Lost Video Island

[thefilmchick]

(Moved from Tech Help.)

Since I'm discussing this in a video thread up above...

Do fonts matter to you (in your own work? in others'?)

They do to me, both in my own videos and in others. In a lot of cases, they can add to the feel of a video. In some unfortunate cases (but not the one currently under discussion!), they can detract from a video; I think there are probably some examples with a girlish font and a sad video, or a grungy/hard-bitten font and a bouncy, happy video.

On one hand, if you just slap up Verdana or Times New Roman on everything, you don't risk those moments of disconnection--but on the other hand, your titles and credits always look the same.

Personally: I like to choose a different font for each video. I like the way these fonts can make the videos feel. It is a point where I can leave the viewer with (hopefully) a positive impression, if the font is well-chosen.

What sort of fonts do you use, if they do matter?

I have a lot of freeware fonts. I tend to choose ones which I think meld well. A video with hard drumbeats seems to require a grunge font (a la Life is Long's Bill Hicks; smoother, slower videos require smoother, more subtle fonts (Gentle Arms of Eden's Fashionism.)

Occasionally I'll choose a font which points directly to the theme (like Mohammed's Radio's Pseudo Saudi), but that can be a bit of a fine line, because something like that could easily fall into cliche.

In conclusion...

Just curious how others might answer! It's a sticking-point with me (both positively and negatively) and I wonder how prevalent of a concern it is in the LVI community at large.

[soapbubbles511]

I'm definitely one to obsess over fonts (sometimes more than others)... I have a lot downloaded from making fan art so I'll go down my list playing with lots of different fonts until I find one I think fits with my vid

if text is going on the vid (to emphasize quotes or lyrics) font choice is very important... text is hard enough to pull off and a bad font will kill it sooo fast... I have one vid that is all instrumental with quotes over it... and I put the text of all the quotes up and I spent forever figuring out which fonts I wanted to mix for that.... and if the credits are going up on top of the beginning/ending footage good font choice is a must

if you're just doing title cards font isn't as important... nothing wrong with a plainer font here... but can also use a more interesting font that fits with the feel of your vid

and I don't remember what it's called but there's one font that I HATE and it doesn't work 99% of the time... it's the one where all the curls at the ends of letters turn into little hearts and there are little hearts inside some of the letters... I hate it... it's lame and looks like something 12 year old girls do while doodling [insert their name] + [insert name of boy they like] inside a heart on the front of their notebooks

I have a set of cursive-y handwritten looking fonts that I love and use a lot

[thefilmchick]

I spent the last two days trying to find the font so I could laugh at it: I know exactly which one you mean, blarrrrgh.

Good to know I'm not the only one who is particular about this sort of thing!

[eloramoon]

What are everyone's favorite font sites, just out of curiosity?

I have a few that I go to, but then I see these amazing fonts everywhere and have no clue where they came from!

[littleton_pace]

DaFont is where I get all my fonts And i will freely admit to spending hours on there

[emmasholi]

littleton_pace wrote:

DaFont is where I get all my fonts And i will freely admit to spending hours on there

Hehe same here . That place is a real time stealer!

[grable24]

littleton_pace wrote:

DaFont is where I get all my fonts And i will freely admit to spending hours on there

Omg, there goes the rest of my night lol... I <3 fonts

[thefilmchick]

23 Really Bad Font Choices is a really hilarious and apt article (with, fortunately, fictional examples) that might relate to vidding -- I have seen romantic videos with hard typefaces, action videos with Olde Englische fonts... you get the drift. This article has the same. Hope someone finds it either useful or at least funny!

[nikkimonique]

ahhhh fonts drive me crazy! I never know what looks good or what doesn't I just never like anything I use in my vids. They all seem retarded! Thank God for this thread!! Maybe I can stop obsessing!!

[thefilmchick]

Nikki, as I am Captain Font Pickiness, I am always happy to give opinions!