Puppet Clay Animation OK, but is there a better way?

iafilm · Post by **iafilm** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:48 am

I usually work with MediaStudio Pro. The ULEAD contest has got me loading VideoStudio at home and working with my children on an entry including animation of puppets made with pipe cleaners and modelling clay.
We shoot these as digital stills images and then need to turn these "sequences of stills" into a video. What we are doing is:
(1) bulk import of images onto the timeline
with a preferences setting of 1 sec per image
(2) export this slow animation as an intermediate avi file
(3) import the intermediate avi file back in and speed it up 10 times.

Works well but it is a workaround.
Is there a better way? MediaStudio Pro has the ability under "Convert" to create "UIS" files (ULead Image Sequence) but I can not find this in VideoStudio. Is it there and I have missed it by some chance? I note that VideoStudio can import UIS but not it seems create it?

COMMENTS:
Considering its lower price, VideoStudio seems to be a good product. We've been able to do everything we wanted.
My main working adjustment after MediaStudio is to learn to use the Storyboard View a lot with only occasional switches to the Timeline View to do very fine final trims.

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:07 pm

VideoStudio 9/10 can export UIS;

"Share/Create Video File/Custom" then select the UIS filetype in the "Create Video File" dialog just like in MSPro.

iafilm · Post by **iafilm** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:56 am

Terry wrote:

VideoStudio 9/10 can export UIS

Thanks, Terry, I did try it but this kind of export is not what I mean.

Share/Create Video File/Custom" then select the UIS filetype in the "Create Video File" dialog just like in MSPro

What I see when I do this is VideoStudio starting with a video and exporting that as a sequence of images along with a UIS file.
What we clay modellers need is almost the reverse. Our starting point is a sequence of images which we need to change to editable video.

The MediaStudio Pro controls are
Menu:File --> Convert --> Image Sequence file
This brings up a popup window titled "Define Image Sequence".

I am OK with bulk image import to timeline. I just want to make sure that this is the best available VideoStudio method before I start giving it as advice to other people esp other teacher colleagues.

I intend also to suggest this to ULead as a product request. I understand that for their product range designing, they can not give too many elements to a low cost product but VideoStudio is marketed to schools and animation with modelling clay etc is one of the easier film-making activities to organise in a classroom. eg It makes it possible for a large number of children to share a limited number of cameras and computers. It also fits well with other classroom teaching eg extending both art and maths. In my experience it has a good track record as a successful activity.
A famous story on this: Peter Jackson started at age 10 by doing modelling clay animation with his parents' Super-8 camera.

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:34 pm

You can create a UIS file for importing an image sequence too.

In the 'Open Video File' dialog first browse to the folder containing the images, select the *.UIS filetype then click the 'Options' button. Here you select the first frame in the sequence, its frame rate, where to store the *.UIS, its name etc.

When you close this dialog the *.UIS is created and it can be loaded to the timeline. It and the images 'in' it can now be collectively treated just like any other video file; moving paths, video filters etc, etc.

iafilm · Post by **iafilm** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 8:29 am

Terry Stetler wrote:In the 'Open Video File' dialog first browse to the folder containing the images, select the *.UIS filetype then click the 'Options' button. Here you select the first frame in the sequence, its frame rate, where to store the *.UIS, its name etc.

Thanks very much! We've tried it and it's just what we needed.

MrA · Post by **MrA** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:02 am

Terry Stetler wrote:You can create a UIS file for importing an image sequence too.

In the 'Open Video File' dialog first browse to the folder containing the images, select the *.UIS filetype then click the 'Options' button. ..

I was just playing with this and noticed a residual effect. Probably not a problem, but, worth mentioning.. For about 10 seconds of still pictures in the video, the UIS created over 900 bmp files and left them in my working directory..

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:40 am

Never seen that before

Hmm.....more experimenting to do this weekend.....

iafilm · Post by **iafilm** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:49 pm

Terry Stetler wrote:

In the 'Open Video File' dialog first browse to the folder containing the images, select the *.UIS filetype then click the 'Options' button....

I have done this in my entry into the Ulead Humourous Movie contest and it is now posted. See labelled "iafilm" at:
ulead.dropshots.com

Other comment. I tried the "auto music" on this movie and I was pleasantly surprised. On reading about this earlier I was sceptical about such a concept but it is not the all-computer-generated object I was expecting. I see now that it takes "real" music from a music library and edits it to fit the edit of the project and does so very well in this movie anyway. I will experiment further and the next experiment is to see if it will work with music compositions by myself and my friends as starting inputs.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:04 am

Congratulations! Very nicely done and entertaining.

And what a nice thing to be teaching the kids!!

One question: what program did you use for the computer/Ulead sequence -- FRAPS?

And one comment regarding SmartSound 'auto music': I too think it works great. The problem is that to get any more SmartSound music, which is the only thing which works with the SmartSound module in VS, you have to be prepared to pay big bucks. The SmartSound discs are US$100 each, though they occasionally have packages of discs, using the lower quality (but still more than adequate) 22K format (rather than the higher quality 44K one) for much better prices (though still expensive IMHO).

But of course, you can use any external audio editor and your own collection of music and edit to fit. It's just that you have to measure the timing exactly before you do it. And if you are using your own compositions, you can then also vary the modulation of it better to highlight a particular action in the video. Good luck!!

iafilm · Post by **iafilm** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 1:31 am

One question: what program did you use for the computer/Ulead sequence -- FRAPS?

No program at all. I simply pointed a video camera at the computer screen. It is an LCD screen which seems to make a big difference. My vid camera is a modest 2nd-hand JVC DVL800 (PAL) about 5 years old. I ran it on full auto.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 1:38 am

Well it turned out quite well. You are right about the LCD. I had been on the look-out for the tell-tale moving horizontal bands which appear when you film a CRT...

Terry Stetler · Post by **Terry Stetler** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 3:21 am

When I want to "record" off a TV screen it's just a matter of switching the input on the edit bays DVD recorder and importing the footage using the Ulead DVD capture plugin. To do the same with the desktop I put my display card into "clone mode"/S-Video output and do likewise.

All the displays here are either dualhead or triplehead (dualies: ATI or Matrox G series; triples: Matrox P series) so output options are plentiful.

Alludo USER to USER Web Board

Puppet Clay Animation OK, but is there a better way?

Puppet Clay Animation OK, but is there a better way?

Result posted on ulead.dropshots

Just point the vid camera at the screen