Can video Format's be imported during a live set? ( just like photos can..)
I think this software is very cool and is a good piece of work, however there is one limitation video?
Can video be imported into the set.
Please let me known as I only have two weeks to sort the problem.
Thanks guy's.
Sharples
Can video Format's be imported during a live set?
Moderators: BTT, andy55, b.dwall, juxtiphi
This is one of those qualified "yes" answers.
Video footage, i.e. digital video formats such as .mov and .avi, can be "imported" into the G-Force engine, and the fancy images generated by the G-Force engine can be made to dance around, over, under and through that video footage. But there are some qualifications.
1. If you own the Platinum version of G-Force, the images will appear only in black and white, kind of like a negative film image. But... you can colorize that negative film image using the ColorMap function of the G-Force engine.
A. This will produce some pretty weird imagery...very psychedelic.
B. You can make the negative-film-image look like a black-and white photograph by using only a black and white ColorMap. Actually, you should use a ColorMap that sticks to a very narrow band of grays to avoid the psychedelic look. It will look like you're using old black-and- white video footage, but then, modern digital cameras have a black-and-white function to create just that effect.
Or, you can use a Sepia tinted ColorMap to make the footage look antique.
2. It is my understanding that if you purchase a commercial license from SoundSpectrum, you can get the video footage to appear in real color. I have no experience with this variation.
3. Assuming you stick with the black-and-white video footage and did not purchase a commercial license, you can still manipulate the appearance of the video footage, and its interaction with the fancy G-Force imagery, by changing the "Flag" values in your Default file. Here's how this is done:
A. Since all video footage is considered a "Sprite" (rather than a ColorMap, WaveShape or FieldFlow), it is placed in the "Sprites" folder inside the G-Force folder on your computer.
So, first, you transfer your video file to the Sprites folder located inside the G-Force folder. A typical path would look something like:
C:/Program Files/SoundSpectrum/G-Force/Sprites
Once you place your video file inside the Sprites folder, G-Force will automatically recognize the file extension (.mov or .avi) and include it in the list of available video footage it can access. You can see what footage is available for use by looking in the "Particles, Images and Video" Menu in the Tool Bar. If you see your new video file listed in that Menu, you know you have transfered it correctly.
B. If you're not going to write a script for using this footage, and just want it to appear in some random order, all you have to do is put a check mark by the name of your new video file as it appears under the "Particles, Images and Video" Menu in the Tool Bar.
C. Inside the same Sprite folder mentioned above is another file called (Default.txt). You can open that folder in a text-editor such as WordPad (do not use a word processor like Word or WordPerfect), and change the value of one feature called "Flag." By simply scrolling down the text inside that Default.txt file, you will come to a section that explains the Flag function. I have found that changing that Flag value to 16391 works for me, but there are other combinations to try out. That section of the Default.txt will explain all of your choices.
D. You may also affect your black-and-white video footage by adding a ~ to the end of the file name, just before the file extension. This will reverse the negative-positive image of your video footage. For example, let's assume your video file is called Dancer.mov, and in that footage, your face is black (because of the negative-imagery affectations caused by G-Force). If you change your file name to Dancer~.mov, your face will now be white. In other words, what was black will now be white. This technique can be used with video or still (.jpg) images.
E. Be aware that once you add video footage, you will be stressing your computer's processor, so it's best to use the biggest engine you can afford. Otherwise, the imagery will become jerky. You can cheat this limitation a little by reducing the output resolution of your graphics card. Instead of 1024 x 768, drop down to 800 x 600. Even if you go down to 640 x 480, G-Force still looks great. Only if you go to video projection on a big screen can you begin to see serious degredation.
F. There is another way to use video footage which involves creating a script, and this method is too involved to go into here. Writing a script allows you to control "when," "how long," and "what" other G-Force effects (ColorMap, WaveShape, FieldFlow, Particles) are used WITH your video footage. You control the appearance of your video footage by simply hitting a specific keystorke, and in that sense the appearance of the video footage isn't random.
G. Be aware that there are several codecs on the market for the .mov format. I've found that G-Force seems to like some better than others. My son took some video footage using his cheapo Kodak still digital camera and G-Force loved that format. The resolution was only 640 x 480, but G-Force loved the format and it played smoothly. I looked at the codec for that particular .mov file and it said "Original Apple Specs" The .mov format is part of the "MPEG-4 Family", but if you use .mp4 as a file extension, G-Force won't see it. The frame rate for this particular Kodak/Apple version was 14.988, which is half the standard NTSC format. This frame rate is an option that can be selected from most conversion programs. Again, the faster the frame rate, the more stress on the computer. So if you do a file conversion, i.e. convert your original video footage to the .mov format, I would recommend using the 14.988 frame rate. (Some conversion programs only offer 15 ffs, which is fine.) I would also recommend you strip the audio track off your video footage to reduce the file size.
G-Force also recognizes .avi files. If you've got a powerful computer, you can stick with the .avi files and avoid the .mov variations.
To figure all of this out in two weeks will be a task. Good luck.
Video footage, i.e. digital video formats such as .mov and .avi, can be "imported" into the G-Force engine, and the fancy images generated by the G-Force engine can be made to dance around, over, under and through that video footage. But there are some qualifications.
1. If you own the Platinum version of G-Force, the images will appear only in black and white, kind of like a negative film image. But... you can colorize that negative film image using the ColorMap function of the G-Force engine.
A. This will produce some pretty weird imagery...very psychedelic.
B. You can make the negative-film-image look like a black-and white photograph by using only a black and white ColorMap. Actually, you should use a ColorMap that sticks to a very narrow band of grays to avoid the psychedelic look. It will look like you're using old black-and- white video footage, but then, modern digital cameras have a black-and-white function to create just that effect.
Or, you can use a Sepia tinted ColorMap to make the footage look antique.
2. It is my understanding that if you purchase a commercial license from SoundSpectrum, you can get the video footage to appear in real color. I have no experience with this variation.
3. Assuming you stick with the black-and-white video footage and did not purchase a commercial license, you can still manipulate the appearance of the video footage, and its interaction with the fancy G-Force imagery, by changing the "Flag" values in your Default file. Here's how this is done:
A. Since all video footage is considered a "Sprite" (rather than a ColorMap, WaveShape or FieldFlow), it is placed in the "Sprites" folder inside the G-Force folder on your computer.
So, first, you transfer your video file to the Sprites folder located inside the G-Force folder. A typical path would look something like:
C:/Program Files/SoundSpectrum/G-Force/Sprites
Once you place your video file inside the Sprites folder, G-Force will automatically recognize the file extension (.mov or .avi) and include it in the list of available video footage it can access. You can see what footage is available for use by looking in the "Particles, Images and Video" Menu in the Tool Bar. If you see your new video file listed in that Menu, you know you have transfered it correctly.
B. If you're not going to write a script for using this footage, and just want it to appear in some random order, all you have to do is put a check mark by the name of your new video file as it appears under the "Particles, Images and Video" Menu in the Tool Bar.
C. Inside the same Sprite folder mentioned above is another file called (Default.txt). You can open that folder in a text-editor such as WordPad (do not use a word processor like Word or WordPerfect), and change the value of one feature called "Flag." By simply scrolling down the text inside that Default.txt file, you will come to a section that explains the Flag function. I have found that changing that Flag value to 16391 works for me, but there are other combinations to try out. That section of the Default.txt will explain all of your choices.
D. You may also affect your black-and-white video footage by adding a ~ to the end of the file name, just before the file extension. This will reverse the negative-positive image of your video footage. For example, let's assume your video file is called Dancer.mov, and in that footage, your face is black (because of the negative-imagery affectations caused by G-Force). If you change your file name to Dancer~.mov, your face will now be white. In other words, what was black will now be white. This technique can be used with video or still (.jpg) images.
E. Be aware that once you add video footage, you will be stressing your computer's processor, so it's best to use the biggest engine you can afford. Otherwise, the imagery will become jerky. You can cheat this limitation a little by reducing the output resolution of your graphics card. Instead of 1024 x 768, drop down to 800 x 600. Even if you go down to 640 x 480, G-Force still looks great. Only if you go to video projection on a big screen can you begin to see serious degredation.
F. There is another way to use video footage which involves creating a script, and this method is too involved to go into here. Writing a script allows you to control "when," "how long," and "what" other G-Force effects (ColorMap, WaveShape, FieldFlow, Particles) are used WITH your video footage. You control the appearance of your video footage by simply hitting a specific keystorke, and in that sense the appearance of the video footage isn't random.
G. Be aware that there are several codecs on the market for the .mov format. I've found that G-Force seems to like some better than others. My son took some video footage using his cheapo Kodak still digital camera and G-Force loved that format. The resolution was only 640 x 480, but G-Force loved the format and it played smoothly. I looked at the codec for that particular .mov file and it said "Original Apple Specs" The .mov format is part of the "MPEG-4 Family", but if you use .mp4 as a file extension, G-Force won't see it. The frame rate for this particular Kodak/Apple version was 14.988, which is half the standard NTSC format. This frame rate is an option that can be selected from most conversion programs. Again, the faster the frame rate, the more stress on the computer. So if you do a file conversion, i.e. convert your original video footage to the .mov format, I would recommend using the 14.988 frame rate. (Some conversion programs only offer 15 ffs, which is fine.) I would also recommend you strip the audio track off your video footage to reduce the file size.
G-Force also recognizes .avi files. If you've got a powerful computer, you can stick with the .avi files and avoid the .mov variations.
To figure all of this out in two weeks will be a task. Good luck.