[MPEG-OTSPEC] "anim" feature tag

[Skef Iterum]

That's (I think) what we're talking about -- an 'anim' feature tag to be 
added to the other registered feature tags.

Skef

On 1/31/24 11:53, Behdad Esfahbod wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 11:50 AM Skef Iterum <skef at skef.org> wrote:
>
>     Sorry, Davelab6, there's no issue for this one.
>
>     I don't see the client as having any responsibilities for an
>     `anim` tag.
>     It would indicate a good-, ideally best-, effort on the part of the
>     designer to work around aspects of the font that are discontinuous
>     from
>     the perspective of animation.
>
>     People are already animating variable fonts for video. The
>     mechanics of
>     that on the client side are a separate issue.
>
>
> Maybe an `anim` GSUB/GPOS feature would be more appropriate? People 
> might want to animate the width, or the weight, or other aspects of 
> the font. Having an `anim` axis only allows for animating one aspect 
> of the font.
>
> b
>
>     Skef
>
>     On 1/31/24 11:42, Laurence Penney wrote:
>     > Remember that intermediate masters (including when default is
>     intermediate between min and max) disrupt smooth animation, making
>     G2 continuity impossible (even if the app knows the intermediate
>     axis values). That covers a large proportion of variable fonts.
>     Perhaps a font store or a design tool could flag fonts without
>     intermediates or feature variations.
>     >
>     > - Laurence
>     >
>     >> On 31 Jan 2024, at 15:32, Behdad Esfahbod via mpeg-otspec
>     <mpeg-otspec at lists.aau.at> wrote:
>     >>
>     >> How would `anim` feature work? Would the client be responsible
>     to apply a (G1 / G2) continuous curve to it to get the pulsating
>     effect you want then?  In other words, do the min/max of the axis
>     have to be the same or can be different?
>     >>   behdad
>     >> http://behdad.org/
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> On Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 1:45 AM Skef Iterum via mpeg-otspec
>     <mpeg-otspec at lists.aau.at> wrote:
>     >> This is another proposal idea I can't do properly in the
>     pre-April time
>     >> frame, but it's short and simple.
>     >>
>     >> Imagine you're a video editor working on a cable commercial
>     about a new
>     >> way to Make Lots of Money!!!  You overlay a row of dollar signs
>     from a
>     >> cool variable display font and animate them to "pulse" by
>     changing their
>     >> weight. Unfortunately, when you look at the result the number
>     of slashes
>     >> in each dollar sign keeps changing, greatly distracting your
>     otherwise
>     >> elegant and sophisticated effect.
>     >>
>     >> The problem here is that doing the right thing for a given
>     position in
>     >> design space isn't always the right thing for animations that
>     change the
>     >> design space.
>     >>
>     >> I think this distinction calls for a new registered feature tag,
>     >> probably 'anim', that when active avoids, undoes, or
>     compensates for any
>     >> (or most) such abrupt adjustments. While this is something that
>     could
>     >> always just be thrown onto 'ss15' or whatever, it would be
>     better to
>     >> have a reserved name so that animation tools can leave that tag
>     turned
>     >> on by default.
>     >>
>     >> A registered feature tag would also indicate something by its
>     presence
>     >> in a font: "we've thought about this problem". Designers might even
>     >> throw it into a font with no such adjustments just to advertise
>     that it
>     >> is compatible with animation use.
>     >>
>     >> This is a simple enough idea, but I lack the context to come up
>     with
>     >> specifically what the section needs to say -- what advice to
>     give to
>     >> designers. Someone closer to the design side of things would do
>     a better
>     >> job. If anyone comes up with that wording but doesn't want to worry
>     >> about ISO header pages and such, send it to me and I'll wrap it
>     up into
>     >> a proposal.
>     >>
>     >> Thanks,
>     >> Skef
>     >>
>     >> _______________________________________________
>     >> mpeg-otspec mailing list
>     >> mpeg-otspec at lists.aau.at
>     >> https://lists.aau.at/mailman/listinfo/mpeg-otspec
>     >> _______________________________________________
>     >> mpeg-otspec mailing list
>     >> mpeg-otspec at lists.aau.at
>     >> https://lists.aau.at/mailman/listinfo/mpeg-otspec
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.aau.at/pipermail/mpeg-otspec/attachments/20240131/db22d222/attachment-0001.htm>