feature request Feature Request ? Post here

[eersoy]

How about "Below Main Timeline" option for auxilary timelines?

 

Regards

Efe Ersoy

[Dropframe]

This feels almost like Christmas !!!

 

- To be able to do a grid type of image correction... Like a 4x4 or 6x6 and manage the grid with proper keyboard shortcuts !

 

- This as been mentioned a couple of times but to be able to WARP using the keyboard only is becoming a MUST. It would be so nice to be able to move from point to point and move points or select rows ! Just like some of the projection warping tools offers...

 

- I have been working a lot with tiers to be able to manage what MPEG will play in wich server and so far only a LAYER can be dedicated to a specific tier... Can this be also in the CUE it-self in the advance tab for example ? I use composition a lot in these cases but in a 11 server system MAIN and BU it is annoying having to select the right tier for every pice of media and this every time as opposed to copy and paste existing cues with the TIER information in it.

 

 

Thanks !

 

Seb

[Mike Fahl]

1) a "reverse" consolidate function. Currently the consolidate function copies all media in use into another folder. I would like to *move* all *unused* files to another folder, leaving the existing show in place.

The Consolidate command does this, kinda-sorta, but in inverse, in that when you choose the Move mode, it will leave all unused media behind in the old location. After doing a consolidate to separate used and unused media, you can just reverse the locations of the old/new folder and you should have what you asked for.

[nikolai]

Hi

We use Watchout in our theatre productions; we have two stages and 10 computers.

We are really happy with the system. It is easy to use, flexible and stable.

Over the last years though the complexity of our productions has grown rapidly, and I have now created a list of features/improvements that we would hope to see in watchout as soon as possible. Forgive me if some of these things are already implemented, or planned. I know some of them are pretty common on the WO forum.

The requests are based on the input of our staff, and of freelance video designers that are used to working competing systems. (And we would like WO to be the best )

I don’t see these features as fancy, special or even difficult to implement, most of them as far as I can see, don’t even require any new “technology” only small changes in the ui.

I hope you will consider these requests and I’m sure they will help many other users also.

 

Some kind of Auto update – mode.
This is a result of the corner tween: when you are mapping elements to match something on stage it is a real pain to move a corner, hit ctrl+d, see the result, move the corner, hit ctrl + d etc.

I have seen people working on other systems where they can do this in real time and it is a much smoother workflow.

What I suggest as a quick fix is an auto update mode that can be turned on or off, you can then send the update command either on a 500ms timer or when the actual changes occur.

 

The “Click jumps to time” function (under Timeline) Needs to remember the setting when I close and reopen the project. It is super annoying. Should be an easy fix.

 

Auto save, this is a standard feature in most serious applications. It just saves the project on a timer
Put in a new page under preferences with options to turn auto save on/off, and interval.

 

Split a layer in two (including the tween tracks)

You already have options for setting input and output times so this should be easy, make a copy of the clip that is to be split, move the new clip to the split point, set new in and out times for the two clips.

 

Moving on to the harder parts:

 

Blur-tween
So many times I have needed to blur an image, or fade in and out from a blur. Yes I can get around this with creating a blured copy in photoshop, but let’s face it this is not elegant. I know this is a resource hungry filter, but I don’t need the best blur in the world, and It should be up to the end user how they want to spend their dsp anyway.

 

Move to composition:

The way compositions work now, they are not much use to us, cause you really have to plan a head and think “this would be smart to do in a comp”

I would like to be able to select a bunch of clips in the main timeline, and click “Move to composition” (Or “Pre-compose” for you AE-folks) this would create a new comp, move the selected clips in to the comp at the exact same spot as they were in the main timeline.

 

Vector masks

Text layers was huge, now we want shapes. I know this is a big thing to ask but it would make masking SO much easier then fiddeling around with n-number of black bitmaps.
So I add a shape, just like a text layer, then I can add points to the vector in the stage window. The shape enters “edit mode” when we double click it in the stage.
I don’t need Bezier-curves and stuff but feather would be fantastic.

 

I hope you would at least consider some of these features for one of your upcoming releases.

[MOOV]

Halo Nikolai, Thank You for sharing this, my oppinion is very similar, specialy BLUR and  Corner Tween. I Like WO very much some improvements will make this tool much beter

 

Piotr

MOOV

http://moov.pl

[kilic]

Hi,

I request a couple of features to add in upcoming revisions/versions.

 

1 GUI

Bigger start and play/pause buttons option in the task window, in order to run production in windows based tablet/touchscreen PCs

also good for the old users with eye glasses like me

 

2 Control Cues

2A A global option like "Disable Control Cues"

When this option is selected all the control cues except "Stop" will be disabled, no pause no jump ; it would be great if this feature would be update independent (This feature can also be enabled/disabled via external control, like a midi controller button, and the status can be viewed in status window.

This can be achieved in a way by "Condition" maybe, not checked if condiiton setting of a layer also disable control cues or not. 

2B Soft Jump/Jump&Run

For example timeline is running or paused, when you click to a different timeposition + Ctrl,(Or a cue in different time position) you jump to that position in fade, fade can be same as the standby enter/exit rate, or can be determined independently in preferences GUI.

When you click to another time position while Ctrl & Shift pressed, same as above but this time not only jump with fade, but run after %50 fade delay.

3 Entry Level Morph

If the geometry correction feature development still in progress, time based geometry correction may be also added. So we can have simple morph functionality, and also spherize,bulge effect and similiar.

I guess it is not so easy in a short time, but in the initial phase, it can be first "display based", second "cue based (Only in non overlapping single display)" and at the end entirely.

I think this feature requires some major version.

4 Tween f unction;

Not only with math op. but also logical expressions;

If faderA > 0.5 then TweenValue + faderB*100 else TweenValue + faderB*200 (Just an example)

With logical expressions we can achieve too much variations with limited Inputs.

 

Thanks,

 

Kilic

[kilic]

One more thing,

it is actually not a feature request but a missed function.

 

In stage tier menü, there exists only Add Tier, and Rename

1 Remove Tier is not there..., when you work with many tiers and want to cancel one of them, it is very confusing since it always remain there, so i rename it like " Removed" or similiar..

There exists also no dublicate name control of Rename, you can have many copies of "Base"...

 

Kilic

[Mike Fahl]

nikolai and kilic, many thanks for all your excellent suggestions! Just  few breif comments.

 

This can be achieved in a way by "Condition" maybe, not checked if condiiton setting of a layer also disable control cues or not. 

Yes, it can.

 

Not only with math op. but also logical expressions;

If faderA > 0.5 then TweenValue + faderB*100 else TweenValue + faderB*200 (Just an example)

With logical expressions we can achieve too much variations with limited Inputs.

 

 

Such conditional expressions will be in the next version.

[Guest mwatzl]

Geometry....Ctrl-Z? 

[InnovatumSC]

I would love to have some form of surround mixing within Watchout, where each channel of a stereo or mono wavefile (or other sound source) can be outputed on all channels. Each clip could have it's own set of volume sliders for each channel. The left channel of an mp3 could be played at 100% on the left output channel, at 30% on the left surround channel and 0% on all other channels. I know this can be done using multichannel wave files mixed in Audacity but it would be a huge improvment to be able to do simple mixing in Watchout. Even better would be a sound position tween, but I know this is asking for alot.

[Vollmers]

I would love to have a linear key option, on the live HD/HDSDI live video input. That would really be an improvement, and upscale the system in the TV production environment.

 

Cheers Christian

[jfk]

I would love to have a linear key option, on the live HD/HDSDI live video input. That would really be an improvement, and upscale the system in the TV production environment.

 

Cheers Christian

 

It is already in there, has been since v4.2. 

A linear key (aka alpha key) requires two inputs.

Send one to a normal layer and use masked by layer above for the input with the key information.

[Vollmers]

Excellent   I tried to search for a solution in the manual, had a coworker doing the same, and we couldn't find an answer, but of course this solution will work. So maybe a note in the manual about this could do the trick    Thx for the help.

 

Cheers Christian

[opnl]

Hello,

 

thank you for paying attention to our feedback !

 

- First, I would really appreciate an insert mode : today, to insert a media between two others in the timeline, you need to slide every other further (ctrl-E + media shift), set your cursor at the end of the previous media drag and drop your new media, and slide back the next medias to adjust the junction. It is easy to di this automatically, with an insert function, like those you have on Final Cut for example. The choice between inserting and replacing would be the point you drag and drop to : to the center of a media => replace / to the edge of a media => layer insert / to the timeline's cursor => all layer insert (sliding medias of all layers further)

- One other big improvement for theater- and other opera-people like me, would be a quick preview mode : The media makers provide us many files, mostly not properly named, and the stage director wants to see the one which should be intended for Act I, sc 4. "Try this one", says the media maker. You set the cursor on the timeline, drag and drop the media to the right display, update, wait until it has been downloaded ... and no, the stage director doesn't like it. "Try this other one ...", etc.

For this kind of workflow, the timeline is useless, it would be a great improvement to be able to drag and drop to the display, tweak tweens and then choose whether to copy the tweaked media to your timeline. This preview mode would work as a short auxilary timeline, which length is the media length, and which appears on top of the current timeline. You have then the ability to insert it wherever you like in the main timeline.

- One more thing : when you drag and drop a media to the timeline, it appears on the top left of the stage, whether there is a display at this position or not. I would suggest to be able to specify, for each Layer, the stage insertion position + the anchor mode. It would work as an association of each layer to a display, and would gain time in the worflow. An alternative and maybe more efficient way to do that is to specify, for each layer, which display it would be linked to.

 

hope this all makes sense !

 

best regards

 

xavier boyer

[borovayz]

Occasionally during a multi-display show, I want to run the same looping clip on each display but offset the timing for one of them. Lets say for example it is something like rolling clouds. I want to use the same clip on each screen but offset the timing for one of them so it appears as two different clips (In my business, there usually isn't enough time to actually create two separate files).

 

When I change the "in time" of a free-running, looping clip, it restarts the loop at the new in time. So if I have a 20 second clip and I change the in time to 5 seconds, it'll always chop the first 5 seconds off the clip.  I can see certain situations where someone would want to cut out a section of a looping clip using the in time function. But I believe there would also be value in having the ability to preserve the loop itself while simply starting it at a different time in the clip.

 

How about a check box for "preserve loop" or something like that for those of us who want to keep a looping clip looping but want it to start at a different point in the clip. 

 

Zak

[Funkiemitch]

Hi All,

 

It would be nice to have a marker function on the timeline.

 

For example.

 

when running an audio track press M whenever there needs to be a marker.

this will make it much easier to put the media footage at the right place/audio spot.

 

 

greets,

MItch

[jfk]

Hi All,

It would be nice to have a marker function on the timeline.

For example.

 

when running an audio track press M whenever there needs to be a marker.

this will make it much easier to put the media footage at the right place/audio spot.

 

greets,

MItch

 

Something like that exists. while the timeline is running,

hit Cntrl-P and a Control Play cue will drop on the timeline at that point,

 the timeline should remain running. You can drop multiple points.

Insert a layer, make it active, then run the timeline

and all the markers will be alone on a layer.

While that layer is active, use the arrow keys to jump to the marker(s).

[Funkiemitch]

WOOWWWW thanks JFK

 

kind of new to watchout.

 

Mitch

[Silentonset]

It would be nice to have a status screen to show a count down to the next cue point and also display the current name of the cue and upcoming item. It will be nice in a larger production enviroment when the operator is required to give cues to other department. A countdown clock of the current video play would be nice too.

[Jonas Dannert]

This exists, too, sort of.

If one uses WATCHOUT Systems Manager for control instead of the Production software.

Free download on the website.

 

/jonas

 

/jonas

[cowboyclint]

How about a feature request not related specifically to Watchout, but the forum? With all the feature requests that get posted here that Watchout can already do, maybe a "How To" tab at the top of the forum with mini videos or a screenshot that briefly show how to do things like Ctrl-P for markers, linear key, setting up Watchman, etc... That way if someone needed a refresher, it's all there in one convienient place. I know a lot of it is in the manual, and everyone should really start there, but some people may not think of using play cues as markers......

 

Clint

[Dropframe]

A few ideas:

 

1 - being able to add a trigger for the main timeline. An aux timeline can do it but can't be timecoded.

 

2 - in geometry it would be nice to have keyboard shortcuts. And also to select mulitiple points !!!

 

3 - being able to put a single computer online and not all of them all at once. So in show mode if have to go to a backup I can restart the main and put it oine when ready without having to online the whole fleat !

 

4 - copy and past movie proposerties. Loop / free run / blending modes.... Or select multiples and do it at once.

 

5 - Assign medias in the timeline to tiers and not only layers. Then the management can be easier.

 

6 - Choose a color for a media in the timeline can make it easy to manage heavy programming.

 

it for now...I'll be back

 

Seb

[mathieu]

hi,

 

this is a usefull thing that would help us:

- when using the geometry grid in full mode, it would be good to have an option to delete all curvature values for all handles points, instead of set each one to zero.

 

also, to have the possibility to enter a default curvature value when you add points. because when you add a point, this value is set by default to 39.

 

but maybe it is already possible?

 

thanks

Mathieu

[Walter]

A few ideas:

 

1 - being able to add a trigger for the main timeline. An aux timeline can do it but can't be timecoded.

 

2 - in geometry it would be nice to have keyboard shortcuts. And also to select mulitiple points !!!

 

3 - being able to pu

 

t a single computer online and not all of them all at once. So in show mode if have to go to a backup I can restart the main and put it oine when ready without having to online the whole fleat !

 

4 - copy and past movie proposerties. Loop / free run / blending modes.... Or select multiples and do it at once.

 

5 - Assign medias in the timeline to tiers and not only layers. Then the management can be easier.

 

6 - Choose a color for a media in the timeline can make it easy to manage heavy programming.

 

it for now...I'll be back

 

Seb

I second those suggestions!! I'm sure most of the workflow can / should be sped up!

[rafalmysliwiec]

Hi,

 

What I'd also find very useful concerning the Full geometry correction mode is some kind of feedback on the corrected display. Sometimes I get really confused not knowing exactly which point of the image I'm correcting especially when much precision is needed. Are there any chances of seeing that soon?