BMP to AVI sequence

[max_e_mum]

I'm in need of finding what will do the following

I have a series of timelapse bitmap images @ about 1MB ea
shot with the view of replaying the sequence at 25 fps

the camera shot in portrait mode
I have rotated the images to 480x720 - a size and shape that I want to keep as the final output

As that most editors that I have tried make it easy to pause an image in the video for a time, the shortest time that I have found is around .2 of a second. Thats about 4 fps - quite jerky.

to get the jerkyness out of the final uncompressed avi
I want to dissolve (and or) cross fade between each image.
as one dissolve is finishing the next is beginning etc

I have tried quickly with the following on either of my two dual socket machines
A 694x @ 1GB ea and a K8 with dual 2.2 Opterons and x64
Sony Vegas seems locked to television standards
Cinema Craft
Corel seems locked to television standards
Windows Movie Maker
Aviedit
a number of slideshow thingys

Being able to batch the transitions between the 2000 images would be good,
getting the transitions to run as fast as possible to be in the 25 fps ball park
and or
have the final run at a higher framerate like 60fps to keep play(out)-time down

And because I am in the computer world I would like to keep the progressive scan in the final

When the avi is made I will then run it through an mpeg4 encoder (seperate job)

I have avisynth, the gimp, virtualdub installed around the place

importing the 2000 images is fraught with problems [as the string ends up too long] to be able to import them all at once
some of the software have mixed the sequence up and have no adjustment after that - other than delete, then find the image and insert (pain)

All sugestions please including a script I could insert?

Thanks for your time
Roger

[minidv2dvd]

with vegas you can change the project properties to 480x720.

premiere pro works better for me when using stills -> video.

[tin2tin]

Use avisynth:

Import of an image sequence:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/ImageReader

Then you might find good use in the new gscript avisynth plugin - look for it in the doom9.org forum.
So you can use a for - next loop with a step 2 to
- trim a new clip consisting of one frame from the sequence.
- trim a new clip consisting of the next frame from the sequence.
- then loop both new clips ex. 3 frames
- and dissolve the those to clips which then can be added to the resulting clip.

Script as illustration(not a working script):

Loadplugin("gscript.dll")
imgseq=imagesource("your imagesequence with your settings") - Check the avisynth docs: http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/ImageReader
a=imgseq.trim(0,0).loop(3)
b=imgseq.trim(1,1).loop(3)
c=dissolve(a,b)
GScript("""
for (i=1, imgseq.framecount(), 2) {
a=imgseq.trim(i,i).loop(3)
b=imgseq.trim(i,i).loop(3)
c=c++dissolve(a,b)
}
""")
c

The gscript syntax is not correct so you'll have to check how thats is done properly when you find the plugin.

And then use avs2avi or one of the many ffmpeg guis ex Super to render it.

[EDIT: Made the gscript stuff a bit more correct]

[Gavino]

For GScript, see http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=147846.

[Gavino]

The logic of tin2tin's script isn't quite right.
I would construct the sequence as follows:

c=imgseq.trim(0,-1).loop(3) # can't use trim(0,0)
GScript("""
for (i=1, imgseq.framecount()-1) {
  a=imgseq.trim(i,i).loop(6)
  c=dissolve(c,a,3)
}
""")
c

[max_e_mum]

Am I true in understanding that Dissolve only works on avi's - the reason why tin2tin said to make small loops?
Fade seems to be the same.

Or can I use this somehow? - c=dissolve(a,b) (and I'm not going to copy it 1700 times)

So, Avisynth is not the software that I need - it mainly works with avi's.
Yes it can import a series of images and turn them into an avi, but the timelapse software that I use can do that.


What I put to gether thus far is
ImageSource(string file = "somedriveletter:\ .... \thursday_seq\thursday00715.bmp", int start = 0, int end = 1729, float fps = I'll leave till I get the cross fade timing, bool use_DevIL = false, bool info = false, string pixel_type = "RGB24")
adding the dissolve in here would be great

having now run this with the drive and folders written in, I get a script error in Virtualdub194
"Script error:expected a , or ) line 1 column23

[Gavino]

The type names (like string, int, etc) are just in the documentation to tell you what type to use for each parameter, you don't put them in the script itself. In your case, you would use:
ImageSource(file = "somedriveletter:\ .... \thursday_seq\thursday00715.bmp", start = 0, end = 1729, use_DevIL = false, info = false, pixel_type = "RGB24")

ImageSource itself doesn't support dissolving. The point of tin2tin's script is to take the video produced by ImageSource and process it so that it does include the dissolves. You don't have to type Dissolve 1700 times - that's what the for loop does for you.

By the way, if you already have an avi, you could use that as your starting point instead of ImageSource (use AviSource in its place).