MSP6.0 - Any way of showing a timeclock or 'counter'

[rodgreen]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to edit into a movie, a digital time clock or time counter?

For example, say you had a New Years Eve clip and wanted to count down from ten to zero, with transition/title effects.
Or wanted to show the current running time of your clip on-screen.

Maybe there is software/plugin to do this, or should I simply video a digital clock and edit the shots manually?

Rod

[Marijn]

Maybe it's an option to record an avi with a desktopmovement to avi capture tool. There are some tools (don't ask me for names) that record your desktop to an avi file which you can use to demonstrate what how to use a software program for instance. If you would record a counter that is displayed, you can probably overlay this counter very easy and remove all unwanted parts.

Good luck.

[Dr Mordrid]

Create a series of *.tga bitmaps (with transparancy) of the numbers 1-10 using whatever font & color looks right to you. A circle around the number looks cool. So does adding a glow to them.

Once you have saved them out load them in reverse order into one of the overlay tracks (V1...V99) and set their duration to 1 second each. Butt them right up against each other so the timing is correct.

Now apply the alpha channel in the overlay options to each bitmap. Also in the overlay options is a "Transparancy" slider. Use this and some keyframes to fade each number in, display for about .5 to .75 second and then fade it back out.

Next apply a plain 2D moving path to each number and set the path's X and Y settings to place the numbers where ever you need them. Make sure you use the same X and Y values for both keyframes.

You can also use the moving path Width & Height settings to scale the numbers to whatever size you need. Again, duplicate these settings for each keyframe.

The countdown will overlay any video in Va or Vb and the transitions on the Fx track between them. If nothing is in Va, Vb or Fx then the countdown will displayed on whatever solid background color you have set up in File/Preference.

Once you've done all this work you might want to save out just the counter as an uncompressed video file. Then you can recycle it in other projects by loading it into an overlay track and using one of the key effects to make the background transparent.

You could also use the "package" function to place all the parts of the timer and the project file into a single folder. Now you can archive it to a CD to provide more flexibilty when using it later.

I just hope MPSro7 has a built-in counting leader function like Premiere.

Dr. Mordrid




[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 29 September 2000).]

[Fred H]

Doc,
is the MSPro7 over the horizon, now?
Or isn't the New (?) MSP6

http://www.ulead.com/msp/new.htm

an integration of the patches to the original MSP6?
I'm a bit confused...


Fred H



[This message has been edited by Fred H (edited 29 September 2000).]

[Dr Mordrid]

I was speaking metaphorically and a bit sarchastically. This feature should have been in MSPro from the get-go.

Dr. Mordrid

[Fred H]

Thanks, Doc. I understand.
It's always so exiting to read about new products, and sometimes it's enough to read a single word to be "up"...

Fred H

[rodgreen]

Thanks for the advice guys ...

It's great to have a forum like this that quickly resolves issues for amateurs like me!

Let's hope MSP7 has a counter function ...

Rod