a little avisynth script peer review, please?

[PharosSTL]

i'm trying to create a video at work that uses some "complicated" PIP effects. it's a product demo video so the video starts, and then x seconds in a window fades in in the lower right to show detail. a few seconds after that, a second window fades in in the upper left with additional detail. several seconds later, both frames are intended to fade out simultaneously.

i split the main stream into five partial streams on import. m1-5. m1 has no overlay. m2 has overlay1 fade in and begin playback. m3 adds overlay2 fading in. m4 continues the overlays and has them both fade out. m5 has no overlays. i accomplished this task with the following script structure:

(m# = main stream, o#l/#or = overlay source video (left/right), p# = video stream with overlay; 1-5 denote the stream segment)

m1=ImageSource(...)
m2=ImageSource(...)
...
m5=ImageSource(...)

#establishing 5 partial stream segments comprising the entirety of the main video

o2r=ImageSource(...).FadeIn(30)
o3r=ImageSource(...)
o4r=ImageSource(...).FadeOut(30)

#the first (right) overlay fades in and out as i had intended it to (that is, fading in to begin segment 2, and fading out at the end of segment 4)

o3l=ImageSource(...).FadeIn(30)
o4l=ImageSource(...).FadeOut(30)

#my intention here is to have the second (left) overlay fade in to begin segment 3, and then fade out at the end of segment 4 in time with the first (right) overlay.

#now that all the streams have been defined;

p2=Overlay(m2,o2r...)
#first overlay segment, o2r over m2

p3a=Overlay(m3,o3r...)
p3=Overlay(p3a,o3l...)
#second overlay segment. o3l over p3a, where p3a is an overlay of o3r over m3

p4a=Overlay(m4,o4r...)
p4=Overlay(p4a,o4l...)
#same double-overlay used as above. and finally:

m1+p2+p3+p4+m5

NOW here's where i'm confused. oR and oL are defined almost identically. both of them are split into multiple segments, and both of them call for a FadeIn(30) on the opening segment, and a FadeOut(30) on the closing segment. oR (the first, three-segment overlay) fades in and out as it should. oL (the second, two-segment overlay) fades in as it should, but it doesn't fade out. at the end of "p4", oR has a 30-frame fadeout, but oL remains opaque, and then vanishes when the m5 segment begins (not fading out).

any advice? i didn't post the entire script verbatim because that computer is not connected to the internet so i'm typing it into this laptop.

i should also mention that the oR overlay is a video source (defined using ImageSource() for still image frames), but oL is a single, still image (also defined using ImageSource()). i wouldn't think this would be an issue, as the fade in feature still works fine. also it's quite obvious i've omitted some of the script for clarity reasons. the only things i've omitted are things which are working fine, or inconsequential such as the parameters of the ImageSource() function.

and finally i have to give a thanks to this forum. i initially tried to register with doom9 and after going through the entire pain of registering, i got ready to ask my question and was told that, as a new member, i had to wait 5 days before posting anything. well what's the freaking point, idiots? i won't have this question 5 days from now. so i have respect for videohelp.com for not enforcing some kind of moronic rule that does nothing but infuriate and anger people trying to use your site...

thanks guys!

[poisondeathray]

You're probably should post the full script. Copy & paste, put on a usb key, transfer it to the other net connected computer

It might be from the lengths of the segments - some of what you think are "inconsequential" parameters is actually important information to convey. This is especially important for the overlay

[PharosSTL]

nope, it was inconsequential. but your post did give me an idea that helped solve the problem.

the problem was, i don't yet have the video or image files to use for the second overlay, so i was using a still image as a placeholder.

now, the still image can fade in, because it has a definite start, but it has no end. thus there is no cue to begin fading out. zero plus 30 frames = 30, but infinity minus 30 frames is still infinity.

to try and fix this, i swapped the still image placeholder with some random frames from another video, importing the images using ImageSource() and using the same amount of frames as the main video stream in the Overlay() command.

so the lesson here is: still images can fade IN, but they can't fade OUT (or if they can, it requires some finessing in the script).

this problem is solved. now all i have to worry about is what kind of format the ACTUAL overlay is going to be, because i don't know yet. it could be an animation/video clip (fingers crossed!) or it could be a still image which i'll have to animate myself in order to get the desired effect for our final video. whew! three days ago i didn't know anything about avisynth...

thanks again

[poisondeathray]

now, the still image can fade in, because it has a definite start, but it has no end. thus there is no cue to begin fading out. zero plus 30 frames = 30, but infinity minus 30 frames is still infinity.

to try and fix this, i swapped the still image placeholder with some random frames from another video, importing the images using ImageSource() and using the same amount of frames as the main video stream in the Overlay() command.

so the lesson here is: still images can fade IN, but they can't fade OUT (or if they can, it requires some finessing in the script).

The default for ImageSource is 1001 frames, so it's not "infinite." start=0, end=1000

The other arguments like "start" and "end" are important with "fps". With those parameters, you can determine the duration . That's why it's not "inconsequential " when someone asks to post your script