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using a text editor to read/edit pds script file
pcgpnw [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: May 15, 2013 00:53 Messages: 9 Offline
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Does anyone have experience manually editing (with a text editor) a .PDS script file? I have used the Magic Motion feature to create a "clip" which pans and zooms a slide. I would like to create another clip that exactly reverses this action. I am unable to do it satisfactorily using the graphic interface (cursor, etc.) in Powerdirector because the cursor controls are just too course. All I need to do is interchange the blue and orange dots so if I could manually edit the script file it should be easy.

I can read the file with a text editor and I can probably sit down and reverse engineer what is going on, but if someone has already had experience doing this and is willing to share their knowledge it would save me a lot of time.
ynotfish
Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline
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Hi pcgpnw -

I'm sure it's possible to edit the motion path in the PDS file, but that's not anything I could help you with.

Just now, I didn't find it too difficult to reverse the motion path in Motion Designer (just remembered each keyframe setting & switched them around). To me, that's a way simpler approach than opening the PDS file in Notepad.

Another possibility is to produce the image (with motion applied) then reverse the produced video. Simple.

Here's how my mucking around turned out http://youtu.be/I4vS1f7U2B0 - the manually reversed version is pretty close to the other.

Note to Adrian & others involved in the "washed out colour" thread: Check out the difference in the side by side view at the end.

To your original question, hopefully there may be more experienced members who could advise you on editing the motion path in the PDS file.

Cheers - Tony
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BarryTheCrab
Senior Contributor Location: USA Joined: Nov 06, 2008 22:18 Messages: 6240 Offline
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I agree with Tony, if the key-framing in reverse is too difficult, pre-produce with a green/blue screen as a backing, then chroma out the screen after. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
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pcgpnw [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: May 15, 2013 00:53 Messages: 9 Offline
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Thank you both. Problem solved without needing to manually edit the PDS file.

Quote:
Another possibility is to produce the image (with motion applied) then reverse the produced video. Simple.

Thank you ynotfish! I'm new to video editing and this hadn't occurred to me. Problem solved!

Quote: I didn't find it too difficult to reverse the motion path in Motion Designer (just remembered each keyframe setting & switched them around).

I'm curious though and would like to know more about how to implement this technique. You said you "remembered each keyframe setting" How do you determine those settings? All I'm aware of for reference is just the graphical image presented by the Magic Motion window which shows the blue and orange dots and the frame around each. Is there a way to read quantitative information about the position of the dots and the size/location of the frames?
Although I could generally remember what they were I could not reproduce them exactly with the cursor. My problem stemmed from the fact that Powerdirector does not take advantage of available resolution in the source slide when it zooms. I needed very accurate positioning as I was zooming into a location, then fading to a high-res cropped (Photoshop) frame from the initial slide, then zooming in on that frame, etc. so that my final image was still hi-res.

Thanks again for providing me a quick solution!
ynotfish
Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline
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Hi again -

You're right, of course. The method I used to manually reverse the keyframes is as clunky as! It is purely a graphic/visual process. There's no way to "quantify" either (a) the time position of keyframes (like in PiP Designer) or (b) the physical position of the "cropping box" (it probably has a correct term).

The only thing that makes it a little easier is using the grid lines in Motion Designer. The image below shows the keyframe settings for the initial motion & the reversed version. The "cropping boxes" were easy to replicate using the grids, but there was a fair bit of guesstimation in setting the time position of the central keyframes.



Hope that helps.

Cheers - Tony
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at May 15. 2013 22:45


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pcgpnw [Avatar]
Newbie Joined: May 15, 2013 00:53 Messages: 9 Offline
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Thank you Tony!
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