Fonts are the unspoken heroes of videos. They are not the first elements that dominate the video producer's mind, but nevertheless are a vital component of any project. Fonts become crucial when it comes to designing motion graphics. It is important to acquire a few bits of knowledge about this vital component of video production services before you select one for the next project.
EXCESS IS BAD
The danger of using bad fonts is everywhere. Ironically, professionals who have the best tools make the maximum number of mistakes. Since they have a surfeit of resources, they put in everything at the same time. Layers are dumped on other layers. The fonts are set into random motion, which then crashes into every part of the screen. Every conceivable color gets injected into the canvas. Things get horrible for the viewer. The person finds it difficult to extract any meaning out of the jumbled mess of graphics and titles. Every editor in any good video production company must be aware of context and also the meaning of the decisions taken by the editor. This boils down to the font that is finally selected for the job.
The fonts must be cohesive. This is vital as they influence the project's visual style. Your audience will be confused if you use a Victorian font in a science fiction film. Another example is the usage of a scary movie like the font at a wedding or birthday video. Coming to the subject of appropriate fonts, the fonts used must also be readable. You can use either a Serif font or a Sans Serif font. The serifs are those squigglies found at the ends of the fonts. Georgia and Times New Roman fonts are examples of Serif fonts. Do not use Serifs fonts in video projects. A number of different serif styles exist, like transitional, slab, old-style, and modern. The slab serifs are generally rectangular and thicker. They may be used in a few cases, like a video production where an old western font is needed. A good typeface praises the video services company. Clients are known to desert companies, which cannot select a good typeface. Any good font will be excellently laid out with carefully considered spacing between the letters.
Sans Serif means "without serif". These make excellent choices in the field of motion and video graphics. These are much more readable and have a cleaner look. Arial and Helvetica are the most well-known sans serifs. Any font beginning with the words Gothic, Antique, Doric, Egyptian, or Grotesque will inevitably be sans serif.
TRACKING AND FONT COLORS
You should use tracking. It changes the spacing amount across the selected letter range. You can increase the text track to make the content feel uninviting or cold or convey exactly the opposite effect. Decreasing the text tracking does the latter. Do not condense the letters to a point where they overlap. This will give rise to a jumbled feeling. When it comes to motion graphics, it is possible to adjust tracking over time so that the text appears dynamic.
A good video services agency avoids stretching. This is as the stretched font could become an eyesore. It becomes so bad that even a layperson understands that it is shoddy work. If you suddenly discover that you are engaged in vertical or horizontal stretching of the font, stop that and select a font, which will work natively for the project. Do search for the correct font. Stretching a font as a shortcut will not work under any circumstances.
Font color is important. Nothing jars more than an electric red or neon green fill. Such colors are extremely hard to read. They also appear amateurish. It is an excellent idea to reduce the saturation levels. The eyes of the viewer must not be tortured under any circumstances. If circumstances dictate that you must put white text on a black background, then reduce brightness to 80. Selecting the correct fonts and their subsequent correct usage makes an easy way to raise empirical production values. These also make it much more professional. It follows that when you are in the editing room do consider the above tips. Doing so will elevate it to another higher level.
If you are considering having a video made, contact Melty Cone today and let us know - we are here to help! Melty Cone is a full-service video production company in NYC providing video production services for New York and beyond!
