Indiana Jones Style Traveling Map

[jday]

For me the easiest method of producing the "traveling line" is using ProDAD's Heroglyph 2. It actually has a "route" module that does this for you. You simply load the map image you want and draw the path (route) you want. It does all the animating for you. In fact, it also has icons (cars, planes, etc) that you can also include that "travel" along with the line.

BTW, I also have MSP7 and before getting Hereglyph 2 I used MSP7 to do this (as also mentioned by a previous poster). It worked well, but was more tedious, having to paint each frame.

[GeorgeW]

BTW, I also have MSP7 and before getting Hereglyph 2 I used MSP7 to do this (as also mentioned by a previous poster). It worked well, but was more tedious, having to paint each frame.

Hi, I'll have to check out that software you mentioned

Just as a side note, in MSP7's Video Paint, you just have to draw the line once, and then tell the program to paint it in "progressive" mode (it will do each frame for you, so you don't have to do each frame individually).

I'm away from my video editing machine, but I think it was called "progressive" mode -- it's an option for when you paint the video over time.

[rwernyei]

MSP's Video Paint module is the way to go. Progressive or Macro recording is the batch setting allowing one to go from beginning frame to end frame automatically without having to duplicate layers.

As for pan and zoom, try Cropping filter. Uncheck Fill color and set 1st frame key at H100, W100 so the whole map is in view. Then shuffle to final frame and place "+" centered over plane, car, object? and set key to desired size for H,W. This way you will pan and zoom across the map from full view to specified view. Or change values for different perspective. Example: frame 1 H100, W100: frame 15 H10, W10 move "+" over object: frame 30 H100, W100 move "+" back to center.

Hope this helps.

[kebrinton]

I recently created a map with a "moving" line. Since I didn't know any way to make the line "creep" along, I put a series of maps into the Overlay track so that they appear at the upper left of the screen, as I'm sitting talking to the right.

I used what I had at hand: MS Paint. Each city mentioned in my talk suddenly grew larger on the map, a big red dot with label. At the same time, a green line suddenly appeared reaching to it from the previous city. To the audience, the green line doesn't creep in continuous motion, but that doesn't matter much because they see the green line getting longer and longer as it jumps from city to city, and the video covers only the cities themselves and not the intervening lands. Each city's dot shrinks back to normal after the green line passes on, but the view is zoomed out enough so that all the cities show on the map. The audience gets a clear mental image of how the trip was carried out.

Creation of this effect took some trouble but that's what I enjoy. It's actually a kind of let-down for me when a project is completed.

[joosuna]

Another suggestion. Use only one map, and place your camcorder on a tripod, and turn on the camcorder. Just get a wide ink (color of your choice) marker. Draw about one inch at a time on the map while you are recording it, but let is record without your hand drawing the line. Continue to do that in many sequences until you finish your destination on the map. Then drop the entire video clip onto the time line and cut out your hand from each sequence. Thus you will have a line traveling on your map when you are finished.

[WaxonWaxov]

thanks to all.

It would seem at this point that Video pan and zoom in VS9 would be the way to go.

[rwernyei]

Have you given the Cropping filter a try? This can be applied to both image and video. I use MSP and to be honest, I can achieve the same results whether I'm using Moving path, Pan & Zoom and Cropping filter.

PM or email me with your address and I'll send you some samples.

[WaxonWaxov]

Well, here's my first crack at it:

http://www.thecorleonefamily.com/images/indy.wmv

Unfortunately, using the video pan and scan causes the image quality of the opriginal still image to go to crap.

I do plan on using a MUCH less detailed map, but with quality this low, I'm not sure even that will work.

[jchunter]

I opened an old experimental project on animated maps and noticed an improvement in VS9 where one can easily set the direction of the wipe transitions - I don't remember this being available in older versions of VS.

I was able to easily pan and zoom onto any small region of the map. Loss of resolution is inevitable because you are doing a digital zoom. But at the end of the zoom, you can insert a new jpeg of the detailed map and either fade into it or just do a simple cut and it looks fine.
John

[Terry Stetler]

You could also use two map images; one with no line (first clip) and one with (second clip), then do a horixontal wipe transition between the two with a long duration in the direction of the lines "travel".

[rigpig]

I did it using 3D Studio Max.
I created a globe and used a camera view to zoom around the world from place to place. I saved the rendered output as an AVI file to import into VS.
To make the line where I needed it, I 'grew' a line using another 3D Max feature and superimposed it on the map, then again rendered it as an AVI.
Works a treat and looks quite cool (if I may say so myself).
Whilst I realise that not everyone has a high-end program like 3D Max, there's a 'free'cut-down version called G-Max which I think you can just download from Discreet.