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creating freeze frames “on the fly”
What’s the easiest way to create a freeze frame in the timeline? I know there’s the save snapshot to file command, but I’m hoping there’s a quicker way to take a frame and stretch it a few seconds, then the footage picks right up again. Something like splitting the track and dragging with some key combination? I just can’t figure out what it is and haven’t found it on the shortcuts card. Creating jpgs and bringing them back in, inserting, etc. is just time consuming.
thanks
steven -
15 Replies
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Steve,
You might try this.
1) split the clip at the point you want to freeze
2) move the right clip out of the way
3) enter the properties of the left clip and uncheck the “loop” option. This will cause the clip to freeze on the last frame when lengthened.
4) drag the end of the left clip right for the amount of time you want the frozen frame.
5) move the right clip back to butt up to the left clip.Perhaps there is a more elegant way but I’ve used this technique with good results…
Enjoy,
David -
Scripting makes this an EASY proposition. For example, Excalibur has the Four Points tool which will, essentially, do exactly what you are wanting. Create a selection area where you want the image frozen, run the tool, and it will create 4 nodes on the velocity envelope. You can then drag the center section down to 0%
Alternately, It also has a “freeze at cursor” option (technically it’s a “change to specified velocity at the cursor” option). It could then be used again to change back to normal speed.
There’s a “Four Points” tool available at: https://www.jetdv.com/scripts/FourPoints.js but it is set up to work with a Volume envelope. A modification would be required to get it to work with a Velocity envelope.
In my opinion, the velocity envelope is the best way to handle this type of thing.
Edward Troxel
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Both excellent suggestions. Unclicking the looping property was what I was missing. Lack of funding for additional tools means I’ll be using the first method, but in the future may have to check into Excalibur.
Thanks again,
Steven -
Hmm, in Vegas 5, which I’m using, this method doesn’t seem to work. What I’ve found works easily is:
–extend the shot the duration you want it to cover, including freeze
–add a velocity envelope
–add a point just before the freeze
–move over 1 frame and add another point; set speed to zero
–now everything on the right is frozen
–if you want to continue the moving image, at the end of the the area you want frozen, add a point
–move over 1 frame, add another point, set the speed to “normal”Rick
Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
This seems to work as long as you’re at the end of the clip, but I’m splitting it in the middle and even with the loop function unchecked, it slips the original clip back out. In my music recording software you can tell it to “apply trimming” and it destructively edits the track so the slip function is gone. I can’t find a way to do this in Vegas. Am I missing something?
steven
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Why not use a velocity envelope set to zero? click on the frame you want to freeze, add the envelope, make two handles and set the second one to 0.
Mary Waitrovich
UW-Madison -
That’s basically what I was getting at. The script just makes the process easier. Steven, I meant the link to FourPoints to be an aid to create one for Velocity.
Edward Troxel
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Eeek, you are absolutely right about it only working at the end of clip. Guess I never really tried this in the middle of a clip. Sorry about the miss information… my bad.
There is another less elegant way that I used before someone told me about the loop option.
Split the clip and expand the time line until you can get at individual frames. Then set the loop region as the last frame and render. It should make a one frame AVI that you can place between the split and stretch to your hearts content.
Not exactly fast or convenient, but it will work.
David
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I have used the following in the past. It’s basically Rick’s method
–extend the shot the duration you want it to cover, including freeze
–add a velocity envelope
–add a point just before the freeze
–move over 1 frame and add another point; set speed to zero
–now everything on the right is frozen
–split clip at freeze point and move the right clip to start of moving image.
–make velocity 100% on right clip
–drag the end of left clip for the duration of freeze.Regards
Mahesh
https://www.crestvideo.co.uk -
To get it to work in the middle of a clip, you need to make it a SUB-CLIP that ends on that frame.
Edward Troxel
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