It's probably one of the last things you'll think about when getting your flick together but the choice of font for your project will add or take a great deal from the production. More often than not it's been a last minute thought as the text is being prepared. Using the traditional drop down menus to see which fonts you have at hand is a pain. It's too small to see well and you only see the fonts that are installed on your computer.

For a few years now I've been using the very simple and fabulously free font manager called The Font Thing (TFT). My wife, Rochelle, is a keen scrap-booker and once she discovered the humungous range of free fonts out there in internet land she was away. I just copied all hers after she did the hard yards to get them organised! Currently there are 1025 in my bin and believe me there are loads more out there!

So what's the big deal? Well, open TFT and you can look at all the fonts on your hard drive. It will search any drive you tell it too and locate the fonts within. These can then be gathered together in collections. Collections are manually done and a bit time consuming but worth the effort. You can go for corporate, handwriting, wacky, kids - whatever you choose. This makes finding what you need sooo much easier. One trick here though is to make a safe place for your fonts and leave them there. If you rebuild your PC they must go back where they were exactly or TFT will not find the collections (it will find the fonts) and you'll have to make the collections again.

By Steve Turner

I started in TV as a videotape operator for Channel Nine in 1980 and went to News editing in 1984, becoming Senior News editor for Nine Adelaide.

In 1988 moved to production editing (doing everything from sport to station promotions and programs) and then in 1989 moved to London to work for Sky News UK. This was just starting up and I helped set up the news editing operation.

The highlight of this year was covering the fall of the Berlin wall (where I location produced and edited continuously for five straight days and nights - grabbing sleep here and there). The best bit was interviewing people crossing the wall for the first time in years.

I returned to Adelaide in 1990 and freelance vision switched and also did graphics for news and production. Left again in 1991 to backpack the planet for 12 months with my partner Rochelle.

Back in 1992 and returned to production editing and graphic design for Channel Nine. I worked on all the Adelaide Formula One races (1985-1995) bar 2 (while away) doing foreign broadcast editing - packages for overseas networks in their languages.

Began Directing news in 1997 and started my own production business doing weddings and corporate work. This was followed quickly by producing science films for Flinders University and the setting up of our web business selling science related videos, CDroms, and now DVDs.

Started writing for Australian Video Camera in 2003 then Auscam when it started. Produced and shot news features for the Ten network and worked freelance on the Athen's Olympics in 2004 for Seven.

Left Channel Nine to join Channel Seven in 2005. Involved in the setup and operation of Seven's new news operation and regularly direct the six o'clock news. Directed and produced Seven's Anzac day telecasts for 2005/6 and independently produced the 13 part series "Fishing and Boating" for Channel Seven.

Produced and shot a documentary on drug abuse with an Indigenous Elders group as well as a two part docco with the RAAF. Current project include a docco on Alzheimers and another on the lives of siblings of disabled people.

I have three gorgeous small children and am a part time stay at home Dad...

...It's a busy life!!

Comments(1):

1. Another nice Font Viewer

   HI Steve I use Free & Easy Font Viewer which again is free but like you I believe you can never have too many fonts or sound effects. Now, as to cameras, there is a few I would like... Frank McLeod

   Friday, March 19, 2010 Frank