Operation Introduction

Krisqo · Post by **Krisqo** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 6:35 pm

I've wanted to try Vegas. But all I can find is the Academic version (you have to provide proof that you are enrolled in school). If you have a non academic version, where did you find it?

Also, don't rush unless you know exactly what you are doing. I still haven't heard from anyone else so I don't know if everyone else is too busy to putz with this little project so I'm not sure about the new deadline. I may not even need it. I may end up dropping Yukitosan and Douggie if they remain AWOL past the weekend.

Gods Dark Angel · Post by **Gods Dark Angel** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:35 pm

Understandiby so... They seem to be AWOL. I could only snag a copy of vegas 4.0 so its not the newest version but its pretty nice. It's is infinitly times better than WMM but thats not to say WMM is bad, I mean my Bleach vid turned out ok, its just you can do so much more with Vegas...

BTW anyluck with the transition scene???

Douggie · Post by **Douggie** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:28 am

Sorry I haven't replied, I've been working on and off on it, but are at about a quarter (I'm not a fast editor) and trying to find something original to do. I wanted this to be a test to do some rotoscoping with After Effects and have checked lots tutorials and such in the meantime, but it's quite some work to do so!

BTW. Does anybody know a good site with lots of free Japanese fonts - just in case rotoscoping/Photoshopping turns out to be an ugly mess, I'd like to create the logo myself. Thanks!

Krisqo · Post by **Krisqo** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:50 pm

Gods Dark Angel wrote:Understandiby so... They seem to be AWOL. I could only snag a copy of vegas 4.0 so its not the newest version but its pretty nice. It's is infinitly times better than WMM but thats not to say WMM is bad, I mean my Bleach vid turned out ok, its just you can do so much more with Vegas...

BTW anyluck with the transition scene???

Well, anything is an Infinty times better than WMM.

As for the transition, I saw something that might work while flipping though some TV channels. I think it was during Jetix on Toon Disney, but I haven't seen it since. I think that finding about ten different clips of a tv channel changing is going to be a little bit on the crazy side, so I'm thinking of going back to square one with the DVD navigation format. I have lots of other stuff to do at the moment so I'll stick with planning it for the time being. (If only Zaxrax didn't do the damn AMV Hell series).

Douggie wrote: Sorry I haven't replied, I've been working on and off on it, but are at about a quarter (I'm not a fast editor) and trying to find something original to do. I wanted this to be a test to do some rotoscoping with After Effects and have checked lots tutorials and such in the meantime, but it's quite some work to do so!

BTW. Does anybody know a good site with lots of free Japanese fonts - just in case rotoscoping/Photoshopping turns out to be an ugly mess, I'd like to create the logo myself. Thanks!

I'm just glad to hear from you. I'll look around for some free japanese fonts, but I think you need something special language pack installed on your PC to get it to work. I'll dig around.

And good luck with the rotoscoping. I tried it with my video and after about 18 hours and getting very choppy results, I ditched it. But hey, If you can get it to work, more power to ya. Just be sure you get the video done by the September deadline and check back in once and a while.

Yukitosan · Post by **Yukitosan** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:12 pm

Hey, sorry for the delay. I've been out of town for most of the summer and just got back this last week for college orientation. Yes I have been working on the project though I don't have much to show for it yet. I've been quite frustrated with the opening I've selected due to the nature of the series. Vandread is an ecchi-comedy/action series with quite a bit more ecchi-comedy than action as I remember. The opening song, on the other hand, is quite serious and almost exclusively geared for action related scenes. On a lighter note, I do have a concept for the first segment of the song (which I believe is the most difficult segment) and have already started organizing it. I also have a relatively free summer from here on in so I hope to be working on it much more. I feel confident that I can finish before the September deadline so don't postpone for my convenience.

Douggie · Post by **Douggie** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 4:22 am

Krisqo, thanks for the help. I've Googled a while back trying to find Japanese fonts, but with no luck - I guess there must be a site the free fonts sites you can find for Western fonts (comic-style, SF-style, etc.).

I hope the rotoscoping works, up until now I've only done one frame and trying to figure things out. So any idea what happened that made your result become choppy (would be handy to know, so I won't make the same mistake!). I'll be sure to finish up before September!

Oh I've been meaning to ask the following: about the resolutions, you said eventually it would be 640x480, so if you have footage 720x480 it would be RESIZED. But that would kind mess up the aspect ratio, wouldn't it? So don't you mean that you would crop it instead? I'm working with DVD footage, so if it's going to be cropped (on both the left and right side?) eventually, I'll make sure that everything will be in the right position and nothing important will be chopped away eventually (sorry, I'm kind of a percision freak).

Good luck with thinking up the transitions (I have no original idea either)!

Krisqo · Post by **Krisqo** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:45 pm

Nice to hear from you Yukito. Don't be afraid to change your selection if you reach an unmovable block, but don't give up until you have exhausted everything in your tanks.

Douggie wrote:Krisqo, thanks for the help. I've Googled a while back trying to find Japanese fonts, but with no luck - I guess there must be a site the free fonts sites you can find for Western fonts (comic-style, SF-style, etc.).

I hope the rotoscoping works, up until now I've only done one frame and trying to figure things out. So any idea what happened that made your result become choppy (would be handy to know, so I won't make the same mistake!). I'll be sure to finish up before September!

Oh I've been meaning to ask the following: about the resolutions, you said eventually it would be 640x480, so if you have footage 720x480 it would be RESIZED. But that would kind mess up the aspect ratio, wouldn't it? So don't you mean that you would crop it instead? I'm working with DVD footage, so if it's going to be cropped (on both the left and right side?) eventually, I'll make sure that everything will be in the right position and nothing important will be chopped away eventually (sorry, I'm kind of a percision freak).

Good luck with thinking up the transitions (I have no original idea either)!

I found fonts but they are for the Mac which I don't have to test out.

In regards to the rotoscoping, I was doing it using keyframes and vector points to isolate Sora from the ocean in the background. However, my vectors were not smooth and they jerked up and down in a boiling matter.
Here's the link to the clip. It moves to about 7 seconds then stops. (Under 1 MB.)

http://up-file.com/download/a55bca67564 ... 1.avi.html

Now about the aspect ratio. I know all DVD rips come out at 720X480. However, to compress with XVid, you need a resolution that is a multiple of 16 such as 320X240 and 512X384 and it is preferable to use square pixels for use with computers. 720X480 is a not a square pixel resolution and not a multiple of 16. Cropping does the same thing, but you lose some parts of the frame which is not necessary. I've been using this technique for all my recent videos so I know it works and everything looks fine too. Just trust me on this one. I may be out to lunch once and a while, but I know this.

Douggie · Post by **Douggie** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:19 am

Thanks for searching Krisqo - I also found some fonts already for the Mac... If only I could write and understand Japanese, then I could use the Japanese Google to find stuff like that...

Yeah, that was a jerky clip, I hope mine won't work out like that.. gotta use a lot of vector points then, right?

I'll trust you on the aspect ratio then.. so from what I understand bot resolutions are actually the same size on monitor, the only difference is between the pixel-ratio (square vs. 0.9 I believe?). So if you convert it, nothing gets really changed and all looks good, right? Learned something again today!

Thanks again!

Krisqo · Post by **Krisqo** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:49 pm

Be careful with the vector points. When you shift from frame to frame, some tend to get bunched up together and you end up pulling ten from a single square. I think I had about 90 points on that clip and you have to re-adjust each one per frame. So pray you only have subtle movement so you can just shift the mask as a whole around. What you saw there took over 18 hours to do, and I was not quite half way done.

As per updates, I'm dropping my Slayers video. I just don't have an idea what to make so It's better off dropping and frees up some time to hammer out any other projects I have. As for the transitions, I found a clip while watching G Gundam that should work. I just need to play with it a little.

Now for the ever chaning intro. I've decided on doing a full opening style intro. The song is probibly gonna be "Pink Rose" from DDR. I chose this song because it fits what I plan to do with this opening. I want to take as many textless openings I can find and mesh them all into one video with credits listing the editors, animes, and songs, not in any particular order. So far, the openings I have and most likely will be included will be:

Chrono Crusade
Azumanga Daioh
Madlax
I Think Noir
Saiyuki
Gundam Seed
Ah! My Goddess
Aquarian Age
Evangelion
Full Metal Alchemist
Gunslinger Girl
Kaleido Star/New Wings
Kiddy Grade

I want to use Angelic Layer, but the collection has no extras, so I'll be cheating and using the trailer on one of my ADV DVDs.

Bear with me guys. This is my first MEP and I've been a little all over the place regarding regulations and any other details. I WILL see this project to it's end and make the best MEP I possibly can. That said, the release date will probibly be near the middle of October depending on how college goes.

Flame-X · Post by **Flame-X** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:51 pm

Oh man, if I had known what this MEP was about then I would've joined but its too late now. ^^;