Movie Window

This window is used to create a movie of the 3D display in the Setup window.

From the Setup Menu, select Movie...:

Movie
MovieWindow

In the tutorial that follows, we will create a simple 12 second duration, 30 fps movie that rotates the 3D eye model around its Z axis for one full revolution.


Step 1: Set frame size and name the movie file

In the Rotate model controls group:

  • Enable Z axis rotation.
  • Set Z increment to 1 deg.
  • Set Z direction to clockwise (CW).

In the Rotate plaque controls group:

  • Disable all plaque rotations.

In the Make a movie controls group:

  • The dimensions of the content region of the Setup window should be a multiple of 4 when capturing images to be used as movie frames. Enter the desired fame size (e.g. 640x480) in the text fields.
  • Click the Custom size button. The Setup window content rectangle will reset to the desired frame size.
  • Set the number of frames to 360. This will create a movie of exactly one full revolution around the Z axis with 1 degree increments between frames.
  • Click the Save As.. button to open the OSX file navigator where you will name the movie file and indicate where it is to be stored.
  • The movie file, when completed, will be saved to the indicated path. The file path is tinted in pink in the picture on the right.
  • Once a file path has been entered, the Start and Stop buttons will activate.

Leave idle rotation off for now. You can leave the idle speed at 15 fps. All movies are saved as 30 fps video regardless of the idle speed setting.

Movie
FileReady
CreateFile

Navigate to the folder where you want save the movie file (e.g. Movies/PS Movies/) and name the file (e.g. PSMovieTutorial). Click the Save button in the file navigator to continue.


Step 2: Adjust 3D Appearance

In the Setup window:

  • Adjust the appearance and view to whatever you want as the first frame of your movie.
SetSetup

Step 3: Start movie capture

In the movie window:

  • Click the Start button.
  • DO NOT DISTURB THE SETUP WINDOW during movie capture. Movie capture runs at a few frames per second as a background process when PS is otherwise idle. Any actions you undertake in the program that affect the Setup window appearance will also be captured.
  • After you click the start button, the idle rotation control will automatically switch to On.
  • The 3D model in the Setup window will begin to rotate.
  • The progress bar will indicate the number of frames captured.
Progress

When 360 frames have been captured, the movie will automatically be saved to the indicated file path.

ProgressFrame

Step 4: End movie capture

Idle rotation will continue beyond the last frame capture. To shut down idle rotation and return to normal PS activities:

  • Click the Pause button.
  • Set idle rotation to OFF.
  • Close the movie window.
Pause
RotationOff

Step 5: Play or export movie

In the OSX Finder, navigate to the folder where you saved the movie. Open the movie, the default viewer is the OSX QuickTime Player application. Other options include importing the movie into a video editor such as Final Cut Pro X, or into presentation software such as Keynote or PowerPoint.

Finder

Open the movie with the QuickTime Player application. Use the player controls to start the movie.

QTPlayer

From the QuickTime Player File menu select Export.

QTPlayerFileMenu

For example, the iPad,iPhone etc... export creates a package that includes versions of the movie optimized for internet distribution.

QTPlayerFileExportMenu