Anamorphic fonts

Post general font related questions (e.g. how to install, convert and use fonts) and requests (looking for fonts, designers etc.) here.
Post Reply
radiodj105
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:08 am
Location: Athens
Contact:

Anamorphic fonts

Post by radiodj105 »

Hi there.

I would like to share my thoughts with you, regarding a font family with anamorphic dimensions.

I know that maybe some of you, might ask, “Why do Ι need anamorphic?”. The answer is very simple.

I work for a TV lab. And I work there, almost the last 20 years. So, when I get hired here, we only work on 4:3 films. Now we work ONLY on anamorphic wide 16:9 films. In both cases (full frame 4:3) and (Wide anamorphic films), we use Digital Tape. In this material, you can’t add a digital info on the tape (saying that the film is wide). So, this is not working like digital files or DVD video, where you can put the info “Anamorphic”.

In all the PAL or NTSC broadcast systems (Except the High Definition), the size is one and only.

In my country, the tape dimensions are always 720x576.
And yes. The picture that all the modern Television Sets shows the following bars like that.
Image

However, the tapes I give to the TV Stations, are always like that. Sqeezed:
Image

In the lab I work for, we put subtitles on films. So, one digital VTR playback a tape, and then we “key with subtitles” the digital signal and record it to another digital VTR.
When the material is Full Frame 4:3 (Non anamorphic-squeeze) we don’t have any problem at all.

But the last years, we ONLY put subtitles on new films, that are ALL OF THEM, Full frame anamorphic 16:9 (with squeezed picture) like that.

In this case, the subtitles should be also anamorphic.

Recently, I use the program Fontlab Studio to create an anamorphic font family.
The font family that I decide to make anamoprhic was Arial.
So I did many tests, I squeeze the Arial Font and create a new one.
The setting I used was that:

Image

The result was absolutely perfect but… only with specific size of the same font. For example…
Size 30 works perfect. But 29, 28 and other sizes not!
When I say that “it doesn’t look fine” it means that on the same phrase, some specific letters have different dimensions. Do you have any idea, what is wrong?
If someone wants, I can screenshot a phrase with size 30 and the same phrase with size 21 or 20 to see the problem.
Erwin Denissen
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11108
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2002 12:41 am
Location: Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Anamorphic fonts

Post by Erwin Denissen »

I suspect it is due to rounding errors, most likely within the hinting.

I wonder why you didn't buy our font editor?
Erwin Denissen
High-Logic
Proven Font Technology
radiodj105
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:08 am
Location: Athens
Contact:

Re: Anamorphic fonts

Post by radiodj105 »

Hi there.
Thanks for the answer.
First I must admit that we bought the program two years before. We use it only a few times. And I was not the guy who used it.
The graphic designers of the company, use it some times.

regarding your question...
I can see that your software is really cheap.

Cheap for home use - but I don't need it for my home.

As I describe before, my purposes are to use it one time. create the desired fonts... and that's all.
You see...My job is not to use your software everyday.

However, In Greece we are in a bad financial condition and I can't ask for my work to buy the licence of 199$.
I think, the best thing I can do, is to download the demo version 6.5.
I will try to export and instal the fonts.
I hope... without the problem of hinting, when I stretch the characters.
If it will work ok, then we can see which version I can buy.
Erwin Denissen
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11108
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2002 12:41 am
Location: Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Anamorphic fonts

Post by Erwin Denissen »

No need to buy full price as you already own a font editor!

Contact our sales department:
http://www.high-logic.com/shop/crossgrades.html
Erwin Denissen
High-Logic
Proven Font Technology
Post Reply