Text Generator fonts again

Now the weird italic problem has been cured, there's another issue with the FXScript Text generator:

If you try to use a font like Gill Sans, which in the standard OSX installation has 6 weights - Light/Light italic/Regular/Italic/Bold/Bold italic, you can only get access to the first four so

Controls window shows "Plain" when actually it uses "Light"
Controls window shows "Italic" when actually it uses "Light italic"

So it's impossible to use the Bold and Bold italic fonts...

Yep, that checks out here.

Helvetica Neue kicks of with Condensed Bold, and that's what you get as "Plain" in FCP.

It seems like FCP takes the first instance find in OSX (I'm looking at the fonts in Text Edit) and adds it's own "bold" and Italic" effects on top of that.

The weight sequence for Helvetica Neue in Text Edit is:
Condensed Bold
Condensed Black
Ultra Light
Ultra Light ItalicLight
Light Italic
Regular
Italic
Bold Bold Italic

in FCP the Plain/Bold/Italic/Bold Italic sequnce for Helvetica Neue look (to me) to be:

Condensed Bold
Condensed Bold Bold
Condensed Bold Italic
Condensed Bold Bold Italic

The workaround would be to use Title 3D instead.
A different paradigm for organising the weights, but everything seems to be there

Nick

There are plenty of other reasons for using Title3D as well. Among the simplest: varying character sizes in a single line. Quite vauable. Line selection is wonky-- you'd expect a double-click to highlight a line, not so.

But the FCP Built-In has been lame from day one.

- Loren
Today's FCP4 keytip:
To resize all video or audio tracks:
press Option and drag any divider!

FCP4 KeyGuide? now available at discount at
the LAFCPUG store!