“The day the earth stood still” 1951 & 2008- Full screen- video editing

Our research into flash video manipulation, on the face of it may appear to be purely for entertainment purposes, however, when you consider a criteria was set from initial tests and the resulting proof has been achieved without the need for expensive softwares such as ‘photoshop’ or ‘after effects’, this may be actually a remarkable discovery.

A brief description of how this can be achieved is as follows.    Flash is recorded in layers, one layer overlays another, just as icons on your monitor desktop, when you open an application it appears on a layer above the icon.

In flash applications, one can call up a base layer, such as a video skin,  then float another layer, (the actual video footage), on top of the base layer.    Further layers of flash animations may be added for effect.

The latest development of our study has enabled us to stretch the video footage rather like shaping putty, and record as a separate file, then  load it  into the flash layers.

Initial trials, (as shown in the video below),  are not 100% as yet but improvement is expected as we hope to provide an alternative method of video presentation.

The task I was presented with was to to upload a raw wide screen video to our online flash workshop.   The video was selected from YouTube (see picture), then to create an entirely new presentation by adding a background skin with textural overlay titles.

The day the earth stood still 2008

The chosen video is a compilation of trailers on “The day the earth stood still” ~ 195, the original movie was set in full screen cinemascope ~ the 2008 version and is quite clearly in wide screen format as most new movie trailers are presented.    By careful expanding of the new trailer’s flash file, I was able to move the layer over the background skin and record the sequence using simple screen capture software, therefore creating a continuous viewing flow.

To my knowledge, after a wide internet search, there have been many experimental studies in flash manipulation but by utilizing intricate softwares.    This I believe is the first attempt to stretch video footage using simple online tools that anyone can master.

Further tests shall be carried out before revealing the sources of this simple method.

How to edit a video-part 6- (timing).

Revisiting the online video editing site (Jumpcut), prompted me to re-edit and re-vamp some old footage using an internal visual surround method.

I rearranged the footage on Jumcut’s timeline and added a techno sound mix, adjusting the audio to match the visuals by sliding, until it was near perfect. When satisfied, I captured the play with Camtasia in a small pixel area (rectangle).

The first capture was rendered as ’space1′. I then loaded 22 stock photos of space pics, resized to fit the display area of ‘Flash slideshow maker’ and created the slideshow as a moving background. With the slideshow activated in the background, I played the video ’space1′ in ‘Winamp’ media player, classic version, as the top layer.

Back on Camtasia, I set the capture size and timed both the layers to activate and made the recording. Having to pause the winamp player twice to coincide with the slideshow, meant that the resulting capture required further editing on the Camtasia timeline.

Being on a personal timer, I quickly spliced out the unwanted footage and as a result, the completed video was produced in under the hour. More time would have created a near 100% production, but as this was only a demo, it was sufficient.