Outlining text in MPEG Video Wizard?

[Diana (Cda)]

Good Morning,

I've been using this app for a few years now but there's one thing I've never managed to do the way I'd like - when I add text to any vid, I almost always have to add a coloured box behind it so that the text is readable. The only times I don't have to is if there any spot on the video large enough that will accommodate the text that only has 1 or 2 colours so that the text isn't drowned out. Here's the most perfect illustration that shows how outlined text can be read with any background, outlined text shows up no matter what:
http://curlypixel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/white-text.png

If that image can't be read by some, here are more examples of what will work, and actually, ICanHazCheezburger is perfect example. All their text is outlined which shows up on any image, too:
http://flylib.com/books/3/497/1/html/2/images/fig_15_30.jpg
http://clubs.calvin.edu/chimes/issue_images/105/12/39-i-can-has-cheezburger2.jpg
http://peter.stillhq.com/jasmine/catblog/ICHC_cubecat.jpg
http://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2008/8/29/istarvingartis128644819355922510.jpg

Anyone know if MPEG Wizard can be made to do this somehow? I've played and played with it throughout the years without success. The results when adding the same text several times but choosing white for the "background" text copies and keeping the foreground copy with black as the main text, and then moving each of the white copies around behind the black text till a border effect is achieved is really clunky and doesn't do as good a job as one would like. Nightmare if you have then edit the text, too, as you have to edit the black text and the 2 or 3 white text copies behind it, too. Ugh.

Hoping there's something built-in that will do this that isn't readily visible.

Thanks.

[budwzr]

How about make your own font with the outlines baked in? Would that do the trick?

[SpectateSwamp]

All video needs captioning - they soon become irrelevant without


Probably the next feature my MultiMedia player will have is subtitling / closed captioning while the video plays!
I don't know if outlining will be as important when the video background is changing. I guess I'll find out. Sure would be nice to have fonts that come outlined, wouldn't it.

[Tom Saurus]

I did a google search for "outlined font" and found the following:

http://cooltext.com/Fonts-Outline

http://www.1001freefonts.com/outline-fonts.php


Perhaps there is a font that you would like to use. I assume they are virus free and without any other nasty stuff; but I don't know for sure. So be cautious, just in case.

[JimmyS]

Outlined text can be created for a title in MVW in the graphics tab of the Title Editor.

Open the Title Editor and click on the Graphics tab. Click on the Text button, then click in the screen window area. A small text sub-window will open. You'll also notice that the Text tab of the editor is now selected. Type the desired text in this sub-window and also set any text parameters (font, alignment, size etc.) along with it .

Again, click the Graphics tab and the text item you created will show in the window as a graphic object. Drag the object handles as necessary to allow the full text to be seen, and then drag and drop the object into the desired position.

Next, for the outline and fill. While the object is still selected, click the Fill and Line button. Then set the outline width and color and the text fill color with their respective buttons. Also, multiple objects can be created on the same screen if you want to have different text parameters for different objects.

Once the title looks correct, save it and import the file into the Title area of the Time line.

[Tom Saurus]

JimmyS: Thanks for these instructions. I am sure the original poster will thank you too. Womble Mpeg Video Wizard is a great program. It is good to learn new techniques to add some flare to the text to make it stand out more.

[Diana (Cda)]

Outlined text can be created for a title in MVW in the graphics tab of the Title Editor.
...
Next, for the outline and fill. While the object is still selected, click the Fill and Line button. Then set the outline width and color and the text fill color with their respective buttons.
...

I'm sure way back when I tried that and when it didn't work, figured that it wasn't there for text. But I tried it again tonight anyway. Still no go. When I blew up the text a lot bigger than normal, then yes, I got _some_ dots of white around parts of the text but this is not a complete solution. I don't use text that big or bolded, for the most part and to have just some sporadic dots of outline isn't enough.

Any way to get this feature to work like real text outlining, by any chance?

I never knew or thought about outline fonts, I think I'll have results with that maybe. I'll give that a try next since the outline text in Womble doesn't seem to be working for me.

I'll report back on the outline fonts.

[Diana (Cda)]

<sigh> Well, outline fonts don't work. None of them show up well at 12-14pt, which are the sizes of font I use. They didn't work well at larger sizes, either, actually.

Ah well, tabling this for now. I'll probably keep trying with the fill and outline trick but the results were really less than satisfactory unless there's a better way to do it than I'm doing.

Thanks just the same. Appreciate the advice very much.

[manono]

Use a subtitle with outlines and 'burn' or hardcode it into the video. I have no idea if MPEG Wizard can do it, but most encoding programs can. You'll have to create the subs in advance, though.

[Diana (Cda)]

Thanks, that may be a good option for some. Great idea.

For me and for now, will continue doing what I've been doing for years with Womble - if there is a space on the screen that has one colour, I'll put the text there or, if not, will add a background coloured box behind the text I add. Not a nice effect and very pedestrian but since that's all that works in Womble, that's what I use and it does get the job done which is to have readable text on videos.

Cheers and thanks.

[Tom Saurus]

I am wondering if one could make the lettering up in Bluff Titler outlined like you want and the size you want and have a transparent background and drop that on the title editor line.