Apple LiveType/LiveFonts (+ a few questions)

bobogs wrote on 9/11/2006, 8:20 PM

Stopped by the local apple store tonight to try to mess around with Final Cut Express HD. I just got a quick look, but it looks like a pretty neat app, very similar to P as far as I can tell (separate trimming monitor, the look and feel of the media bins and effects/transitions tabs, even down to the Razor tool to split tracks). One bad thing was that it ran kind of sluggishly on the Core Duo (not Core 2 Duo) 20" iMac I was using.

The demo project on this iMac was this landsurfing movie called The Wind. Pretty nifty, but the best part about it was when I Opened (the title) in Editor...LiveType and LiveFonts! Amazing. The UI reminded me a bit of After Effects, although I've used AE remedially only once or twice and I'm really not that familiar with it. The built-in LiveFont templates were so cool.

Q1: Is there a Windows app that can do the same things as LiveType (and more importantly, LiveFonts)?

Q2: Given the built-in templates for iDVD and DVD Studio Pro look pretty cool with their baby mobile animations and such, are there DVDA3/4 motion menu templates available that offer that level of animation and drag/drop hot spots? Sometimes the motion menu packs out there are just pretty blah, with mostly moving backgrounds but no droppable animated hot spots.

Q3: Are those types of motion menus (with animated hot spots) doable in AE? Easy? Hard? Somewhere in between? :-)

Thanks!
Gary

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 9/11/2006, 9:16 PM

Now that India Pro is gone (bought by Apple to make Livetype) this app no longer functions in Windows. Livetype is actually made up of small video files, and no...there is nothing quite like it in Windows.

You can make animated hotspots for DVD A if you wish, they can be done in Vegas, AE, or whatever. Just use 32bit files for transparency.

DGates wrote on 9/11/2006, 9:54 PM

I agree, LiveType is very cool. And as others have said, there is nothing like in for Windows users, at least at that price point. After Effects will do the same, but it's not really pratical/affordable if animated text is all you want to do.

Cooldraft wrote on 9/12/2006, 12:47 PM

Watch out for the 'shakes'. I bit off on the livetype/fcp thing because of the cool fonts. BELIEVE ME, when you have them they get old really quick. I even can spot the movies that use the original live fonts and they look fine, but not unique. Now I have heard of some studios building their own live fonts, this is great but with the resouces that I have (screen caffiene, etc) there are few fonts available (or I have not found them=someone please help me). 12" Design does have a nifty addin for livetype. But for me, being an owner of Vegas and FCPe. I went back to vegas. QUICKLY. Then I use livetype to produce some titles-got bored, and then went with wildfxpro for the PC. Comments welcome!

bobogs wrote on 9/12/2006, 5:45 PM

Thanks for the replies!

I'm not quite ready to drink the Steve-Aid, given my years of Windows use, knowledge of the platform, and work responsibilities (software dev). Plus, there are plenty of great apps available for Windows these days (Vegas being one of them), especially the Windows tools over at videohelp.com.

I'm sure LiveFonts would get old quickly. You know, when I stop to think about my little case of MacLust, I usually come to the conclusion that if I were to buy a new mac, it'd be like any other new toy. It'd be really cool for a few weeks/months due to the newness/differentness/exploration factor, but I'm sure after that initial wow period, it'll boil down to just another computer to browse the web, connect in to work, do email, and do some digital media work.

I wonder if ANY longtime mac users look at a Windows XP desktop and consider it to be cool because it's so different than what they've always used. :)

Thanks again for the replies.