Video FX For Movie Maker 2

Basic DropShadow PIP FX With Avisynth

2008-04-26T11:37:00.012Z

Latest Adobe Flash Player required for correct player display !

Following on from my previous post Basic PIP FX Avisynth scripts I've taken the same scripts and tweaked them slightly to display a drop shadow - sort of!

The shadow is little more than an Avisynth generated semi-transparent black rectangle layered underneath the pip video. With a slight offset applied to the rectangle, the shadow illusion is complete.

The position and transparency of the script is easily adjusted under the scripts USER SETTINGS :

Shadowoffset=3
ShadowOpacity=100

Further notes are made within the scripts. The scripts are included with a couple of short video clips to provide a working example straight out of the box for test purposes.

PROJECT FOLDER DOWNLOAD

Note - I would advise unzipping the download in to an empty folder

Once extracted the project folder should contain the following:

PIPshadowBL.avs (Aviscript )
PIPshadowBR.avs(Aviscript)
PIPshadowTL.avs(Aviscript)
PIPshadowTR.avs(Aviscript)
mainvideo.wmv(video clip)
pipvideo.wmv(video clip)

Searchlight effect with Avisynth

2008-03-27T08:32:00.015Z

New to Avisynth ? Read my Avisynth introduction here to help get you started

This Avisynth effect takes a single feature video and overlays it with an internally generated black clip. A "searchlight" mask image sequence is then applied to the black clip to create animated areas of transparency. This of course gives the illusion of light beams striking the subject video on a dark night. This only really looks good when using a wall as the subject video. It's use is therefore limited, but I think it could look cool as part of a title opening sequence.

PROJECT FOLDER DOWNLOAD
Note - I would advise unzipping the download in to an empty folder

Once extracted the project folder should contain the following

searchlightsSOUNDTRACK.avs (Aviscript )
s searchlights.avs(Aviscript)
movie.wmv (Example source video)
siren.wav (Example audio file)
Dont_Touch Folder (Contains jpg images for the mask sequence)

The project folder is a fully working example. Loading either of the two scripts in to an encoder such as virtualdub should produce results straight away (assuming of course that Avisynth has first been installed!)

The searchlights.avs script uses audio from the movie.wmv source video. The searchlightsSOUNDTRACK.avs script uses the external siren.wav audio clip after first muting the video clip. The siren/audio clip will loop to match the duration of the final video.

The movie.wmv and siren.wav clips are part of the demonstration and meant only for test purposes. They should be replaced by a users own video/audio clips .
In my example video, I took a brickwall jpg texture and modified it in photoshop by adding a graffiti type text. I then took the pic and rendered it in Movie Maker 2 as a short video clip (movie.wmv) The source image is available to download and modify for non-commercial purposes by clicking on the thumbnail below:

EXPERIMENT AND HAVE FUN !

Notes - The scripts were tested on windows XP home edition with Avisynth version 2.57 installed. I've tested and rendered the scripts within Virtualdub-MPEG2 and Nics WM9 Encoder to good effect

More of my Avisynth stuff may be found here

Video wall using Avisynth

2008-03-12T14:40:00.013Z

New to Avisynth ? Read my Avisynth introduction here to help get you started

Following on from my Brady Bunch Revisited - Again post I've modified the scripts slightly so that a 3x3 videowall can be produced from a single video with an opening and closing animation sequence. The project folder I've made available for download includes the five scripts featured in the video player above and script variations that will mute the source video replacing it with a soundtrack mp3. Two video clips including a short texture loop and a single mp3 are also included for test purposes. Once a user is happy that the scripts work with the included media, they should replace the video and audio clips with ones of their own.

PROJECT FOLDER DOWNLOAD
Note - I would advise unzipping the download in to an empty folder

Unless the scripts are altered it is important that the source media is named as follows:

texture.wmv
01.wmv
music.mp3

It is possible that source videos other than wmv's may work depending on the codecs installed on a users system. Please be aware however that the name of these source videos should be reflected within the scripts if they differ. For example, if a video source called mymovieclip.avi is intended to be used as a replacement for 01.wmv, then 01.wmv within the aviscript must be altered to become mymovieclip.avi . (Renaming "mymovieclip.avi" as "01.wmv" also seems to work as an alternative method to that of altering the script.)

The resolution of the final project will match that of 01.wmv, so for good quality results ensure that 01.wmv is a high resolution clip.

The texture loop should only be a few seconds long and is set to loop within the scripts. More texture loops are available here

The mp3 soundtrack is set to be trimmed and faded within the scripts to match the length of the final video.

To get the most out of the scripts I would expect a user to alter and probably improve them to their own requirements. If deciding to alter the scripts I would recommend using AVSP as the scripts have been formatted to look neat and tidy within it. Displaying the scripts in something like notepad does not appear to preserve the tab information resulting in a messy look.
I have attempted to try and make certain key features of the project easy to alter within the scripts under the following headings within the scripts (I'll leave it to the user to explore these)

SOURCE VIDEOS AND AUDIO SOUNDTRACK
USER DEFINED SETTINGS

Ultimately a user will need to go in at a much deeper level to make more exacting alterations. It can be tricky ! These scripts are really just intended as examples to show some of the things that are possible and to provide a small measure of quick customisation

EXPERIMENT AND HAVE FUN !

Notes - The scripts were tested on windows XP home edition with Avisynth version 2.57 installed. I've tested and rendered the scripts within Virtualdub-MPEG2 and Nics WM9 Encoder to good effect

More of my Avisynth stuff may be found here

Brady Bunch Revisited - AGAIN !

2008-02-29T13:14:00.011Z

New to Avisynth ? Read my Avisynth introduction here to help get you started

Here we go again!
A while back I wrote some custom scripts that explored the choreography of multiple video inputs using Avisynth. While the scripts worked, it has to be said that they were messy as my understanding of Avisynth scripting was that of a struggling novice. Now that I've learnt a little bit more I've attempted to clean up and simplify the scripts. I've also added some enhancements that were the result of some of the suggestions raised in this forum post . Namely these are adding an external soundtrack source, and creating scripts that allow a full screen zoom of a single video after the initial display of all nine videos (See Nines_06.avs thru to Nines_10.avs in the video examples above)

If all this sounds confusing so far and you are new to Avisynth , I would recommend reading my Avisynth introduction to help get you started

A zipped folder containing the scripts can be downloaded from here, but in keeping with previous posts I have also made available a project folder containing all the scripts and example source media. It is a fully working example and intended for test purposes. Once a user is satisfied that the scripts work, they will need to replace the test media with that of their own

PROJECT FOLDER DOWNLOAD
Note - I would advise unzipping the download in to an empty folder

The project folder contains 10 wmv videos of the type created in Windows Movie Maker. Nine of these are videos we wish to fly in and out of the screen while the tenth is a short texture loop video of just a few seconds long that will provide the background animation. A soundtrack mp3 is also included. Unless the scripts are altered it is important that the source media is named as follows:

01.wmv
02.wmv
03.wmv
04.wmv
05.wmv
06.wmv
07.wmv
08.wmv
09.wmv
texture.wmv
music.mp3

It is possible that source videos other than wmv's may work depending on the codecs installed on a users system. Please be aware however that the name of these source videos should be reflected within the scripts if they differ. For example, if a video source called mymovieclip.avi is intended to be used as a replacement for 01.wmv, then 01.wmv within the aviscript must be altered to become mymovieclip.avi . (Renaming "mymovieclip.avi" as "01.wmv" also seems to work as an alternative method to that of altering the script.)

The videos may be of any length and all will be either looped or trimmed to match the length of the centre video which is 01.wmv . In this respect 01.wmv acts as a control video and should also be considered the main feature video. The framerate of all the other videos will be converted if necessary to match that of 01.wmv . The resolution of the final project will match that of 01.wmv, so for good quality results ensure that 01.wmv is a high resolution clip.

The texture loop should only be a few seconds long and is set to loop within the scripts. More texture loops are available here

SOURCE VIDEOS AND AUDIO SOUNDTRACK
USER DEFINED SETTINGS

EXPERIMENT AND HAVE FUN !

Basic PIP FX Avisynth scripts

2008-01-04T17:30:00.004Z

The above video prior to being converted to a flash video (flv) format, was created on a windows xp system using a custom aviscript (Avisynth required) . The video was rendered using VirtualDub. ffdshow is installed on my system and so was configured within Virtualdub to create a DV encoded avi file. Full audio processing was applied to convert the audio to PCM (no compression). If users are new to Avisynth my Avisynth Introduction Guide For New Users may prove useful

I've been exploring PIP or "picture in picture"effects using Avisynth and intend devoting my next few posts to this often requested effect. To start with I'm just looking at the most basic scripts that will place a pip video with a coloured border in the corner of the main video - Four scripts for four corners. The duration of the rendered video will be set by the length of the the main video. The audio utilised will also be that of the main clip. I've made a project folder available for download that contains the four scripts and a couple of short test videos. As always, the test videos are included so that a user may immediately test the scripts on their system as a confidence measure before replacing the test videos with their own creation. The download is a zip file and users are advised to extract its contents in to an empty folder

DOWNLOAD

The scripts are designed to be easily customisable using something like notepad to open them or my preferred option AVSP. The border colour may be altered by changing the HEX Triplet code within the script ( A very useful reference for HEX colour codes may be found on this Wikipedia page ). The border thickness may also be altered

The scale and position of the pip video are easily customisable . I have adopted percentage settings where the placement and scale of the pip video is relative to the main video - expressed as a percentage. A snippet of the script is shown below and these are some of the parameters a user may wish to adjust. Setting the PipWidthPercentage and PipHeightPercentage dimensions to 50 would result in a pip video half the size of the main video (ie 50%) . Setting the PipTopPercentage and PipLeftPercentage both to 10 would result in the pip being placed a tenth of the way down from the top of the main video and a tenth of the way across from its left hand side (ie 10%).

###USER SETTINGS##############

MainVideo= "mainvideo.wmv"
PipVideo= "pipvideo.wmv"
PipWidthPercentage=40
PipHeightPercentage=40
PipTopPercentage=55
PipLeftPercentage=5
BorderThickness=10
BorderColour=$FFFFFF

###END OF USER SETTINGS########

Updated 25 APR 2008 - scripts altered to display correct border thickness of pip video

Jigsaw effect using Avisynth

2007-12-12T06:37:00.000Z

The above four videos were created with 4 slightly different avisynth scripts.

Script1 - Utilises a short videoloop background with a slowly revealing movie clip. The audio is provided by the movie clip

Script2 - Same as script 1 but an external soundtrack mp3 is utilised instead

Script3 & 4 - respectively the same as script 1 & 2 except that a jpg image is used for the background

For those that are new to avisynth I would recommend reading my Introduction guide.

Essentially the scripts take a short video loop or image source and sets this as the background canvas. The main feature video clip is then revealed piece by piece by exploiting avisynths overlay functions. Mask and overlay images are called up by the scripts to help achieve the effect.

For download I have included a project folder that contains all four scripts with media to provide a fully working example for test purposes. When satisfied that the test project works OK the test media should be replaced with a users own. The media consists of:

mainclip.wmv - This is the main movie and may be of any length.
background.wmv - This is the background video loop - ideally it should be just a few seconds long. For lots of free loops checkout my Texture Loops section.
background.jpg - Instead of a looping background video, a graphic image may be used instead
soundtrack.mp3 - If a soundtrack is required, this will replace the audio of the main vid

The download is a 3.66mb zip file. I would strongly recommend extracting the file in to an empty folder

DOWNLOAD

As usual I make no promise that the scripts will work for everyone - I am simply showing what works for me !

Additional Info

The script makes extensive use of the DirectShow parameter which means that many different types of video files can be utilised PROVIDING a users system is equipped with the appropriate DirectShow filters. In my script examples I have based the source videos on wmv files like the type saved by Windows Movie Maker. I have chosen wmv files as I would assume that most windows machines are fully equipped by default with the appropriate filters. For better quality results a user may wish to utilise different file types such as high quality DV encoded AVI files of the type that Movie Maker can again save to. If doing so "someclip.avi" would be placed in the project folder alongside the "mainclip.wmv" file. The reference to "mainclip.wmv" in the aviscript would then need to be replaced with "someclip.avi"

I have also included some variables that can easily be altered in the top section of the script that effects things like how quickly the puzzle pieces are placed and withdrawn.

Each script will attempt to optimise the output characteristics of the final rendered video based on the "mainclip.wmv" source video. This includes framerate and resolution.

Neo's Movie Maker Portal

2007-09-25T20:21:00.000Z

A hot new movie making resource has just hatched out on the web courtesy of www.windowsmoviemakers.net forum member "Neophyte" . Neo very kindly responded to an invitation to say a few words about the site:

First, I would like to thank Al for featuring my website in this article and for providing me the opportunity to tell you more about it.

One of my early discoveries at the forums at windowsmoviemakers.net was a series of Particle Illusion clips created by forum member "kathokatho" that could be used to add special effects/visual interest to my movies. While I was able to find and download a fair number of her clips, I was disappointed to find that many of her clips were no longer available.Over the subsequent months, I encountered several re-occurrences of this situation - clips or other resources created by forum members that were no longer available.

From the disappointment in not being able to find these materials evolved the concept of creating a more permanent web archive for resources created by forum members. That concept subsequently evolved into the current "Neo's Movie Maker Portal" site, which allowed me to make available other materials that I felt might be of interest to Movie Maker users.

Today Neo's Movie Maker Portal features a "Clip Archive" which, with the agreement of the creators and the support of other forum members, has grown to include over 330 free, downloadable clips. It also includes a listing of free video conversion programs to assist users in finding a converter suitable for converting clips into a Movie Maker compatible format, self-installing executable files for the master list of custom XP titles, effects and transitions compiled by forum member "fishycomics", free website hosting services for Movie Maker users... and more.

www.vuvox.com

2007-09-13T15:08:00.000Z

Click on each video clip to zoom in and play !

One of the most innovative and exciting media sites I think I have ever come across is the truly brilliant www.vuvox.com

I'm only just scratching the surface of what is possible but the above illustrates an example of how media can be presented in a funky interactive flash player that is easily embedded courtesy of a small code snippet. The example features video clips imported directly from my Youtube account. Videos imported from Youtube are hosted and streamed using Vuvox's own servers.

Media may also be imported from several other sources including, Picasa web albums - very useful for avid users such as myself. To see an example of pictures imported from Picasa, simply click on the down arrow in the player and sect the "Picasa picture test" slideshow.

I've had mixed success importing media from a PC, but it should be remembered that he product and service is in the BETA stage of development. Potentially there is plenty of room for improvement.

www.vuvox.com

Brady Bunch Simulation with Avisynth

2007-06-12T11:17:00.001Z

I have to be very careful about using the original Brady Bunch soundtrack theme to accompany the above video for copyright reasons. Hopefully you can visualise and audiolise (a word I've just made up I'm sure) how the above video might be presented with 9 grinning subjects and a soundtrack cooked sometime back in the late 6Ts
The project has been built using the sometimes intimidating , but ever so useful Avisynth. I have attempted to create a replica of the original Brady Bunch intro sequence but there are a few minor differences - none that cause me any loss of sleep !

For users that are new to Avisynth check out my Avisynth introduction for new users

Here is a brief overview:
The main project folder contains some sample aviscipts,an mp3 audio track, a single image for the "Brady bunch" text overlay, and three folders. The two folders named "Act1" and "Act2." correspond to the two distinct appearances of each family member. Act1 folder will contain 8 videos and Act2 will contain 9 (Including Alice). The third folder titled "Do Not Touch" contains essential images to make the effect work.

There are 3 scripts:

BB_Full.avs - This is the all singing all dancing version that renders the output video with the audio track. A "Brady Bunch" image overlay is included. The most critical thing is the soundtrack mp3 and getting it to synch up nicely with the video. In my tests I used the "The Brady Buch Theme" included on "Televisions Greatest Hits Volume 2" which synchs up perfectly
BB_Full_AudioDelay.avs - Identical to the above but a small 0.5 second delay has been added to the audio. www.mythemes.tv have a couple of Brady Bunch intro themes that sych nicely with the video using this script although users are advised to read the sites disclaimer before considering their use.
BB-Minimal.avs - Same as BB_Full.avs, except that the audio and text overlay have been removed. The intention of this is in case anyone should wish to add audio and text titles to the rendered output video in something like Movie Maker2. I could include many more variations, but it would be far more useful for users to dive in themselves and modify the scripts to their own requirements. This is where having Avisynth awareness is hugely beneficial. Inside the scripts I have written some notes that will hopefully assist in certain things such as delaying the audio track or altering the video resolution

I have based the scripts on using wmv source videos. Videos created within Windows Movie Maker 2 seem to work very nicely. I've tested both PAL (25fps) and NTSC (29.97) videos and they both work fine, although I would advise against mixing up both types together. DV-AVI videos created within MM2 also work fine and will probably produce a higher quality result. If using DV encoded avi files a user will need to open up the scripts and change the 17 occurrences of .wmv to .avi. While the script might work with videos that have been encoded differently to the above, just be aware that you may suffer from issues associated with the Directshow filters installed and registered on your PC - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

The source videos will not loop and will display a static image of the last frame if the video is short and finishes early. I would advise making all source vids at least 30 seconds in length to play safe. Avisynth will trim all source videos to the correct length including all of the fades. The grid below shows the position of each video.

Because the script and project as a whole is quite complex I have decided to make the scripts available as part of a fully working project with test videos, audio and images. Users will need to replace the included video and audio files with their own. Before doing so however I would advise running the scripts as a test standard. If the test videos render OK , then that will be a firm foundation to build the project upon. In my tests I used Nic's Encoder to feed the aviscripts in to. The settings I used for NTSC videos are as shown below. If PAL source videos are used then the FPS box would need to be altered to 25 to obtain the best results

That's it - I hope you have fun with this effect and not to many problems! Here is the zipped project folder (1mb download).

DOWNLOAD

Further resources
"The Brady Bunch" text overlay in the effect is a png image. It was created using the free and excellent INKSCAPE. Anybody using INKSCAPE can easily alter the text to their own requirements by opening this Inkscape svg project file, changing the text, and then exporting the page to a png bitmap. The project file depends on a suitable Brady Bunch font being installed in a users font folder otherwise Inkscape will select a default font. The Inkscape project file I have uploaded requires this Brady Bunch Font

Last updated 20 June 2007 to include a "Further Resources " reference and to upload newly modified scripts that reduce the thickness of the black lines slightly to make the effect better proportioned.

Brady Bunch Effect re-visited with Avisynth

2007-06-03T06:50:00.002Z

This post has now been superseeded by Brady Bunch Revisited - AGAIN !

test1

2007-05-13T09:54:00.000Z

Latest Adobe Flash Player required for correct player display

test

2007-05-13T09:51:00.000Z

Latest version of Adobe Flash Player required to display player

Cool Avisynth Scripts - Set 1

2007-05-11T10:56:00.002Z

This is my first selection of scripts that looks at the "fun" side of Avisynth. The scripts are loosely based on the so called Brady Bunch effect that uses multiple screens. The scripts have been heavily influenced by the hard work that has been made by others in the Avisynth community. A big dose of credit must therefore go to those same people.

For this , my very first set, I have included both the scripts and video samples to enable a user to quickly asses the effects. This will hopefully lend toward a trouble free experience for those that are new to Avisynth. The download is a 3mb zip file. Once unzipped to your desktop (or anywhere else) , please maintain the folder structure of the masks and png overlays as otherwise it will not work.

The user should replace the 9 sample videos included with their own. The folder also contains a texture loop and several mask and png images. Users are encouraged to get creative and replace these with their own creations. The beauty of Avisynth is in being able to take a script and modifying to your own requirements. This is positively encouraged.

The video above features some free texture loops that may be downloaded from my Video Loop Effects page. Feel free to interchange these with the one located in the downloaded folder.

Have Fun !

Last Update 22 May 2007 - I've modified the scripts slightly so that 01.wmv (Top Left or Left Hand side video) sets the duration of all the other videos by either looping the shorter ones or trimming the longer vids. 01. wmv will also supply the audio track

Download

An Avisynth Starter Introduction

Hitthebongos Main Avisynth Page

Hitthebongo's Avisynth Page

2007-05-10T23:51:00.011Z

Welcome to my new page dedicated toward the free and excellent video editing application - Avisynth. If you're new to Avisynth, I have written a simple introduction that covers a few useful pointers for the first timer. Once you're comfortable with that you may wish to checkout some of the scripts that I'll be putting together periodically.

An Avisynth Introduction For New Users
Cool Avisynth scripts - Set 1 (includes a project folder)
Brady Bunch Simulation (includes a project folder)
Jigsaw Simulation (Includes project folder)
Basic PIP FX (Includes project folder)
Brady Bunch Revisited - AGAIN ! (Includes project folder)
Video Wall (Includes project folder)
Search light effect (Includes project folder)
Basic PIP FX With Drop Shadow (Includes project folder)

Ripped DVD To DV-AVI With Streamclip

2007-05-01T15:54:00.000Z

This guide details one of a few methods I've been exploring to convert parts of a ripped DVD in to highly editable DV-AVI files for use within Movie Maker. In this method the free and excellent Streamclip is put through its paces

Go To The Guide

Ripped DVD to WMV9 With Virtualdub

2007-04-25T08:36:00.000Z

There are many free solutions to rip a DVD to a harddrive with the purpose of using the ripped vob/mpeg2 files for use in Movie Maker 2. This guide looks to the excellent Virtualdub-MPEG2 to provide one such method for creating saved movie clips that are Movie Maker 2 friendly.

While the hook of this post is converting a Ripped DVD to Movie Maker 2 it should be noted that many other file types may be used as the source video. Where the guide should be of most use is in detailing compression settings that should lead to the creation of an avi file that is bioth small, high quality and suitable for use in Movie Maker 2.

Go To The Guide

Flash Player 3.6 by Jeroen Wijerings

2007-04-17T15:30:00.000Z

When it comes to playlisting videos on line and hosting them on your own website (ie not youtube!), flash video continuues to look fresh, fun and exciting - especially when compared to embedding with mundane players like windows media player and quicktime.

Jeroen Wijerings Flash Player 3.6 is one great example of how the presentation of multiple videos can be made to look both simple and stylish. In the above example I've opted for simple "embed" tags which work well on sites such as myspace.com and of course blogs like this one ! In the above example, I have my trusted old FLV video samples hosted on Google Page Creator along with the swf file (for the player) and an xml text file for the playlist configuration. Note; in the read me file it states that the xml and swf files should be located on the same server. The flv's may be hosted anywhere.

The configuration options for the player are immense - I'm only just exploring them. Splash images, logos and playlist thumbnails are a few of the great possibilities along with function fine tuning and various appearance parameters.

For full info please visit the site and read the "Readme" file in the available download ...Oh yes, best of all - It's free

Flowplayer version 1.15

2007-04-02T09:28:00.000Z

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ - While newer versions of flowplayer (post 1.15) still retain playlist functions, it is no longer possible to display it as an integral part of the player as demonstrated below. Instead, a user must navigate the playlist using the step forward/back buttons.

It's been several months since I played around with Flowplayer - the free flash video player. In that time the author has done some truly incredible things with the player that mark it out as exceptional software. This article concerns itself with version 1.15

The player above is the "Playlist" "Thermo" version. I have set all the configurations within the "flashvars" attribute of the HTML code. No external Javascript file is required with this solution although I could have utilised one if I'd wished. The HTML snippet I used to embed the player was generated within a spreadsheet I have created especially for the purpose (it took me ages as my spreadsheet skills are very limited !) The sheet is in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet(ods) format and works with at least Open Office version 2.1).I'm happy to share this sheet via the link below:

The spreadsheet doesn't include all the configurables that are available with Flowplayer, as I have essentially tried to keep it fairly simple.You'll need to visit the Flowplayer site for full documentation. The most important are included however to produce a player like that above supporting a playlist of up to 25 videos.
The spreadsheet will generate two sets of code - one with the preferred "object" tags, and one with "embed" tags if needed.

To customise the look of the player I included my own splash and "video not found" screens (The splash screen could be used for both). Notice that an unlisted advert screen appears during playback of the playlist. This is a nice touch which I feel is worthy of exploration - both stills and flvs are supported in this way. I have also deliberately linked to a video that does not exist to show what happens when a video is not found. This level of customisation really does help create a unique identity for the player. A user will of course need to brush up on their graphic editing skills to create both images !

Splash images are just the tip of the iceburg. The author has allowed for Flowplayer to be EXTREMELY flexible in both look and functionality. To see the vast array of possibilities, please visit the Flowplayer site.

I'm intending to unofficially support flowplayer further with an enhanced spreadsheet to include some of the extra enhanced functionality. I'll update this post accordingly as new developments become available.

Note: The newer versions of Flowplayer includes new syntax in the flashvars attributes. Due to a request, I'm currently experimenting to see if it is possible to embed player version 1.15 within the pages of myspace.com

Ripped DVD to WMV / Xbox 360 guide

2007-03-12T01:06:00.000Z

Anybody that has tried streaming video content to their xbox360 will be fully aware that broadly speaking, the console will only display content encoded as wmv7, wmv8, wmv9 and wmv9 advanced profile This xbox team blog entry goes in to detail.

With the above in mind I have put together this guide which tackles the challenge head on , and details a method to rip and convert a DVD main movie to a wmv9 format. It utilises software that is both free and immensely useful.

The guide features step by step instructions and includes a project folder with source material so that a user may run a quick test to evaluate the method. Here is the link again:

Go To The Guide

DVD to MPEG2 Guide

2007-03-12T00:53:00.000Z

when ripping a DVD with the intention of converting to a file format such as wmv, it is useful to take the extra step and extract the mpeg2 video content with the appropriate sound options first before further processing by a converter.

Go To The Guide

Guides

2007-03-03T14:25:00.000Z

Guides to be added

MPEG2 Problems in Movie Maker 2 ?

2007-02-23T04:31:00.000Z

I've been looking at the thorny issue of making mpeg2 videos work within Movie Maker 2 on a fresh windows XP installation, as well as my day to day installation.

It can be done - but it can be tricky!

I've documented some of my observations, actions, and solutions

Go To The Guide

Desilucys Place

2007-01-25T07:18:00.000Z

A new and invaluable resource has recently appeared on the Movie Maker 2 landscape. Hitthebongo invited Rich , the sites creator, to say a few words:

Desilucy's Place is a re-compilation site provided to Movie Maker's users who are experiencing difficulties with it's use. It started out as strictly a technical support vehicle to expedite recovery from common problems and get folks back to making movies. It has evolved to not only include the technical issues, but includes laymans terms on how to do commonly requested functions like system restores, files conversions, reference links to complex issues all the way through to the fun stuff like splitting clips, adding custom xml's and doing the Brady Bunch effect. The initial goal was technical, so an effort was made in a step by step manner on how to go about starting to troubleshoot issues. These processes are found on the home page in the "Things You Should Know" and "Troubleshooting Basics" sections. The evolutionary process continues for the site as issues that are not included currently are researched and evaluated for inclusion. Take a minute or two to check out "Desilucy's Place'...and get back to making movies sooner!

Desilucy

Visit www.desilucy.com

Axogon Mutator !

2007-01-18T06:02:00.001Z

Anyone that has used the no longer supported Axogon composer before, and in particular the image processor component of it, will know what beautiful texture loops it was capable of making. While it was possible to create textures from complex mathematical formula, it was the “random” texture feature that proved the most user friendly. While the randomness was fun, there was a disappointment that no design element could be easily applied to create variations upon a theme. Axogon Mutator fixes all of that.

Gone is the mathematical formula and slightly awkward interface. In it’s place we now find a stand alone application that takes the original concept of the image processor and turns it in to something much more user friendly, creative and fun.Random generation is still at this programs heart, but now the user can preview sixteen random textures at a time with pre-determined complexities. Once a desired texture has been “discovered” the user can hit the “mutate” button to produce variations. These variations can be small or extreme depending on user selection. The user can also influence the colour channels of a texture, which can lead to some nicely coloured themed sets. All these features are both intuitive and fun and are best learnt by experimentation – no need for a user manual here!

Textures are saved as avi files with the user deciding on certain parameters such as frame rate, screen size, and duration. The file can be either in a Movie Maker 2 friendly uncompressed avi format, or compressed depending on a users installed codecs.

The programme is a joy to use with a firm emphasis on discovery and fun. The ace up the sleeve of this software is the price tag of just nine dollars. All these things lead me to highly recommend this great software.

The loops used in the demo above are available to download as very high quality variable bitrate (800 x 600, 30 FPS) wmv’s. Click the link below to download them:

For more information visit www.axogon.com

Transition Set 5 - Various

2006-10-25T23:20:00.001Z

This set contains nine transitions:

BFX set 5 - Blood Blobs
BFX set 5 - Blue Geometrics
BFX set 5 - Cyan Shards
BFX set 5 - Green Squares
BFX set 5 - Inky Mess
BFX set 5 - Purple Squareness
BFX set 5 - Scan Lines
BFX set 5 - Steps
BFX set 5 - The Fog

Read this post for more info on the download file