Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I work on videos of silent films, and I'm curious about modifying the
speed -- keeping the video at 30 fps but changing how fast the scenes
move. Audio, of course, is not an issue. Most films (24 fps) are
transfered to video (30 fps) by doubling every fourth frame, but since
projection speed was not standard in the silent era, some films work
better at different speeds. I'm working on an iMac G5.

The new iMovie HD can speed up or slow down film, but its slider is not
labeled so you don't know what you're doing. A movement of two pixels
towards "faster" seems to delete every eighth frame. I'd like something
more precise. Also, since some frames are already doubled, I'd like to
be able to delete only frames that are already doubled to keep the
motion as smooth as possible.

Would it be possible to use QuickTime Pro -- with an AppleScript -- to,
say, delete every frame that falls at 13 frames past the second? Or to
double that frame? Or to start at a particular frame and delete every
nth frame after that?

Thanks for any thoughts on this...

Rodney Sauer
Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
www.mont-alto.com

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Anything's possible Rodney but your Quicktime solution sounds like a make
work project with possible down-the-road problems.
By deleting every X frame you're throwing away data.

iMovie is an entry level package designed for the non-professional user.
If you're limited to a Mac, use Final Cut Pro. If you have access to an XP
machine, use Premiere Pro.
I believe Adobe makes a fully functional trial version of Premiere available
on it's website.

The latter at least has the ability to rate stretch a clip with a precision
of 1/100th of a percent or by specifying a new duration. You can get exactly
the result you want with no risk of creating odd problems down the road with
a piece of footage.

C.


<rodney@mont-alto.com> wrote in message
news:1110906653.292491.220290@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I work on videos of silent films, and I'm curious about modifying the
> speed -- keeping the video at 30 fps but changing how fast the scenes
> move. Audio, of course, is not an issue. Most films (24 fps) are
> transfered to video (30 fps) by doubling every fourth frame, but since
> projection speed was not standard in the silent era, some films work
> better at different speeds. I'm working on an iMac G5.
>
> The new iMovie HD can speed up or slow down film, but its slider is not
> labeled so you don't know what you're doing. A movement of two pixels
> towards "faster" seems to delete every eighth frame. I'd like something
> more precise. Also, since some frames are already doubled, I'd like to
> be able to delete only frames that are already doubled to keep the
> motion as smooth as possible.
>
> Would it be possible to use QuickTime Pro -- with an AppleScript -- to,
> say, delete every frame that falls at 13 frames past the second? Or to
> double that frame? Or to start at a particular frame and delete every
> nth frame after that?
>
> Thanks for any thoughts on this...
>
> Rodney Sauer
> Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
> www.mont-alto.com
>

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

If you don't mind working within Windows, there's MotionPerfect and
SlowMotion for this kind of things. See:
http://www.edelson.org/products

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Thanks for the response. I don't mind throwing away some data -- if
it's the duplicate frames. In theory I could always re-duplicate them.

I'm not limited to a Mac out of philosophy but by availability -- my
only Windows machine here is too old for video work. I'll take a look
at Final Cut.

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I see on Apple's web site that all three of their products -- iMovie,
Final Cut Express, and Final Cut Pro -- allow speed changes. I already
know that I don't like iMovie's interface. Does anyone have access to
Final Cut Express? How does the speed change function work? Thanks. If
I can't find out here, I probably can get to the Apple store and see if
there's a demo.

Rodney Sauer
Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
www.mont-alto.com