Feature requests

[Victor Ingrassia]

Hi John,

I can't seem to find the most recent forum post asking for feature requests, etc. So I am using a new post to do so.  Most of these relate to my process primarily making animations. It's kind of a long list... gathered over many months. Thanks. ~victor

• Have source movie frame # and/or timeline frame # visible in Operations tool bar when in full screen mode

• Add an option for Onion Skin % slider control visible in operations toolbar when in Full Screen mode (or regular mode for that matter)

• Renaming or editing a favorites preset would also edit or rename the original it points to. (or should the favs not be, in effect, aliases?)

• Add ability to drag /rearrange fav icons within the favs bar or delete icons from favs bar

• Add "Open Recent Session" item to file menu

• Fav in use gets a highlighted outline in the favs bar

• Restore (as in pre SA4) the ability to use keystrokes to open various windows (source area, paseq, editor, layers, etc)

• Allow longer file names in SA movie output.  It seems that long filenames with a .mov suffix seem to get truncated by SA.  Turning a long name like "MyTotallyAmazingAnimationWithALongName.mov" into "MyTotallyAmazingAnimatio#163648", even though, after SA creates the mov file with the truncated name, I could then rename the QT file with the original full name and QT accepts its length.  You may ask, "WhyTheHellWouldYouGiveYourFileSuchAnInsanelyLongName? Well, typically when I am rendering out a mov file I give it a name which starts with the name of the source movie I am using, followed by an underscore, followed by the name of the paseq I am using and ends with ".mov".  So sometimes this can create a pretty long name.  This helps me because the name contains most of the info I would need to recreate the movie were I to forget how I created a particular look.  So my folders are filled with hundreds of mov files with these crazy names.

• It would be nice if "Recent" presets could remember recents from before SA was launched (maybe coupled with a preference to set how long a memory SA should have) and the ability to erase the recent list at will.

Thanks

[Victor Ingrassia]

cool idea!

[John Dalton Synthetik Software]

Do you mean paint synth macro edits in a favorites bar style toolbar?

[Chris Northcross]

Yes, though I use the favorites bar mostly for MSG editing commands (which is how I got started down that path.) as well as default states for Image Operations (a reset button of sorts)  For the MSG editing commands, its absolutely redundant, but its a lot faster for me to get to them.

[John Dalton Synthetik Software]

I'm not sure i understand what you mean when you say you use the favorites bar for MSG Editing commands? You're just loading a MSG preset?

[Chris Northcross]

I'll run one of the configuration commands, and then save that as a favorite.  For example, I run the source pass through configuration command and then save that as a favorite button.  I have a favorites category called "Default MSG" that I save those favorites to and when I want to call them up, rather than going to the Help Window, I load the Default MSG favorite into the favorite bar and go to work.

For Image Operations, I saved the default state of each Image Operation to a favorites category.  When I get lost and want to 'reset' the Image Operation that I'm working on, I simply go to the corresponding favorites button and then start working again.

[John Dalton Synthetik Software]

Ok. Many of the configuration commands are just effectively building a MSG preset. Although some of them select random processors for some part of the processor chain structure (like Dual Random Gradient).

...

The MetaEdit commands add onto the processor chain, or modify things already on it, so those could not be loaded as a pre-built preset.

...

I thought you were talking about meta edits or swap commands. Which is kind of the level of access you are asking for as far as paint synth macro edits go.

[Chris Northcross]

Didn't check back in this post to see if it was already mentioned, but a button up near the menu that allows you to toggle a layer on or off. I envision it looking and functioning in a similar manner to the enable mask button.   

[Tony Bouttell]

I didn't check all the requests, but if the PASEQ could record changes to canvas orientation that would be great.

I've found that some of my pieces look better if the canvas is rotated before an MSG is applied and then rotated back after it has been run.

[Chris Northcross]

I'd love to see the ability to apply a given keyframe every n frames.

So I set a key frame in a PASeq and then context click on it to bring up a menu option to for repeating the keyframe.  Maybe options for every 2nd frame, every 3rd frame and/or a user defined value.  I hate copying and pasting keyframes over the span of several hundred frames in an animation.  Anything I can do to reduce the tedium would be much appreciated.

[John Dalton Synthetik Software]

Good idea. I'll look into adding something like this as a feature.

[Chris Northcross]

Two more ideas (one of which has been mentioned before on at least one other thread)

I transport control for the Processor Chains editors and the PASeq editor.  What I mean by transport control is being able to select a single PASeq step or processor and being able to move it up or down a level either by using a keyboard shortcut or by pressing a button that moves it up or down one level.  Sometimes I have difficulty getting a processor to move up or down with a high level of precision.  Takes several tries for me to get it right.

The other suggestion: some kind of node interface for the MSG chain editor.  Visually being able to see what is routed where, for me, makes things a little simpler.  

[Chris Northcross]

The more I work with MSG the more I really like the MSG Memories bar.  Not only does it speed up working and evolving MSG presets, but the export memories bar is a great way to save a batch of MSGs that I like together.  

I would love to see a similar memories bar for the paint synthesizer as well.  Maybe even have some interoperability between the memories bar and the presets favorite category where you could load in a memories preset as a favorites category.

I like the presets favorites and use them frequently (I especially like the thumbnails that help me identify what the heck the preset is/does) but I don't enjoy setting them up.  This is, in part, due to my lackluster process of naming my presets (I will sometime name a brush based on the song I'm listening to when I'm working) but also because its a slightly tedious process; I have to track down each preset in the preset browser and then right click and add to category.  What I'd like is to be able to assign a brush to a memory button and. when I've got everything collected, 1) export the memories bar to disk and 2) be able to convert that memories bar into a favorites category.