Yep, I guess that's guaranteed to work! I fiddled and fiddled with it and did finally get it to hold where I wanted it by dropping a marker on the frame, snapping a velocity point to it, setting it to 0%, and then seting the fade type to "Hold." Thanks for your help.

Well... the way I do this .. is to capture a still of the frame I want (make sure preview window is set to Best/full) and then I load that back onto the timeline and stretch it to however long I want. For some reason I find that easier than messing with the velocity envelope.

That sounds like an efficient way to do it. Pardon my ignorance...but what do you do to capture the frame? - Doug

On the preview monitor window. There is a button that allows you to capture a still frame to a file.

just make sure the preview monitor is set to Best/Full (anythign else and the still image will be a lower resolution).

Awesome. Thanks!

Doug,

There is a much simpler way to do this, and it has the added benefit that you can create any speed video prior to the stop. I just did this last night for another sports video I am working on, so I know it works extremely well, and takes less than ten seconds to do.

1. Put the velocity envelope on the event.

2. Put the points on the envelope where you want the speed to change. It sounds like you already know how to do this, so I won't describe further. Get the speed changes pretty much how you want them, but don't worry too much about the video that appears at any point in time. You will iterate on this in a moment.

3. At the point where you want the speed to go to zero, put a point on the velocity envelope and set it to zero.

4. Click on this point to place the cursor exactly on the point. Use Alt-right arrow or Alt-left arrow to move one frame at a time until you are exactly over the point. Zoom in, if necessary.

5. Here's the "secret" tip: Press and hold the Alt key and then drag the event left and right. Actually, when the Alt key is held down, you no longer move the event, but instead "slipstream" the video within the event. What you see is the video under the last location of the cursor prior to you pressing and holding the Alt key. If you are zoomed in a long way, you can slipstream one frame at a time until the frame you want as your final freeze frame is displayed.

Bingo, you're done. Play it through and if you don't like your speed changes, you can adjust those and then go back to the zero point and change it again.

It will take you far less time to do this, than it takes to read about it above (thanks to my wordy style) :)

JM!

* * * * * * Star Man! * * * * * * * "Here's the "secret" tip: Press and hold the Alt key and then . . "

Grazie

I actually did this by the way of taking a snapshot and reinserting that still image as well. But once I read johnmeyer's way, I immediatly opened up Vegas and gave it a try....MUCH better. The advantage of this is you don't have lingering snapshots around, and if you change your mind where you want to freeze frame, you don't have to go thru the snapshot procedure again.

LOVE this forum, I'm having you all over soon !

Stonefield

JM or others,

I have a follow-up question to this. I did a stop-motion recently with the velocity envelope. Rendered and burned to DVD. When it got to the stop frame (someone jumping in the air and catching a football), it was blurred and I'm thinking it might be an interlace problem? Maybe compounded by the fast action of the subject?

I rendered to NTSC, lower field. And I'm pretty sure I had force resample and reduce interlace flicker.

Might it be better (for this particular problem) to capture and use a still frame vs. the -0- point velocity? Should I have done some conversion to progressive? Thoughts anyone?

Thanks,

-Les

that is why i repeat the frame (as i most often am using frames anyway) , it results in a smoother motion that using velocity envelopes for some reason .. it only takes a sec to do it this way -- but all these methods are great .. it is whatever you get used to do...

I do this everyday with Vegas. I select the last frame before the freeze (i.e. loop selection), render it as a clip and then drag in back to the timeline and use the clip handle to make it as long as I want (provided you have enabled clip looping). Best way I've found to do it and, as I said, I do these freeze fades everyday!
Zooming in on the timeline makes selecting a single fram loop very easy.
HTH
Jeff