated with the active button will be visible.

Apple's LiveType is an amazing title tool that is bundled with Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Express.  A lot of users are missing out on LiveType's amazing functionality.  Now granted, you can use Apple Motion for similar effects, but sometimes it's actually easier to build your composite directly in LiveType. This sample animation was done entirely in LiveType.

LiveType is so easy to use and powerful, that I've seen Avid editors use LiveType to increased functionality within their Media Composer or Avid Xpress software.

 

LiveType supports 5 different tracks.  This track types include: Titles, Graphics, Objects, Textures and Video. You can even integrate Digital Juice backgrounds directly into LiveType for access to additional textures or ojbects.  You can also purchase additional LiveFonts, objects or backgrounds from LiveTypeCentral.com. Or, you can hire GeniusDV to show you how to create your own effects.

 

 

 

Each track is assigned it's own color within the Timeline window for easy reference.

Interested in Learning more about LiveType?  Check out these short tutorials:

LiveType Tutorial for Creating an Animated Mask

Creating an Animated Glow through a title with LiveType

LiveType training is included as part of GeniusDV's 5 Day Final Cut Studio course.  You can also hire a personal GeniusDV for a customized LiveType course.