Start Time Offsets for Source Movie Processing

A question comes up from time to time. 

How can one build a start time and an end time offset into the processing of a source movie in Studio Artist? 

People also refer to this as adding an 'in' and 'out' point to a source movie.  Old Studio Artist 3.5 let you configure that using an in and out check box in the source area.  That old feature did not make the V4 rewrite of the entire application apple forced us to do at that time.  But there are new features in V5.5 that let you do it again in a slightly different way.

There are a few different approaches one can use to specify a specific range of frames in the source movie you want to process in Studio Artist V5.5.  Let's take a look at 2 of them.

I loaded a source movie that has 732 frames in it into the Source Area, as seen below.  I used the File : Open Source menu command to do this.

9876693698?profile=RESIZE_710x

Now let's say i want to only process 100 frames of this movie, and i want to start that 100 frames of processing somewhere in the middle of it.

I'll show off 2 different approaches to do this.  The first takes advantage of the various Source Settings synch options available in V5.5.

9876695092?profile=RESIZE_710x

Normally i keep Synch to Timeline turned on, but i turned it off for this example.

If i do this and then run Animate (or any of the Action : Animate menu commands, which allow you to render your animation out to a movie file, folder of numbered frame images, etc), then based on how i have the Source Settings synch flags configured above, the animation will start at whatever is the current frame in the source area, and because i have 'Movie Loop Action Advance' turned on, it will advance from that start point for each new frame in the animation.

9876697496?profile=RESIZE_710x

You can see this in action in the screen shot above.  I started the animation with the source area frame counter set to 335 frames.  You can see at the top of the Paint Action Sequence (PASeq) Timeline that we're looking at the output of frame time 7 in the animation, which was generated from frame #342 in the source area.

If i wanted to output this animation to a movie file, i just needed to run the menu command shown below.

9876699474?profile=RESIZE_710x

Keep in mind that with this manual approach to building in and out points for your source movie, if i ran this menu command with the workspace configured as shown above, the animation would start from source frame 342 since that was the start frame position in the source area when i ran the menu command.  So you need to be aware of what you are doing when you are working with the manual approach outlined so far.

 

There is another approach you can use based on working with a Source Context.  This approach bakes your specified 'in' and 'out' points for the source movie file used for processing directly into the PASeq.  You don't have to worry about how the source area is configured with this second approach, because the PASeq will directly feed the movie frames into the source area as it plays back.

9876701882?profile=RESIZE_710x

You can see in the screen shot above that the source movie was set to frame 336 when i ran the menu command that generated a Source Context (a Source Context with a generated single keyframe located at frame time 1 based on the current contents of the source area). 

Because the source area is set to a movie file, that movie file reference is what is recorded in the keyframe in the Source Context.  And because i have the source movie frame time set to 336, then the keyframe also has that start time reference recorded in it.

9876703670?profile=RESIZE_710x

I drag and dropped the new Source Context action step generated by the menu command shown above so that it was the first action step in the PASeq.  The second action step in the PASeq is the Color Edge Ip Op effect i'm using for my visual effect. 

You can see above that when i pressed the Play button in the PASeq, the first frame of the animation was generated.  My 2 step PASeq has an explicit reference to the source movie file built into it.  One that also has my 'in' and 'out' positioning specified for the source movie file i am using.  So frame processing starts 336 frames into the source movie referenced in that Source Context, and the animation plays for 100 frames, so the out point i specified is frame 436 (start frame time + duration of animation).

 

So there you have it. Two different approaches one can use to specify start and end times within a source movie file for PASeq processing.

The first manual approach showcases the versatile source synch options available in V5.5.

The second approach showcases the versatility of Source Contexts. 

Content and Transition Contexts also incorporate adjustable frame timing offsets for any movie file references keyframed in them.

 

Source Contexts are a useful tool to be aware of, because they allow you to work with multiple sources within a single PASeq.  You can have multiple Source Context action steps in a PASeq.  So the source can be changing as the PASeq progresses (if you wish).  And any of those sources at a specific PASeq action step index position can also be changing over time.

You need to be a member of Studio Artist to add comments!

Join Studio Artist

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Now suppose you wanted to paint the source edges generated by the Color Edge Ip Op effect used in the example above.  This allows you to greatly expand the visual appearance of the source edge derived sketch, because by encapsulating the Ip Op effect directly into the Paint Synthesizer, you then have full access to the vast range of difference visual paint styles available in Studio Artist.

    It is very easy to encapsulate any Ip Op effect that generates bezier path output.  To do that you just need to run the paint synthesizer QuickEdit command shown below.

    9876802489?profile=RESIZE_930x

    I tried this by first starting with one of Craig Deeley's awesome Sumi manual paint presets, and then running the menu command above, and got the following new paint effect.

    9876808088?profile=RESIZE_930x

    I recorded my new embedded Ip Op sketch effect sumi paint as an AutoPaint action step in my PASeq.

    I kept the original Ip Op action step the new sumi paint preset was based on in the PASeq for reference, but mutated that original action step so it didn't play back in the PASeq.

    You don't have to do this, the AutoPaint action step has all of the Ip Op configuration settings stored in it.  I tend to keep it around when i'm working so i can keep track of the thought process that i went through to build up the PASeq, but that is just a personal approach i sometimes take.  

This reply was deleted.

On the closure of the User Forum : An open letter to John Dalton

Hi John I have no idea what you are going through. However the impact you have made not to continue with the user forum and your desire keep it as a permanent feature as promised in the past is a big shock. It also betrays the faith and love we have shown in you and Studio Artist.  Bluntly spoken, it sucks. That you have chosen to follow this direction in silence, allowing no compassion or understanding on our part is a betrayal of the deepest level. What is going on? This is not the John…

Read more…
2 Replies · Reply by Paul Perlow 5 hours ago

Interdimensional Coincidence Control

Hi everyone, I am glad the site is still here! Here is a new short video I made. All made in Studio Artist, several separate videos with alpha channels, then combined in layers with the music in Blender. A lot of MSG running through brushes, with several of the brush Path Starts being controlled by the MSG Scan Generator in the Generator part of the Path Start in the Paint Synthesizer. Also some MSG running through a brush, then making a video of that with an alpha channel, then making that a…

Read more…
3 Replies · Reply by Thor Johnson Mar 22

Whats going on with this site?

Has anyone else gotten a warning about this site disappearing? An email form just popped up, asking me to contract the owner and leave a message to let them know that they may loose their "network"Did Synthetik forget to pay it's bills, or is something else going on?I think 8 months is more than enough vacation time. Is anyone at Synthetik doing any development work at all? 

Read more…
7 Replies · Reply by Alf 5 hours ago