Hi

I have been trying to import an AVI file into Poser as a background.

I have tried AVI files from every source that I have, Adobe Premeire, Windows Movie Maker, Any Video Converter etc. but every one comes up with a message that says... "Not a valid AVI file." when I try and import it.

Has anyone ever done this and what do I have to do get the file in a format that Poser will accept.

Should I remove the audio track, I haven't tried that yet.

All of these files will open in everything else I have.

Mike 

I've never heard of using an avi as a background, however, you can use avi's as materials.

So, load a 1 sided square as a BG, and set it's material to your avi. Make sute to click the little "key" in the advanced materials on the texture to enable "Animated".

If there's a "key", it's animatable (and keyframable).

Here's an example I used with an avi transparency.

Hi.

To import the AVI it has to be in the "old" AVI format. You can do this easily by downloading Virtualdub from the doom9.org site if it's still there.

Open your avi file in there and save to "old" format. It should work a treat from thereon.

VOB files / WMV / MPEG will not import it has to be strictly AVI.

Any animations that you have produced in Poser, will, of course reimport without any problem.

Good luck.

Regards. Mike.

VirtualDub is now hosted at sourceforge, among other places

http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualdub/files/virtualdub-win/1.9.11.32842/VirtualDub-1.9.11.zip/download 

Hi

Thanks for the responses.

I just assumed that you import it like a background picture.

I'll get virtual dub and give it another try using a panel to apply it to and see what happens.

Mike

Attached Link: http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff491/nohjekim/th_TwoLucysTest.jpg

Virtualdub fixed the problem with it rejecting the .AVI files.

When I opened Poser up and tried to import the .AVI file it appeared as a background just as I wanted it to.

What I want to do is insert a video for the background instead of a static picture for example trees blowing in the wind, moving crowds or passing cars etc.

Here is a little test file I did with two of my Lucy characters just to see if it all worked.

Mike

Ps. How did BionicRooster place his animation in the post.

I tried using the image code i.e.

[IMG]http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff491/nohjekim/th_TwoLucysTest.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

And as you can see that didn't work, so just click on the link.

Looks great. Did you get it to play without rendering, i.e. in the preview window. I can only get that to happen if it is a background and not a prop - not sure why.

Great job.

Attached Link: http://s1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff491/nohjekim/?action=view&current=LucysStoryAboutGrandfather.mp4

Yes, I just created the video in preview mode.

I went to Import / Avi Footage and imported the video.

It asked if I wanted to resize the window, (in this case I said no) and then it placed the file in the background.  

You must have enough frames already available, it doesn't ask you if you want to add frames to fit the video, as it does when you add a pose animation.

I will have to pre format the AVI files in Première to the correct size, (I usually use 1200 by 900) so that the background will fit my scene.

In this case the video did not fit my format.

I cropped the video to remove the black band above and below the image in Première after I made the file in Poser.

It did it very quickly since it apparently doesn't have to re-render the background .AVI just as it doesn't have to re-render a still image when it's used as a background.

I'm assuming that if you applied the video file to an object then it would have to render every frame of the video again, so this is much faster.

This opens up all kind of possibilities.

The opportunity to use all kinds of moving images as a background combined with foreground objects will make lots of effects possible.

Now I’m looking for suitable video that I can use.

Mike

Ps. Here is a link to my first and shortest Lucy video, these have grown in complexity since I did this one with Lucy now walking through more involving environments and telling longer stories.

Looks really good Mike. I like the graveyard background. Checked out the others too. Where's the one with the packhorse bridge - it looks like West Yorkshire.

Hi

Thanks for the comment.

Yes the picture wiht the bridge in in Yorkshire.

Eventually I will put the other videos online as well.

This whole thing grew out of the Lucy voice from Acapela Software used with TextAloud.

I have about every graphic arts and video program ever made since this was my business my whole life.

I’m retired now.

A friend of mine told me the grandfather story so I animated it and sent it to him, and a bunch of my other friends.

Everyone thought it was funny, so I started doing others and making them more complex as I learn how to use the software.

Lucy is the best voice I've found for text to speech software, she supplies all the sounds for my computer, i.e. when I empty the recycle bin she says "Enough of this trash!" etc.

Since she is British I started setting the videos in Britton (I've been there a number of times and raise Scottish Deerhounds but I live in Michigan) and the rest just went from there.

I'm working on the 4th one now and my goal is to complete 12 of them, but I want to keep advancing, which prompted the original post.

Thanks again for the help, it opens up all kinds of possibilities.

Mike

Cheers Mike. I'll watch out for the other videos. Good luck - can't wait to see them.

Attached Link: http://s1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff491/nohjekim/?action=view&current=LucysStoryaboutDoris.mp4