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Timing prob that I cant solve

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TheLaughingBuddha
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:55 am
Location: Newbury, UK.

Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by TheLaughingBuddha »

This one has me stumped lol....
Basically I have 8 still images that I want to trigger in sequence on every beat using one of either 2 of the muted sound files I have made (kick drum or snare drum track).
The first thing I have done is to make a short video...8 bars...and then imported that into magic...but it just wont sync no matter what i try or values i use.
Is there a way to trigger a sequence of still images using the sound files i am using to trigger the rest of the video.
Its not a sequenced audio track so the beats are off time which is why i need to use the audio tracks to trigger rather than just loop.
The track is here if anyone wants to look...I cant YT because of copyright...sorry guys.
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=B ... ideo%2cmp4

Its the blue shapes in the center I cant sync (ESP cards)
Any help appreciated.
Many Thanks

Oh...the actual video is very much in the 'playing with ideas/learning' stage so dont judge the actual video lol...cheers.
Magic
Site Admin
Posts: 3441
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:28 pm

Re: Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by Magic »

There is a perfect and relatively simple way to set up that kind of thing.

All you have to do is save your still images as .jpg's, with filenames in alphanumeric order (file1.jpg, file2.jpg, etc.), and put them in their own folder. Then, in Magic, add a JpegFolder module, select your folder, and add a Trigger modifier on the Index parameter:
Screen Shot 2016-02-19 at 10.16.29 AM.png
Screen Shot 2016-02-19 at 10.16.29 AM.png (30.69 KiB) Viewed 5963 times
The Trigger modifier will increase the Index whenever it detects a beat. In fact, I created the Trigger modifier to address the exact scenario you're looking for :).

If you want the Index parameter to loop after 8 images, just add a Wrap modifier (after the Trigger) with a value of 8.

The only issue is that if you want your images to respond to both the kick and the snare, you might have to mix them together into one audio file.
TheLaughingBuddha
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:55 am
Location: Newbury, UK.

Re: Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by TheLaughingBuddha »

Thanks very much Eric :) Perfect !
I am using seperate muted kick and snare tracks to trigger events like you suggested to me in a previous post and it works nicely.
Again...thank you for being so helpful :)
Regards
dj0le
Posts: 53
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2016 9:46 am
Location: Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Re: Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by dj0le »

Hey Eric, would it be possible to add PNG to the JpegFolder options? That would give you the ability to export to images with an alpha channel and everyone loves them some alpha.
TheLaughingBuddha
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:55 am
Location: Newbury, UK.

Re: Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by TheLaughingBuddha »

I also would like to use .png :)
TheLaughingBuddha
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:55 am
Location: Newbury, UK.

Re: Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by TheLaughingBuddha »

Eric...what can I say....I followed your advice and made a separate audio track with both Kick&Snare and used the trigger option...and it is just perfect...exactly the effect I was looking to achieve :)
Many Thanks
Magic
Site Admin
Posts: 3441
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:28 pm

Re: Timing prob that I cant solve

Post by Magic »

Cool :).

The problem with .png's is that they are very big and slow, and it's hard to load/unload them in real-time without dropping frames. I designed the JpegFolder module to run at video speed -- up to 60fps -- so you can do fun things like move forward and backward very quickly to create a video-scratching effect. This is possible because 1) .jpg's tend to have smaller file sizes, so they are fast to read from disk, and 2) more importantly, I use special hardware-accelerated methods (MMX, SSE2, etc.) to decode .jpg's which don't work with any other type of image format.

If you do want to use .png's though, there is a way to get exactly the same results as the JpegFolder module. Just hook up several Image modules into an InputSelector:
Screen Shot 2016-02-21 at 10.59.35 AM.png
Screen Shot 2016-02-21 at 10.59.35 AM.png (54.37 KiB) Viewed 5932 times
The InputSelector's "Input #" parameter functions in exactly the same way as the JpegFolder's Index parameter. The only disadvantage with this setup is that you have to add each Image module individually, so it's more tedious. But for only 8 images (in your case), it might be fine, and you'd have the advantage of the alpha channel.
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