MathGroup Archive 2003

[Date Index] [Thread Index] [Author Index]

Search the Archive

Converting Animations to QuickTime Movies Using iView MediaPro

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg39506] Converting Animations to QuickTime Movies Using iView MediaPro
  • From: AES/newspost <siegman at stanford.edu>
  • Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 05:13:52 -0500 (EST)
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

It's possible to convert Mathematica animations to QuickTime movies 
using front end menu commands on the Macintosh, although to have this 
work right it's essential that the magnification of the front end 
notebook window be set to 100%.

(Thanks to Selwyn Hollis for pointing this out.)  

(WRI:  Add this crucial condition to the Help documentation?)

An alternative and possibly somewhat better way to accomplish the same 
thing is to use Mathematica in combination with iView MediaPro.  The 
required steps are:

1) Generate the movie images as individual JPEGs in a folder using a 
notebook something like the following:

    SetDirectory["my Hard Disk:my Project Folder:my Images Folder"];

    Do[
        g[k] = Plot[ - - - - - - ];
        Export["Image "<>ToString[k], g[k], "JPEG"],
        {k, 1, nplots}];
    
2)  Catalog the resulting folder of images using iView MediaPro (drag 
and drop to an iView icon makes this trivial), and note the image size 
in pixels.

3)  Correct the sort order of the images in the catalog if necessary.  

(Anyone know how to modify the ToString[k] coding above so that k = 1, 
2, 3 will appear with prepended zeros, i.e. as  01, 02, 03?)

4)  With the catalog open in Thumbnail view, Select All and execute  
Make >> Setup Slide show.

5)  Execute  Make >> Movie Presentation; set pixel dimensions to be as 
large or larger than the individual JPEGs; and select other options in 
the resulting dialog box.

Result is a valid (and highly compressed) QuickTime movie.  One 
advantage of this approach is that the movie is explicitly "flattened" 
so that it can be viewed on other platforms; I don't believe the 
Mathematica menu command does this.

iView MediaPro has been a great program for me.  Maybe a Windows version 
is also on the way?

-- 
"Power tends to corrupt.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely."  
Lord Acton (1834-1902)
"Dependence on advertising tends to corrupt.  Total dependence on 
advertising  corrupts totally." (today's equivalent)  


  • Prev by Date: Optimization with NMinimize
  • Next by Date: Re: RE: Simplify a module
  • Previous by thread: Optimization with NMinimize
  • Next by thread: spectrum