A new Workflow Extension for Final Cut Pro allows editors to preview, manage and set fonts without having to go through the dropdown list.
We love fonts, we have loads of them, maybe too many and that results in trouble finding regularly used ones from that long font menu.
So we are very pleased to see the release of FontAudition, a workflow extension for Final Cut Pro that manages fonts and has some very clever tricks up its sleeve. The extension allows the previewing of fonts with custom text as you would expect, but it also allows the saving of custom collections and... You can drag and drop your text with the chosen font directly onto the FCP timeline.
The £9.99 FCP workflow extension has been released by Edit Tools, the company that released ARC-X, a backup tool for Final Cut Pro.
Tony from Edit-Tools explains-
FontAudtion's goal is to make managing and selecting fonts easier for FCP editors. Many of us have hundreds or even thousands of fonts loaded on our computers and wading through them is time-consuming and really not much fun. FontAudition is a new way to look at fonts. It gives you a unique, 'Big Picture' view of your text displayed in every font available and interfaces directly with Final Cut Pro.
Here’s how it works. Launch FontAudition from FCP’s extension menu and a font display window will open that you can endlessly customize. Enter your title text into FontAudition and instantly see it displayed in every font available. Resize the display, change the number of columns or change it in any way you wish. It’ll all be saved and recalled when you reopen FontAudition. Scroll through the font display and, when you see a font you like, simply click its gold star.
Once you have the fonts you need, send them to FCP or save your selections as a permanent font collection using the Font Collection menu. It’s all intuitive and easy to keep your essential font collections organized and up-to-date.
Once you’ve found the right font for your title, you can send it to Final Cut Pro two easy ways, copy it to the clipboard and paste the text into the FCP viewer or simply drag & drop the text directly onto the FCP timeline. It’s that easy!
Key features-
- A fast, responsive user interface that’s able to handle thousands of fonts
- Finding accented characters can be a pain. Simply double-click any font to display its complete extended character set. Copy & paste extended characters directly into your FCP title
- FontAudition has a powerful search function. Want to see all you BOLD, CONDENSED, ITALIC fonts? Just enter your search criteria and they are instantly displayed
- Select traditional font styles such as Serif, Sans Serif, Modern, Handwriting, etc. with a simple menu selection
- All language fonts are displayed correctly with accented and extended characters easily accessible
- One click is all it takes to hide fonts that can’t display your text, such as Non-Roman fonts
- Conveniently integrated into Final Cut Pro as a Workflow Extension
- Optimized for both Intel and Apple Silicon processors
If you use a lot of text in FCP, this could really help. We can see it being very useful when having a client present or screen sharing during a session.
I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.
I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.
Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.
I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!
Current Editing
2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.
BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.
Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.
As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.
Plugin Design & Development
I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.
I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.
FCP.co
Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook.
The Future
I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!
