SUU-Design Forum

When you have time, could you please post a simple guide to create animations?
Especially with frames chosen manually
Let's say I have a video.
I start with an "automatic" animation (I mean "Options" --> Animation and I choose WebP animation)
The animation is OK but I want only to anticipate of some seconds the tile to be animated (for example moving the tile some seconds before)
At that point I am lost

What do I have to do?
Do I have to choose Codec-dependent or codec-independent?
Whatever I do, it doesn't work.
I enter the following window, change the "time of the tile", click on "Snap"
Then I "save"?
If I do that, and then click on "start" in the main window, then nothing happens... the new animation is not created, and I see the old one

What am I missing?
Where do I go wrong?

Thanks in advance

Sheila wrote: ↑20 Sep 2021, 12:43 Do I have to choose Codec-dependent or codec-independent?

You can use embedded (Codec-indepenent) and forget about external (your PC codecs, Codec-depenent).

When you use the "Choose shots manually" interface, it allows you to pick a custom tile/tiles and your choice overrides VTM's choice.

Here we come to animations. When the animation is enabled, there is always a Tile to be animated (you can select any position). It is marked with the bold red frame in the Animation window.
That means additional rules are in the game for this one and only Tile. You can change that rules in the Animation window (in Options).

If you set X (more than 1) in the "Number of Sections", then your custom Tile choice (if any) is discarded, because VTM divides the timeline by itself in this case. It produces X pieces of animation, following one by one, using your duration for each piece and the "Animation Pattern" from the bottom of the window.

If you set exactly 1 in the "Number of Sections", then VTM will produce 1 piece of animation (using your duration) starting from the time point of the Tile (that could be your custom selected time point which you already have set using the "Choose shots manually" interface).

And here is the most powerful customizing ability:
You can use the "Choose shots manually" interface to select all of the starting points (up to the count of tiles in the matrix) for you custom animation and its durations. You can use right mouse button on already selected frame to set the custom duration of the section. In that case the frame border changes to blue and you can see the duration of the section in the popup over the tile. Sections are animated in the order of appearance within the main animation Tile. To discard the section from the animation, just select the "Not animate" in the Tile's context menu.

Sorry, but I can't make it work the way I'd like.

I load the video in VTM
Go to Options --> Animation --> Enable animation
My matrix is 6x5
I want to animate the bottom right Tile (the last one)
I set 10 seconds of animation and WebP
The video is 27:31 long and it's an mp4
I save
I go to the main screen and click on Start
VTM creates both Thumbnails and an animation
So far so good

The last Tile (the one to be animated) starts at 26:42, but I'd like to anticipate that animation some seconds before, at 26:35
What do I have to do?
I right click on the video and choose "Codec independent Choose shots manually"
once inside I click on auto, so that (I'd think) I only have to go to the last Tile, select it (Shift - LMB), move the frame7 seconds before, Snap it, right click on the Tile (Set 10 seconds of animation), Save
Then I go to the Main screen
Under Items, now there is the yellow/red "icon" related to "Manually chosen shots" and the Green icon (= "Done")
I click on Start
VTM creates the Thumbnails (the last Tile is at 26:35) but it doesn't create any animation

What was my error?

Please check the log file, probably, there is an error message there (top right button on the main window). The webp file should be created in your case.

Is it possible for you to share the file to my private messages?

No error message in the log file
Check PM for the video

Thank you for catching that.
Fixed in VTM 16.1.0.2.
Please check. The issue was only for the "Simple Matrix" when the "Choose shots manually" interface was used.

Thanks for your quick fix, now it works as desired.